FESTA DEI POPOLI 2025

From May 22 to 25 at the Princigalli Garden in Bari, the 21st edition of the Intercultural Festival promoting the meeting of peoples and cultures arrives. "Eye on the World" is the theme of this edition, which targets an increasingly younger audience with days dedicated to schools and university students. A special event, "Their Cry is My Voice – Poetry from Gaza" with Luciano Canfora and Nabil Bey Salameh.

Among the most anticipated guests is Franco-Cameroonian singer Valerie Ekoumè, Rosapaeda, and Apulian singer-songwriter Erica Mou.

May 22-25, Princigalli Garden, Bari (Mungivacca district) – Free entry

The Festival of the Peoples returns to Bari from May 22 to 25. The intercultural festival, now in its 21st edition, promotes the meeting of peoples and cultures through events, shows, concerts, and sharing of wine, food, and popular traditions. Four days of true celebration, with free events, music, shows, dances, crafts, and activities for children. A major community event that – realized for twenty years, with 21 editions to its credit – celebrates two decades of commitment and a vision that, through the festival, unites men and women from all over the world. "Eye on the World" is the theme chosen for this edition of the event, which will be held at the Princigalli Garden in Bari (Mungivacca district, near the Showville multiplex) and is organized by the Abusuan Intercultural Center, the Comboni Missionaries, and Cgil, with the patronage of the City of Bari and collaboration with an extensive network of associations, foreign communities, and educational institutions. The event is indeed the result of great networking and relationships woven with the many associations in the area that work together each year to create and strengthen bonds and roots, making the city of Bari an increasingly intercultural community.

In this light, the theme of the 2025 edition aims to be an invitation to all men and women to view the meeting of cultures as a valuable resource, capable of enriching and offering a broader and more nuanced vision in every social context. A call to observe with attention and awareness what is happening in the world, focusing on global issues related to society, culture, and the environment, while maintaining a critical yet empathetic eye, capable of stimulating reflection. A collective commitment that, this year, has manifested itself even in the same creative process and realization of the image with which the Festival of the Peoples 2025 presents itself to its audience: the work, in fact, is the result of a contest proposed in recent months to the students of the Artistic and Coreutic High School “De Nittis – Pascali” in Bari. The contest received 38 projects from two graphic classes, from which the organizing committee selected Leonardo Minerva’s work as the winner.

The Festival Program

The Festival of the Peoples 2025 will kick off Thursday, May 22 at 5:30 PM with an introductory conference on the theme “Immigration, Citizenship, and Work”, curated by Arci Bari and Cgil Puglia, moderated by Annachiara Serio, representative of the Knowledge Network Puglia. The discussion on the topic will include Monsignor Giovanni Ricchiuti, President of Pax Christi Italia, Giorgia Jana Pintus representing Arci Nazionale’s Immigration Office, Shady Alizadeh, representative of the association Woman Life and Freedom – Italian-Iranian Union of Puglia and Rights Manager PD Puglia. The conclusions will be reserved for Maria Grazia Gabrielli, General Secretary of Filcams Cgil. At the end of the conference, thanks to the collaboration with the Giacomo Princigalli Association, there will be an exclusive presentation of the book “Their Cry is My Voice – Poetry from Gaza”, a collection of works by ten Palestinian authors recounting the war in the Strip through their lyrics. On stage to discuss the work will be curators Antonio Bocchinfuso, Mario Soldani, and Leonardo Tosti and, furthermore, translator Nabil Bey Salameh and the great philosopher and essayist Luciano Canfora. Poetry as an act of resistance. The power of words as an attempt at salvation: this is the most profound sense of the thirty-two poems by Palestinian authors gathered in this volume, mostly written in Gaza after October 7, 2023, in the tragedy of the war in Palestine, in conditions of extreme precariousness: shortly before being killed by bombings, as a last prayer or poetic testament (Abu Nada, Alareer), while being forced to leave their home to escape (al-Ghazali), or from a tent, in a refugee camp where people die of cold and bombs (Elqedra). The book is also a concrete initiative of solidarity toward the Palestinian population. For each copy sold, Fazi Editore will donate 5 euros to EMERGENCY for its healthcare activities in the Gaza Strip.

Following this, at 8:30 PM, the evening will continue with University Thursday “Unipop – The University Meets the Peoples”, featuring a musical performance by the rap group Poeti di Quartiere, and will conclude with DJ sets by Indiana Funk aka, Francesco Caiaffa, Vito Santamato, and Sante Pellegrino.

