Courtesy translation.
The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, sent the following message to Min. Plen. Fabrizio Di Michele, the Italian Counsel General in New York, to celebrate the event titled "100 years of Radio, 70 of Television. Sounds andImages without Boundaries":
«Radio and television have marked the 20th century.
They represented the powerful drivers of the Italians’ cultural growth, of their civil cohesion, innovation, knowledge of the world, and of democracy building itself.
The memory of every family cherishes the words spoken on the radio and the television images that linked the phases of their lives to historical events.
To concomitantly celebrate in New York the 100th anniversary of the first programme broadcast by the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (the Italian Radiophonic Union) and the 70th anniversary of Rai’s first television broadcast assumes a special value and meaning.
Through the radio and television media, the Italian communities abroad were enabled to reconnect with their Homeland and participate in its aspirations and successes.
Thanks to its programming, the public broadcasting service assured a valuable connection with our fellow-citizens abroad and their descendants, thus reinforcing their roots.
The programmes have drawn attention to our lifestyle, the sensitivity and quality of Italians. They have become the showcase for the Country, helping to consolidate relations and to establish new ones.
Allow me to address my warmest greetings to the participants in the event.
The focus dedicated to the figure of Mike Bongiorno, among the most popular radio and television hosts who launched his professional adventure precisely in New York to later become a full-fledged TV icon, is emblematic of the value of the dialogue across the two shores of the Atlantic. Bongiorno was a pioneer in periods of deep change in the language and techniques of television broadcasting.
Today, transformations are even quicker-paced and more intense. The message ofItalian culture is a challenge that cannot go unattended».
