FROM 21 TO 23 NOVEMBER, AT TEATRO MIELA IN TRIESTE, THE “LUCHETTA AWARDS DAYS” WILL FEATURE THE AWARD CEREMONY FOR THE WINNERS OF THE 22ND EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS AWARD, ALONG WITH THE PRESENTATION OF THE FONDAZIONE LUCHETTA OTA D’ANGELO HROVATIN PRIZE TO FRANCESCA ALBANESE, UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES. DEBATES, IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS, EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMANCES MAKE UP A MULTI-VOICED PROGRAMME THAT UNDERSCORES THE IMPORTANCE OF INDEPENDENT, UNFETTERED JOURNALISM, BEARING WITNESS TO WORLD EVENTS.
THE PROGRAMME
The Luchetta Awards Days take place during the same week as the International Day of the Rights of the Child and Adolescent, which commemorates the approval by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention on the Rights of the Child — the first time, in 1989, that girls, boys and adolescents were recognised as holders of civil, social, political and economic rights. A choice that reinforces the Foundation’s tireless commitment to spreading the principles that inspire it and to promoting the Prize in memory of the journalists killed in Mostar in January 1994 and in Mogadishu in March of the same year.
FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER
On Friday 21 November, the 22nd edition of the Luchetta Awards kick off at Teatro Miela. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with opening remarks by Daniela Schifani Corfini Luchetta, President of the Fondazione Luchetta Ota D’Angelo Hrovatin, and Fabiana Martini, Secretary of the Jury, followed by the presentation of Bambini senza nome, a special programme produced by Rai dedicated to frontline journalism.
This will be followed by the presentation of the 2025 Special Prize of the Fondazione Luchetta Ota D’Angelo Hrovatin to Francesca Albanese, recognised — as the award citation states — “for having immediately denounced that what was happening in Gaza and the West Bank constituted the crime of genocide, as confirmed by the UN Special Commission on 16 September 2025, work that exposed her to frightening isolation. Today, more than ever, it is essential to defend the work carried out by the United Nations through its Institutions in the pursuit of peace, work that is too often mocked by those who base their actions on violence. The work of Francesca Albanese is a heart-rending cry of alarm over the collapse of international law, through which humanity — beginning with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights — has tried, unsuccessfully, to turn the page after the tragedies of the two world wars and the genocide of the Jewish people that stained the last century with blood.”
The Prize will be presented during the event The Right to Life of Palestinian Children, dedicated to the theme of violations of human rights and international law, featuring — alongside Albanese — Paolo De Stefani, professor of international human rights law at the University of Padua. The discussion will be moderated by Duccio Facchini, editor-in-chief of Altreconomia.
The first day will conclude with the free-admission performance Odissea minore, a project by and featuring Nicola Chio, Christian Elia and Miriam Selima Fieno, blending theatre, narrative journalism and documentary film. The work is the result of field research along the Balkan Route, exploring firsthand the harsh reality of Europe’s borderlands, which have become the childhood landscape for thousands of girls and boys fleeing with their families.
SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER
Saturday 22 promises a day rich in testimonies and in-depth exploration with some of the winners of the Awards seven categories. Proceedings begin at 11:00 a.m. with The System of Violence along the Balkan Route, a discussion moderated by Gianfranco Schiavone, President of ICS–Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà, featuring Alessia Candito (La Repubblica), winner in the Balkan Route category with I fantasmi della Rotta balcanica; finalists in the same category Anna Piuzzi (La Vita Cattolica) with I morti senza nome lungo la Rotta balcanica, and Anna Vitaliani (Rai TGR Friuli Venezia Giulia, with Renato Orso) with Tra speranza e paura; as well as Roberta Altin from the University of Trieste.
At 3:30 p.m., the afternoon programme opens with a roundtable entitled Exploitation and New Forms of Slavery Between Predatory Economies and Climate Change. On stage at Teatro Miela will be Marina Sapia (In mezz’ora, Rai 3), winner in the TV News category with Mani nude; Gianluca Diana (RSI Rete Due), winner in the Radio category with Africana Soap, i bambini della soda; and Tom Parry (Al Jazeera), finalist in the International Press category with In Kenya, girls are sold into marriage to stave off starvation from drought. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Enzo Nucci, former Rai correspondent in Nairobi.
At 5:00 p.m. Eleonora Tundo and Davide Rinaldi (RAI–RaiPlay), finalists in the Radio category with The Korean Game, will speak with journalist and teacher Emily Menguzzato on the topic Youth Under Pressure, focusing on the world’s most competitive country, where many who cannot keep pace resort to suicide.