The second day, Friday, May 23, is dedicated to schools: from 4 PM until 9:30 PM, in fact, the stage of the Festival of the Peoples will host performances by students from 11 schools that have joined the initiative. Boys and girls will lend their voice, sound, and body to their creative vision with live music, dance, and fanfare performances. Among the planned performances is the outcome of a musical workshop created with recycled instruments by teacher Daniele Sarno with the students of a fourth-grade primary school class, who created actual musical instruments from waste materials in class and outdoors, as well as the Multicultural Sound Orchestra show, composed of 18 elements and born from a musical workshop conducted with multi-instrumentalist Mamadou Coulibaly, originally from Burkina Faso, who collaborated with students from three middle schools. This will be followed by a theatrical performance brought to the stage by participants in the Palestine – Culture and Arts workshop and, finally, musical performances by artists Synthomatics, Rosapaeda Dub Fevah Band, and NOVEMBRE87.

Meanwhile, alongside the musical and theatrical activities on stage, other spaces at the Princigalli Garden will host a series of dedicated moments for the little ones. Particularly, “A Palestinian Tale” readings by the Palestine – Culture and Arts workshop, “Intercultural Tales for Curious Children” by Squola Senza Confini Penny Wirton; “Poetry Unites Peoples” by Tessere di Solidarietà; “The Creative Power of Words” by Ballerio; the game “Peace Treasure Hunt” by GEP – Group Education for Peace; and the decoration workshop “Pysanka Unites” by artist Natalia Sholomii.

The program for Saturday, May 24, will start at 6:30 PM with the performance of girls from Casa Rozalba in traditional Albanian dances and songs, followed by a typically Indian show by Samira Oriental Academy and Deshak, a dance performance by Alma Terra Association, and a dance and singing performance by Ukrainian artist Tetiana Snurnnytska titled "La Gioia." Further, from 8:30 PM, the stage of the 2025 Festival of the Peoples will feature musicians from Cameroon, Tinè Ndolo South Connection, Balkan-origin dancers of the World Music Project Association. A highly anticipated event is the concert of Franco-Cameroonian singer Valerie Ekoumè, one of the icons of the contemporary Afro-pop scene, who will present her show "La danse des éléphants," incorporating her influences inspired by Congolese rumba, American pop, and traditional Cameroonian music. The evening will conclude with performances by Nigerian-born singer and electronic musician Spiff Onyuku and Kenyan rapper Shad.

Among the collateral events on the afternoon of Saturday, May 24, in other areas of the Princigalli Garden, the reading "Readings of Peace" by GEP – Group Education for Peace, a popular dance workshop by ArtiDea Association, the painting workshop "The Magic of Ukrainian Petrykivka Painting" by artist Osadcha Marynala, the presentation of the book "I Still Have Hands to Write. Testimonies from the Genocide in Gaza" by Aldo Nicosia and organized by Alma Terra Association, and intercultural narratives for children by Squola Senza Confini Penny Wirton.

The final festival day opens on Sunday, May 25, with a morning event: the Abusuan Intercultural Center presents from 12 PM, "Show Me The World – Music Showcase," an event designed to give space, voice, and visibility to young local musical talents through a contest held in previous months, which will see the winners perform on the stage of the 2025 Festival of the Peoples. An initiative aimed at offering emerging musicians aged 18 to 35 the chance to express themselves, share their music, and connect with a diverse audience in a festive environment that celebrates the dialogue between cultures and sounds from around the world. In the afternoon, starting at 6:30 PM, there will be dance performances by the Culture Organisations of Bangladesh DEBI, Le Ali di Iside (Mashrek), and Catherine Batoka (Cameroon), and singing performances by Rachel Semenou (Ivory Coast) and representatives of the Filipino community. In the evening, great anticipation for the concert of Apulian singer-songwriter Erica Mou, whose original compositions combine the great Italian songwriting tradition with the pop-folk sounds typical of Northern Europe. After her, the musical evening will be closed by The Buonamico's Band, Wontanara Foli (Guinea Conary and Senegal), and Denny Music. Regarding collateral events, the final day's program includes the presentation of books "Ukraine. Cuisine and History" by the Uniti per l'Ucraina Association and "It Wasn't the Sea. Neither in Cutro. Nor Elsewhere. Nor Before. Nor After" organized by the PER.I.P.L.O Association. Furthermore, the evening will end with the drawing of winning tickets for the self-financing lottery of the Festival of the Peoples.

