Committed youth

After a year I have once again been invited to Rimini for the Commencement Ceremony of the Itinera students, and my remarks of the previous year have proven to still hold true. A few good things and many horrible ones have happened since then, the latest sad event being the eleventh of September. The world, and the world of tourism in particular, is going through a period of great difficulties, and the prospects for the future, including the near future, are definitely not encouraging. Mr Sergio Gambini, MP, in his brief speech before distributing the diplomas, realistically recalled that in spite of the students’ work and dedication, there will be no guarantees for their future in such critical times. After the ceremony there was a buffet lunch in the school park, and I happened to talk with a new graduate who spoke to me about her plans. She was a young woman of 27, who for the next three years was planning to attend a famous hotel management school in Switzerland, in order to give shape to her future. She will complete her studies at age 30, and is aware that in the meantime she will not have a chance to establish any permanent relationships, because among other things she will be expected to do field work in hotels all over the world for six months a year. In a world where everything tends to be taken for given and granted, I found it touching to meet a person who accepts all difficulties in order to achieve her goals, without complaining, and in a concrete manner. True, not everybody can afford to make such demanding and costly choices for their lives, even if they are prepared to sacrifice something, but I wish to once again emphasise that everybody, according to one’s own aims and possibilities, must seek to obtain adequate education and training, or else it will be increasingly difficult to attain a position compatible with one’s objectives, whatever they may be.