The Sicily
Peace, Security & Prosperity Conference
Agenda
Friday, 7 July 2023
0930 VIP and opening Session
- Opening remarks by Mr Steve Gregory, founder of the IFPSP
- Sicilian Region Representative
- Army Commander in Sicily, Major General Maurizio Angelo Scardino
- Representative of the City of Catania
- The Rt Hon Edward Llewellyn, UK Ambassador to Italy
- Mr Tony Loffreda, Canadian senator representing the province of Quebec
- Representative of the US Embassy in Italy
- Representative of the Embassy in Germany
- Joseph Lonardo, General Counsel, The National Italian American Foundation
1030 The Italian perspective on the 1943 campaign
- Dr Alfio Caruso: The Impact of the 1943 Events on the civilian population
- Dr Salvatore Platania: The disembarkation (Landing) seen by the Sicilian people
- Dr Marco Gimillaro : The perception of the armed forces in Sicily
- Prof Federico Ciavattone: Perception of volunteers in the Arditi and paratroopers
1130 Historical session moderated by Justin Maciejewski, director, National Army Museum
- Dr John Curatola, the National World War II Museum.
- Dr Tim Cook, The Canadian War Museum
- Waymand Brothers of the National World War II Museum
- Charles Djou Director, The American Battle Monument Commission (ABMC)
1330 Brunch hosted by the Metropolitan City of Catania
1430 Dr Joseph Quinn, Their Finest Hour, University of Oxford
1500 Post-war reconstruction and peace (Room C3):
- Mr Steve Gregory will moderate the session with international experts including Dr Martin Nassua of The German Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies Helmut-Schmidt Universität/Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg and Captain Sara Isgro on reconstruction and peace with the theme: AMGOT and the reconstruction programme.
1600 The Sicilian Motor Vehicle Association
- Professor Angelo Privitera
- Dr Federico Magiavacchi
- Dr Franco Scalisi
This will be followed bya tour of the external military car park along the avenues of the “Le Ciminiere” complex.
1715 End of Day One
The programme can be changed by the conference organisers.
Saturday, 8 July 2023
0900 The British Approach to Memorialisation introduced by Edmund O’Sullivan
- Gavin Mortimer, author and historian
- Ian Pearson of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Association on the DLI in Sicily
- Mark Howard, independent historian, photography of Sicily in 1943
- Steve Erskine, researcher at The Green Howards Museum on The Green Howards
- Richard O’Sullivan of the London Irish Rifles Museum on the 38th (Irish) Brigade
- Michael Leese on General Oliver Leese
1100 Coffee
1130 The Italian approach to memorialisation
- Angelo Plumari, Sicilian historian, on the Language of Commemoration
- Salvatore Maltese, director of Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943
- Antonello Forestiere, Sicilian historian
- Arch Daniela Villari on Catania: A “Then and Now” told through photographs
1330 Brunch hosted by the Metropolitan City of Catania
1430 Brainstorming: A nationwide approach to memorialization
- Introduction by Major General Scardino
- The audience will be tasked to work in small groups to apply a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis methodology, to explore, through three work sessions, the feasibility and benefits of a national system for memorialisation.
- Facilitator: Mr Robert Desourdis
1630 Summary of the Workshop
1645 Closing remarks by Steve Gregory
1800 Presentation and national preview screening of the documentary film (Room C1-1200):
- For Freedom. The secret war of OSS in Italy 1943-1945
- Written and directed by Ezio Costanzo, (90 minute Italian language with English subtitles)