[vc_column_textThis article, after the one on the value of cancer research, also stems from the rediscovery of the archives of my mother, Giorgina Venosta.
The cover shows the then mayor of Milan Gabriele Albertini with Carla Fossati Bellani Venosta , who set up the Guido Venosta Foundation to honour her memory.
A street was dedicated to Guido Venosta in Milan, a side street in viale Sarca: the plaque recalls his role as a ‘pioneer of the non-profit sector‘, and the councillor for culture, museums and international relations Salvatore Carrubba, in informing Carla Venosta of the municipality’s approval, wrote that the municipal council, in its resolution of 10 December 2002, would name a street after the ‘illustrious creator of the Cancer Research Association’.
Below are Gabriele Albertini, Sergio Romano and Salvatore Carrubba at the ceremony for the inauguration of the street.
Below is a transcript of part of the document published by the Foundation for the event.
Images and thoughts
Prophetic” vision
Those who have been involved in the non-profit sector in Italy for at least a decade are well aware of how numerous and challenging the obstacles to be overcomehave been (and still are, albeit in part) in order to see the third sector recognised as having a socio-economic ‘dignity’ at least equal to that of the state and the market.
Bureaucracy, ignorance, prejudices, unpreparedness, lack of financial resources and many other factors have hindered the emergence in the country of a genuine culture of solidarity that goes beyond mere charity and welfarism.
The idea of combining the concept of entrepreneurship with non-profit has long been considered a kind of heresy, a nonsense, an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, that is.
If today, fortunately, much has changed in this regard and everyone agrees that the survival of a non-profit organisation is only possible if it complies with the criteria of effectiveness and efficiency (while taking into account, of course, the peculiar values of such organisations) , this is due to the tenacity and perseverance of a few ‘visionaries’.
Of a few pioneers of solidarity who were able to demonstrate with the concreteness of their deeds, with commendable self-denial, with a unique dedication to the ‘good cause’, that even in our country there was ample space to get a modern third sector off the ground, capable of offering excellent services, creating new job opportunities, and carrying out scientific research of the highest quality.
Among these personalities of absolute value and rare generosity, Guido Venostaundoubtedly stands out, whose ‘prophetic’ vision of the role that the non-profit sector could play in Italy found concrete testimony in his more than thirty years of personal commitment to the Italian Association for Cancer Research.
There is frequent talk these days of bridging the gap between profit and non-profit, of the need for a strategic alliance between the two worlds to address and solve problems of enormous social impact such as welfare reform. Venosta, some decades ago, already declared himself a strong advocate of such a ‘contamination’, which was then well described in his booklet ‘From profit to non-profit’.
The naming of a street in Milan after Guido Venosta, therefore, is a fine acknowledgement by the city to a man of great managerial and human qualities that the Foundation that bears his name will help to keep alive in the collective memory with appropriate initiatives.
Bicocca 25 September 2003
Guido Venosta worked 38 years for Pirelli, from 1939 to 1977.
He joined Airc in 1966 and worked there – maintaining a role in Pirelli – for 30 years, until 1996.
He was then honorary chairman of Airc and Firc until his death in 1998.
Below is an excerpt from the publication – “From profit to non-profit” written in 1997:
“In fact, I have always thought that the classes and social categories that, for reasons of birth or by combinations of fate, had been able to enjoy the best conditions of life should ‘give something back’ to others, that is, they had a moral duty to intervene in the community for the benefit of those who had not had that good fortune.
A sort of objective recognition of their privileged status and consequent contribution to an ideal rebalancing of the living conditions of all.
Nothing messianic or heroic, of course, but a simple act of existential consistency. Or of justice, if you prefer.”[/vc_column_text]
Umberto Veronesi and Giuseppe Della Porta in Fondamentale, 5 April 1998.
Veronesi and Della Porta founded Airc in 1965. My grandfather started working there in 1966.
Article compiled in July, updated 6 August 2023.
