On the heels of last Wednesday’s bash at the Casetta Rossa to celebrate Pietro’s arrival, a crescendo of activity continued all through the weekend. After a couple of days marked by rapid fire encounters, with people arriving from as far away as Berlin, Amsterdam and Barcelona (and from all around Italy), on Saturday afternoon we all gathered at the Casetta Rossa in Garbatella for the First International ICBIE Meeting. It was the biggest gathering of supporters in our history, offering a rare opportunity for everyone to work together for the benefit of the Institute. Before it was over, at least two dozen people had enjoyed the special pleasure of wallowing in a slew of ICBIE stories, projects and dreams. Every participant had the opportunity to recount both their ICBIE experiences and their aspirations for the future, while Pietro was able to share all the latest news and plans from Brazil.
As always, the work session was followed by a long and jovial dinner, and the Casetta Rossa rocked into the night.
On Saturday morning, Pietro gathered the crowd in his fancy rented bus and drove up to Campagnano, thirty kilometers north of Rome, where we held another meeting at my house. This time we focused on specific projects and worked on plans to better coordinate our efforts by using a reserved part of our website, euphemistically called “Guevaristi ICBIE,” where we can work together in developing strategies and plans, instead of always bombarding Pietro with emails that he is forced to answer, one by one, leaving everyone else out of the loop.
Energized by the great ideas that were proposed, we were then forced to maintain the hallowed traditions, so we wandered down the hill to the town center, where, just by chance, the annual Carciofata was taking place. Artichokes and sausages were washed down by abundant glasses of free wine in the glorious spring sunshine.
After watching the bands play, we even managed a well-deserved siesta in the park!
Pietro, together with the ICBIE Europa office, is working on the final minutes of this historic encounter, and they will be posted here in a day or two.
Roy Zimmerman
05 de maio de 2009, 16:49 04Tue, 05 May 2009 16:49:20 +000020.
That sounds lovely, e che nostalgia per Campagnano e la carciofata … e il vino.