After the great success in Italy, the 5 Color Festival, conceived by Maria Teresa Carpino, president of the Pancrazio Foundation, made its debut in the United States, with a unique formula that combines food education, sports and entertainment for families and children.
The activities began on Friday, November 14 at the headquarters of the General Consulate of Italy, in the presence of guests and institutional representatives. Among them, Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele, the Ambassador of Italy to the United Nations, Maurizio Massari, the Director of the ICE of New York, Erica Di Giovancarlo, the representative of the CONI in the United States, Mico Licastro.
The project wanted to bring the Italian tradition of the Mediterranean Diet to the American community. One of the central moments of the day was the awarding of Lidia Bastianich, for its contribution to the spread of Italian cuisine in the world. The famous chef retraced his career, telling how gastronomic excellence can become a vehicle of culture and national identity.
The event also attended two classes of the Italian School Guglielmo Marconi while the round table, moderated by journalist Francesca Di Matteo, saw interventions by Raffaella Cappello, International Advisor of the Fondazione Pancrazio, Perla Boccaccini, head of the Department of Health Promotion and Life Skills of the Foundation, and Jacqueline Luna, ambassador of Project 5 Colori.
The Festival of 5 Colors was born with the aim of educating children and families to the principles of well-being, conscious nutrition and the Mediterranean Diet. The five colors — green, red, orange, purple and white — simply represent groups of fruits and vegetables, transforming food into a universal educational language.
“When we started there were few schools involved, today they are more than seven hundred. Presenting the Festival at the Consulate of Italy, with a full hall and participation, was exciting”, said Maria Teresa Carpino. «To see children and parents participating in the activities in Central Park has made visible the goal of our project. This first edition in the United States is only the beginning of a journey that will continue in the years both in Rome and in New York, in collaboration with schools and institutions”.
The New York day has alternated interactive workshops, recreational-sporting activities, creative workshops and moments of scientific dissemination, coordinated by experts such as Paolo Tartamela, sports manager for the Festival, and Antonio Fini, director of the School Fini Dance New York, along with the dancer Nona Chong Jimenez and the Italian dancers Martina Barone and Mario Tedesco, who have led workshops of lazzica, tarantella and hip-hop for children.
The success of the first US edition confirms the Festival of 5 Colors as an innovative model of education, prevention and cultural involvement. After New York, the project will stop in Washington, where Ambassador Marco Peronaci will be welcomed, consolidating the mission of the Pancrazio Foundation: educate children to a healthy and conscious life through the Mediterranean Diet, creativity and universal values such as friendship, solidarity and respect.
Thanks to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the project integrates training, entertainment and promotion of Made in Italy, offering the smallest innovative tools such as the animated series created with Warner Bros/Discovery, illustrated books, guides for teachers and experiential laboratories. The “Di5 – Create Your Story” competition invites children from all over the world to invent adventures with the Super Five, which will become official episodes of the series on Frisbee Canal.
In just four years, the project involved 10 Italian regions, 90 municipalities, 200 schools and 760 classes, reaching over 20,000 students. The educational method, based on a multisensory approach, promotes the discovery of foods in a natural, creative and shared way, making the food balanced a pleasant experience. Scientific research confirms that adherence to the Mediterranean Diet reduces the risk of chronic diseases and decreases general mortality by 23%, stressing the importance of spreading this lifestyle even globally.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said: “Enhancing Made in Italy means promoting our cultural identity, made of quality, tradition and innovation. The project Five Colors perfectly represents this spirit”.
The Ambassador to the USA, Marco Peronaci, added: “Let us promote here the principles of the Mediterranean Diet to approach the American audience, beginning with the younger ones, our lifestyle and the excellence of our agro-food chain”.
Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele stressed the educational importance of the initiative: “Initiatives such as this represent Italy and its values at best”.
Ambassador to the UN Maurizio Massari highlighted the international scope of the project, wishing the institution of 16 November as International Day of the Mediterranean Diet, already proposed by Italy at the UN General Assembly.
Finally, the ICE Director, Erica Di Giovancarlo, and the representative of the US CONI, Mico Licastro, reiterated the importance of combining healthy nutrition and sport, underlining how the Festival of 5 Colors promotes universal values of health, participation and well-being.
L’articolo The 5 Color Festival comes to New York, the first U.S. edition of culture, sport and well-being proviene da IlNewyorkese.
