I LOVE EU
If there’s a word that I’ve always thought encapsulated the dream of a united Europe forme, it’s un doub te dlyErasmus–theov erse asstudyprog ram me aimed at building a new generation truly rooted in the European Community. This i s why I found it so i l luminating to read t he data recently published in IlFo gli o(sour ce: Indire ). A cc or dingtotheI tali annewspaper,fi ve million students have benef itted from Erasmus since it was established in 1987. That might sound like a lot, but it isn’t. Considering the university population that could have accessed the initiative, those f ive million are a mere two per cent of the total. In practice, there is no Erasmus generation. It is essentially the symbolof ad rea ml eftintatter s–w h ok nowsiff ore ver?
This is no small matter. This is the dream (that has nothing to do with bureaucracy) of the two generations that preceded mine, those who saw a united Europe as a project for peace on a continent ravaged by two world wars. It’s about an aspiration of people my age, too, who were the f irst to grow up with limitless possibilities to travel and meet each other, without levies or borders.
With this in mind, we decided to dedicate this special issue of L’Uomo to Europe and everything within it that unites us. Because we believe that the power of this unity is still stronger than anything that divides us, despite the many mistakes that have indeed been made in the unification process. This is an issue produced entirely by Europeans, in Europe, and for Europe. On these pagesyou’ ll fin da serie soflov el et ter sto ourhom el and,avoy age ofdiscovery made of storie s ande moti onsf roma crossthe conti nent.You’ ll se e features in which water is the symbol of what has always connected us. You’l l trave lonth etra in sof Interra il, andyou’ ll end up inSpa in, a fronti erland. You’ ll re ada boutth eco mmit mento fartistsw ho, in opposi ti ontoa certa in palpable spirit of the times, have chosen to support the cause in f irst person with concrete actions: Bernard-Henri Lévy, Roberto Saviano, Wol fgang Ti l l mans, Emmanuel Carrère and many others. You’ l l encounter the faces of men who have been chosen by 20 photographers from dif ferent countr ies to represent a cross section of the rich diversity that is the glue of our union. You will also discover how we are seen f rom abroad, thanks to writers from other continents who are witnesses to this arduous moment of ours, on the eve of Europe’s crucial elections in May. These authors are here to represent everyone who is watching us, who worries for us - and who hopes for us. Because, as the Indian poet Tishani Doshi writes, “Europe is stuck. Everything is thin-hearted and blanched of colour. Talk is getting ugly. I can’t even look at her because she stares at me as though I were a stranger. I still love her. I always will. I’m waiting for her to f ind herself.”