On a personal note and as president of the ARB Cultural Association, I can only express my satisfaction with the large turnout, but above all with the quality of the presentations by the various speakers and the smooth and effective conduct of moderator Rosaria Brancato.

To all of them my sincere gratitude.

I would like to thank the University of Messina, Slow Food Messina APS, and the Giostra Philharmonic Orchestra for their concrete support of this initiative.

I thank the Maurolico Classical High School and the La Farina Classical High School and their respective principals, Giovanna De Francesco and Caterina Celesti, for having concretely demonstrated that school goes beyond teaching facts but contributes to individual development, helping us overcome historical prejudices that undermine our identity.

I thank all ARB members who, with their support and participation in the association's life, contribute to the realization of the many and varied cultural and sporting initiatives.

In particular, I thank Michele La Rosa, Rosario Ciccolo, and Ettore Liotta

I thank Professor Rosa Gazzara for the gift of her presence at the roundtable, but above all for having provided us with the translation from Greek to Sicilian of the universal work of the Odyssey, a spark for me and for the many members of ARB, which, thanks to the theater workshop conceived and led by Vincenzo Tripodo, captivated the participants.

Thanks to the Honorable Ignazio Corrao, who accepted the invitation even though he wasn't in Sicily and traveled from outside Italy specifically, despite his busy schedule.

This initiative was certainly born thanks to the theater workshop, which resumes next October, but the real spark was lit by Dr. Aurelio La Torre, who, at the meeting on August 18th, introduced me to aspects that outraged me as a Sicilian and therefore motivated me to organize this first step in the record time of 39 days.

Thanks to his content-rich input and strategic vision, I understood that the time was ripe and that the objectives set were achievable.

The roundtable's intent is to be contagious and transversal, and seeks to involve all parts of our community, from the media to theater and music companies and all educational institutions.

I would like to point out that there is no political intent, this is a transversal, community-based, "a-political" initiative (or, better, "pan-political" in the sense that it should ideally be recognized and adopted by all, if possible, political sensibilities in the area).

Far be it from us to delve into technical linguistic aspects (which are the responsibility of academics and linguists).

We see today's event as the launch of a journey that must continue with other events for which the Association is available because it firmly believes in this issue.

In this regard, a web page dedicated to gathering suggestions and operational proposals and archiving the path outlined for public consultation is already online.

https://gruppoarb.com/dignita-della-lingua-siciliana

After this first step, all that remains is for us to continue, TOGETHER, on the path we have undertaken with proposals and projects that identify concrete, measurable, and timely objectives.

Davide Liotta

President

ARB Cultural Association

The following spoke at the round table moderated by journalist Rosaria Brancato:

Davide Liotta (president of the ARB Association)

Aurelio La Torre (Director of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers)

Ignazio Corrao (MEP)

Dario Caroniti (university professor)

Daniele Macris (teacher at Maurolico High School)

Caterina Celesti (principal of La Farina High School)

Vincenzo Tripodo (actor and director)

Sergio Todesco (ethno-anthropologist)

Peppino Restifo (history teacher)