During all days of the 2025 Festival of the Peoples, the following will also be available:
- Collage workshops with sand by artist Cheikh Tidiane Mbaye
- Workshops on making headscarves, bandanas, cake carriers, and shoppers by Jubbo atelier
- Workshops for adults: "Building Community through Individual and Collective Transformation" by Ballerio association
- Workshops for youth: "Living Generation. Power and Challenges of Young People" by Ballerio association

FESTIVAL OF THE PEOPLES FOR WELCOMING
In continuity with last year’s edition, some stands will be animated by people of non-Italian nationality who arrived in our country through humanitarian corridors, safe and legal entry ways to Italy for people in vulnerable conditions fleeing their country, managed by some of the groups organizing the Festival, which will present their artisanal, artistic, and culinary traditions.

FESTIVAL OF THE PEOPLES FOR SUSTAINABILITY
For two decades, the organizers of the Festival of the Peoples have been creating the event with an increasingly attentive and precise focus on environmental care, protection, and sustainability. All this in the belief that the meeting of peoples and cultures can be even more fertile and constructive if immersed in the complete sharing of the resources that nature offers each of us. It is an open-air event, to which everyone is invited to participate, enjoying the fresh beauty of a city park that has been revitalized and returned to its community. So, welcome to colorful blankets, groups lying on the lawn, cheerfulness, and collective fun, in full respect of the environment that hosts us. For this reason, the Festival of the Peoples provides space for recycling and upcycling materials and boasts significant environmental partners: with support from Eco Eventi, the dishes prepared by various national groups will be served using biodegradable plates, cutlery, and napkins; with support from Legambiente, Plastic Free, AGESCI Bari 9, and the volunteers of the various organizing groups of the Festival, the park’s cleanliness will be guaranteed, and visitors will be assisted in correctly disposing of waste in the bins located in four collection points inside the park. Any citizen willing to volunteer for this purpose will be welcomed.

FESTIVAL OF THE PEOPLES is promoted and organized by:
Centro Interculturale Abusuan, Comboni Missionaries, CGIL

PARTICIPATING ASSOCIATIONS:
Afghanistan, Alma Terra, ArtiDea culture, Ballerio, BANDERUMOROSE, Brazil, C.A.M.A. L.I.L.A., Cameroon, CAPS, Centro Missionario e Caritas Arcidiocesi Bari-Bitonto, Communitas, Ethiopian Orthodox Community, Palestinian Community of Puglia and Basilicata, CSV San Nicola, Culture Organisations of Bangladesh - DEBI, DESHAK, Fasting for Justice in Solidarity with Migrants, EMI - Editrice Missionaria Italiana, Equanima, GEP - Group Education for Peace, Ganapathi Mariammen (Mauritius), G.U.A.P. (Ghana), Jubbo (Senegal), Palestine – Culture and Arts Workshop, Le Aquile di Seta (Albania), Nazma’s Kitchen (Bangladesh), Nigeria, PER.I.P.L.O., Refugees Welcome, Salesian Redeemer, Syria, Squola Senza Confini Penny Wirton, Comboni Missionary Sisters, Tessere di Solidarietà, Uniti per l’Ucraina, Unsolomondo, Zouglou forever (Ivory Coast).

ENVIRONMENTAL PARTNERS
Eco Eventi, Legambiente, Plastic Free, AGESCI Bari 9. Solidarity Partners: Famiglia Dovuta associations, Il Buon Samaritano and COFIRP, Caffè Portineria bar, La Campus and Svoltastorie bookstores, Buò and Pinoy restaurants, Samira Oriental Academy dance school, Missionary groups of the Immaculate Father Kolbe and END Bari 3, parishes of the Arcidiocese Bari-Bitonto.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
S. 1° G. “Amedeo d’Aosta” - Bari, I.C. "Michelangelo" - Bari, I.C. "Zingarelli - Frank"- Bari, C.P.I.A. 1 “Alessandro Leogrande” - Bari, I.C. “Massari - Galilei” - Bari, 14° C.D. “Re David” - Bari, I.C. “Papa Giovanni XXIII - Capozzi - Galilei” - Valenzano, I.C.” De Amicis – Laterza - Monte San Michele” - Bari, I.C. “Loi - Santomauro” - Bari, I.C. “Giovanni Paolo II - De Marinis”- Bari, I.S.P. “De Mattias” - Bari.
Web: www.abusuan.com