[….A few weeks ago in Turin some children gave me the honorary citizenship of an imaginary place, which they called “Felicizia” (a mixture between friendship and happiness) to indicate friendship as the way to happiness.

A dream, maybe a fairy tale. But we have to be careful not to confine our dreams and hopes to the childhood season only. Like these values aren’t important in the adult world.

In other words, we must not be afraid to express good feelings that make our society better.

These are the values cultivated by those who carry out their duties seriously, day by day, those of those who voluntarily work to help others in difficulty..]

Excerpt from Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s New Year speech, Dec. 2018