Board member since 2017

Name of the candidate: Francesco Maria Perrotta
Job title: Cultural Manager and President
Age: 56
Gender: Male
Citizenship/origin: Italian
Artistic/geographical experience: cultural organisations management

Name of the organisation / festival: ITALIAFESTIVAL
Membership category: Collective member
Country of the organisation / festival: Italy
Festival art disciplines: N/A
Annual turnover: €400.000
Number of visitors per edition: N/A

Motivation: I am running for the vice presidency of EFA because I believe I can continue to contribute as I have done over the past six years as a board member and previously as an associate. I represent ItaliaFestival, one of EFA’s collective members. Today, Italy is the country with the most members in EFA and is the country that has participated and continues to participate with the most festivals in various EFA activities starting from the various editions of the EFFEA project. I am personally committed to strengthening, among the various objectives of the association, three particular themes: 1) the sustainable development of the planet and in particular of cultural events. I am directly following a series of projects in Italy on capacity building for green initiatives with European resources derived from the recovery fund. This cultural battle must be increasingly emphasized also in EFA. 2) the urban, social, and cultural regeneration of small territories through cultural soft power; I have created festivals in small villages and inner areas of the country and I believe that EFA can be the right catalyst to create new growth opportunities also for disadvantaged territories that through festivals can obtain new possibilities for development. 3) To increasingly promote the exchange of professional experiences and opportunities for collaboration between European and global artists and cultural operators. EFA has a further responsibility, that of increasingly demonstrating that a new world of peace and solidarity among peoples is possible. The testimony of this is represented by the strengthening of our association even in the years when COVID first and the various global conflicts have severely tested the resilience of networks. Both nationally and internationally, I strongly believe in the power of dialogue and collaboration between festivals, stimulating participation in networks like EFA.