July 2025
A rich programme of conferences, exhibitions, performances, and cultural, sports and children's activities, broadcast live on multiple digital channels and in several languages. The 46th edition of the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples was presented on Wednesday 9 July at 6:00 PM at the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See. After the introductory greetings by Ambassador Francesco Di Nitto, speeches were given by Alessandra Locatelli, Minister for Disabilities, Giulio Maspero, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Davide Rondoni, President of the National Committee for the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, and Bernhard Scholz, President of the Meeting.
«One of the greatest challenges of our time is to change the way we look at people: we must begin to see their potential, not their limits», said Minister Locatelli. «With the reform on disability we are implementing, and the innovative tool of the “Life Project”, we are working precisely in this direction. If we value each person’s skills and talents, if we offer chances and create opportunities, we can reverse the paradigm. Our communities will become stronger and more united, and the whole country will grow.»
Bernhard Scholz, President of the Meeting Foundation, explained: «With this Meeting we want to give visibility to experiences of sharing and hospitality, reconciliation and positivity in the “deserts” of loneliness and resignation, of conflict and war. We are confident that the testimonies in the meetings, exhibitions and the many proposals of this new edition can encourage people to face upcoming challenges with trust, to create authentic relationships in an increasingly fragmented and polarised world.»
Davide Rondoni, drawing inspiration from the exhibition “I, Brother Francis – 800 Years of a Great Adventure”, recalled: «Saint Francis is an explosion of life. There are many analogies between the fruitful and positive gaze of the Saint of Assisi and that of Don Giussani, who also gave rise to the Meeting. For the Italian government, celebrating the patron and poet of all is an opportunity for unity and mutual recognition in what binds our civilisation together. And an invitation not to have “masters” on earth.»
Another exhibition at this year’s Meeting, “Light from Light – Nicaea 1700 Years Later”, celebrates the anniversary of one of the pivotal moments in the history of Christianity. Its curator, Fr Giulio Maspero, commented: «Rowan Williams, Archbishop Emeritus of Canterbury, wrote: “False interpretations of God produce false interpretations of the human.” A statement as relevant as ever, unfortunately. We are convinced that the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples will contribute to peace by enabling personal and cultural encounters, so that we can build together “in the desert places with new bricks”. These bricks can be our relationships, whose value we rediscover by returning to the heritage that the Council of Nicaea, 1700 years ago, represents. Becoming aware that the Church has endured even strong tensions fills us with hope, especially when we compare it to the collapse of empires and powers that seemed far stronger.»
Every day of Meeting 2025 will be enriched by leading figures from the world of institutions, culture, academia, business, as well as representatives of the Church and of different religions and cultures. The Meeting will open with a testimony from mothers in the Holy Land who turned the grief of losing a child in the conflict into a journey of reconciliation. The keynote address on the theme of the Meeting will be given by Bishop Erik Varden, Bishop of Trondheim and President of the Scandinavian Bishops' Conference.
Among the institutional participants will be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (on 27 August), Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini, and Ministers Abodi, Foti, Giorgetti, Giuli, Locatelli, Lollobrigida, Piantedosi, Pichetto Fratin, Schillaci, Urso and Valditara. Also attending will be Luca Antonini, Vice President of the Constitutional Court, numerous deputy ministers and undersecretaries, Daria Perrotta, Chief Accountant of the State, many regional presidents including Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Conference of Regions, and Gaetano Manfredi, Mayor of Naples and President of Anci. Francesco Maria Chelli, President of Istat, will also be present.
On the opening day, Mario Draghi will speak on the future of Europe, one of the key topics of this edition. Several sessions will focus on the European Union and its role in new geopolitical and economic scenarios, with the presence of Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice President of the European Commission, and other MEPs and parliamentary group leaders, including Vice Presidents Pina Picierno and Antonella Sberna, and Massimiliano Salini, Vice President of the EPP. A special event with Enrico Letta will close the focus on Europe.
Of great significance will be the visit of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, H.H. Bartholomew I, who will speak at the event on the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea alongside Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. On the topic of communication and new technologies, Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, will intervene. Also participating will be Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference and Archbishop of Bologna; Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers; Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia; and Bishop Hanna Jallouf of Aleppo. Two presidents of ecclesial movements will also take part: Margaret Karram of the Focolare Movement and Davide Prosperi of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation.
Noteworthy among the guests are scientists, intellectuals and authors such as Javier Cercas, Colum McCann, and Katerina Gordeeva, winner of the 2022 Anna Politkovskaya Prize. Marking 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Meeting will host Toshiyuki Mimaki of the Nihon Hidankyo Organization, recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
Key figures of the event: The Rimini Expo Centre will span around 120,000 square meters, an increase compared to 2024. Dining areas will offer 5,000 seats, and the bookstore will occupy 1,000 sqm. The Meeting will be open every day until midnight and remains the only major Italian event with free admission and parking (9,000 spaces). Scheduled are 150 conferences with over 550 Italian and international speakers; 13 exhibitions and 17 performances, some of which will take place at the city’s Teatro Galli (tickets available via Vivaticket). The Yoga Kids Village will cover 9,000 sqm and host 240 events, including exhibitions, meetings, shows and workshops. The Enel Sport Village will span over 13,000 sqm, with the collaboration of the Italian Sports Centre, Cdo Sport and RBR Rimini Basketball. Once again, the contribution of the 3,000 volunteers from Italy and abroad will be decisive.
Partner companies number 150: main partners include Intesa Sanpaolo and Generali; official partners are Autostrade per l’Italia, Confagricoltura, Enel, Engineering, Eni, Fondazione Ania, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, Isybank and Montello; mobility partners Drivalia and Reggini; and communication partner Comin & Partners.
Institutional presence will also be significant: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will oversee a cooperation area, while the Meeting’s long-standing focus on infrastructure, transport, urban regeneration and the environment will take concrete shape through spaces dedicated to the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security. Also present at the Expo Centre will be the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Merit, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. Equally important is the participation of Italian regions: eleven will be present this year to promote their institutional activities, particularly in the sectors of tourism, food and wine, environment and energy.
Useful information about the event
Starting today, Wednesday 9 July, the programme of conferences is available on the website www.meetingrimini.org, while since May the programmes of exhibitions, performances, the Yoga Kids Village and the Enel Sport Village have been online. Also from today, the new Meeting Rimini App is available for download on Google Play, App Store and Huawei Store, in Android, iOS and HarmonyOS versions. The app, updated from 2024, is essential to attend the event: it allows entry to the Expo Centre from 22 to 27 August, booking of conferences and exhibitions, reading of news and access to extra content.
