'Against the cultural poverty of the South, a grand alliance between the public and private sectors is needed'

How to grow the number and quality of such infrastructures, if there is little demand, to the point that newsstands close, bookshops barely survive....

We think that actions to promote reading should be promoted with broad participation. We are thinking of actions that involve public actors in the foreground that are often absent, but also private actors, institutions, operators, citizens and above all the third sector.

Mainly?

Pepe Research shows that in the South of Italy, cultural volunteering often plays a supplative role to cope with deficiencies in public infrastructures. Another of our analyses shows that the participation of the Third Sector in the South and the Islands is 29% and is higher than in the Centre-North at 24%.

How to intervene?

It is necessary to act on easily activated levers. In order to increase the number of bookshops, it is necessary to provide incentives for entrepreneurship as this is a low-margin sector and to support those who do not have many possibilities to buy books.

Is it only a question of resources to be invested then?

There is no doubt that more is needed, remaining on the subject of bookshops and more generally of culture buying, we also think it is necessary to propose with creativity. New, unconventional outlets must be thought of in order to relaunch stationery shops and newsstands and other outlets.

Like libraries, which are poorly frequented.

We are talking about a paradox here. There is no lack of facilities, but few accesses and loans. There is a lack of services, staff, training. Yet we have numerous examples of new libraries being built around the world and acting as a great attraction for young people, such as the Tromso library in Norway or Nikken Sekkei in Japan. Moreover, libraries must also be a response to educational poverty. Once again, the absence of public actors emerges. Yet after Covid, the government had made an extraordinary plan of investment in libraries, but the municipalities reduced their ordinary resources, thwarting the state action.

Does the school? have responsibilities?

Huge. The focus is placed on the quantity of what to study rather than on the pleasure of learning and thus reading. We should experiment with free reading practices, stepping outside the ranks to make room for curiosity.

So, the Aie calls for a grand alliance against the cultural poverty of the South?

That is indeed the case. But there is one category to which I would make a special appeal. It is that of successful writers, southern and otherwise, who could with their storytelling skills, attract young people and others.