Orphans Available is the title of the panel featuring Alessia Cerantola (Tre Soldi, Rai Radio 3), finalist in the Radio category with La bambina n.12; Stefania D’Ignoti, finalist together with Davide Maria De Luca and Cecilia Butini (Domani) in the Italian Press category with Ucraina, la diaspora dei bambini: gli orfani contesi tra Roma e Kiev; and Carla Garlatti, magistrate and former Italian Children and Adolescents’ Ombudsperson. The conversation will be moderated by journalist Andrea Luchetta, Rai correspondent.
The final event of the second day, The Rubble of Gaza and the Collapse of the Law, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the presence of Marco Damilano. The President of the Luchetta Awards Jury will moderate a conversation with Chiara Avesani and Matteo Delbò (Rai 3, Il fattore umano), winners in the Reportage category with Leaving Gaza; Federica Iezzi (Il Manifesto), finalist in the Italian Press category with Tutto il dolore del mondo tra i bambini feriti di Gaza; Lorenzo Tondo and Malak A. Tantesh (The Guardian), winners in the International Press category with One afternoon in Gaza, two family tragedies: the childhoods cut short by Israeli airstrikes; and Tomas Stargardter, Editor-in-Chief of EPA Images, representing Haitham Imad, winner in the Photography category with The War First-Hand.
SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER
The final day, Sunday 23, will open at 10:45 a.m. with Newspapers and Coffee, a press review led by Marco Damilano. This will be followed by Bad Youth or Bad Society?, a panel led by journalist Gioia Meloni with Raffaella Calandra (Il Sole 24 Ore), winner in the Italian Press category with Mai così tanti ragazzi in carcere, affollati anche gli istituti per minori; Gaia Mombelli (Sky TG24), finalist in the Reportage category with La cattiva strada; and Valeria Verdolini of the Antigone Association, which works to safeguard rights within the criminal justice and prison system.
The 22nd edition of the Luchetta Awards will close with A Country Adrift: Myanmar, a conversation between Daniele Bellocchio (InsideOver and Sky TG 24 Mondo), finalist in the Reportage category with Myanmar, la guerra civile dimenticata and in the TV News category with Bombe sulle macerie, and Walter Skerk, journalist and curator of the TGR EstOvest column. The winners of each category will be awarded at the start of the panels in which they participate.
AHEAD OF THE LUCHETTA AWARDS DAYS
The Luchetta Awards Days will be preceded by a programme that includes exhibitions, anniversary commemorations, author events and performances within the S/Paesati festival. A collaboration with associations, professionals and artists to reflect on the themes intrinsic to the Prize and to the Foundation.
TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER
On Tuesday 18 November, at 7:00 p.m., the opening of the painting exhibition Io fra voi by Ingrid Kuris-Akis, an artist who explores myth as a means of reflecting on the human condition and reconnecting with beauty and nature.
At 8:30 p.m., A come Srebrenica, a performance written and staged by Roberta Biagiarelli, dedicated to the 1995 genocide — in memory of which the UN General Assembly has designated 11 July as an International Day of Reflection and Commemoration.
WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER
A double event is planned for Wednesday 19: it begins at 5:30 p.m. with Voices Beyond the Wall: Women and the Right/Duty to Tell, in collaboration with Conferenza Basaglia, featuring Ornella Favero, President of the National Justice Volunteer Conference and editor of Ristretti orizzonti; journalist Elton Kalica; and psychiatrist Giovanna Del Giudice.
Pazi snajper – Attenzione cecchino (Watch out for the sniper) is the title of the performance by Roberta Biagiarielli with Sandro Fabiani — beginning at 8:30 p.m. — which stages the siege of Sarajevo from two opposing perspectives: a couple resisting, and a sniper waiting to strike.
Thursday 20 november
Antonella Sbuelz, author of Questa notte non torno (Feltrinelli), will meet with students on Thursday 20 at 5:00 p.m. The event is organised in collaboration with Triestebookfest.
This will be followed, at 7:00 p.m., by the opening of the photography exhibition Make Schools, Not War, curated by the association Diritti e storti APS.
The day will conclude with In the Footsteps of Alex, a tribute to Alexander Langer on the 30th anniversary of his death. The intellectual, politician and peace mediator will be remembered in a theatrical–musical reading conceived and produced by Paolo Bergamaschi, Simone Guiducci, Sandra Ceriani and Mao Valpiana, combining readings by Sandra Ceriani with original music by Simone Guiducci, Oscar del Barba and Massimo Saviola, and the voice of Nina Duschek.