The International Specialised Skills Institute

from Segmento - Unapologetically Italian - Issue XXIX

Scoperta

Direct action to build a better skilled Australia

The International Specialised Skills Institute (ISS Institute) exists to develop an innovative, skilled, and smart Australia by cultivating the mastery and knowledge of talented Australians through international applied research (i.e., industry-based) Fellowships. www.issinstitute.org.au

The creative energy of life flows, like ink, out of the pen of Giuseppe Ungaretti to remind us that life acquires meaning in the face of death. So, the value of peace is understood in light of war, as Tolstoy conveys in his novel War and Peace. Why the choice of a Russian author at a time when war is being waged by Russia?

Because Ungaretti’s work is not only Italian heritage and Tolstoy’s work is not only Russian heritage. Both contribute to the shared heritage of humanity and this unites us all.

Yet, life is not the absence of death, and peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace is achieved in the search for justice, and conflict is at times necessary. When Leo Tolstoy decides to write historical fiction, he does so with an intent, becoming more realistic in his accounts than any historian could. How is this even possible? Because history, as he shows, cannot be fully understood; or, in his words:

You say I don’t know Russia. No, I know my own subjective Russia, which I look at through my little prism. If the soap bubble has burst for you and me, this is also proof that we are blowing a new bubble which we can’t yet see.

(Tolstoy, 1978, p. 145)

Is the great writer suggesting that we are insignificant and should do nothing in the face of history? Quite the opposite. Tolstoy, a dissident, shows us the tragedy of war and reminds us of the value of life, which must continue in spite of all. What can you expect from this issue, then?

In Art & Culture, Vince Colosimo is the protagonist both of the cinema set and of a movie about the consequences of war for humanity. You will also read a much needed reconstruction of the history of the most popular song of resistance, “Bella Ciao,” and learn about the existence of a Japanese film set in World War II … in the Adriatic Sea!

In Social & Global Engagement, you will meet the newly appointed Italian consul for Queensland and the Northern Territory, Luna Angelini Marinucci, talking about intergenerational conflict, while Paolo Baracchi discusses the power of culture as an instrument of peace.

In Tourism & Places, you will be guided across the ancient Roman ruins in Tunisia, and in Food & Cuisine, you will find SlowFood President Barbara Nappini. In Fashion & Design, you will discover social activism through creativity, while in Business & Innovation, Dhebora Mirabelli shares a valuable initiative for Sicilian enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Buona lettura!