“Volunteering is the strongest driver of development for the entire country, a fabric that permeates through all community activities in a cross-cutting way, ensuring that the needs of citizens are met. The subsidiarity that stems from the free nature of volunteering constitutes a fundamental link between institutions and people.” These are the comments of Paolo Bedoni, Chairman of the Cattolica Assicurazioni Group, on the inauguration of the “Padua, European Volunteering Capital 2020” event, of which the Verona-based insurer is the main sponsor.

On Friday, February 7, speaking to five thousand people at the event in Padua, Italian President Sergio Mattarella officially launched the series of events dedicated to the world of volunteering, defined as the “lifeblood of society”. “We shouldn’t think that volunteering belongs on the sidelines of life,” said President Mattarella. “On the contrary, it gives rise to ideas and creates relationships with every other area of social life”.

Mr Bedoni echoed these sentiments. “Cattolica has always been closely involved with this area, and is the only company in Italy with an observatory dedicated to non-profits. We wanted to learn about the needs of the volunteering world and to interact in a productive and effective way with its protagonists.”

The event was also attended by General Manager Carlo Ferraresi, General Manager Valter Trevisani, the Secretary of the Catholic Foundation, Adriano Tomba, the head of the Religious Organisations and Non-Profit Sector Business Unit, Francesco Semola, and the team of the Business Unit.