Autore: curzio@trh.it

Una mostra fotografica che è anche un’immersione insolita nelle isole Seychelles. Una rassegna che mette al centro i volti di chi ci abita e che rispecchiano al contempo la grande ricchezza culturale e folkloristica che caratterizza queste isole nel mezzo dell’oceano indiano. Isole la cui bellezza naturalistica è usata spesso come biglietto da visita per attirare e stimolare il viaggio verso quelle terre tanto sperdute quanto famose.

Il titolo della mostra fa riferimento a un tipo di pacchetto in cui tutto è compreso nel prezzo, dal viaggio, al pernottamento fino alle persone che ci vivono, ai loro sguardi. Questa scelta riflette l’esperienza vissuta dal fotografo Alessandro Asciutto negli uffici di un tour operator, dove ha assimilato l’estetica pubblicitaria dei luoghi turistici rappresentata sotto forma di cartoline, brochure e cataloghi nello stile patinato che caratterizza le sedi delle agenzie turistiche ormai sempre più rare.

Il pubblico viene accolto in un contesto di artificio paradisiaque, dove la linea guida viene dettata da Pessoa: “I viaggi sono i viaggiatori. Ciò che vediamo non è ciò che vediamo, ma ciò che siamo.“ Lo spazio espositivo viene trasformato in un’agenzia di viaggio, un luogo di lavoro nel quale osservare a distanza ravvicinata le opere fotografiche ha la funzione di accendere il desiderio di essere trasportati altrove. Il lavoro di Alessandro Asciutto riflette sulla volatilità del turismo, sul rapporto tra arte e viaggio. La galleria d’arte non è più uno spazio contemplativo ma un luogo di artificio in cui si è stimolati a comprare un’esperienza, il viaggio.

Alessandro Asciutto è regista, fotografo e pubblicitario d’origine argentina, nato e cresciuto ad Atene, poi trasferitosi tra Roma e Londra, nella quale si è laureato in Management and International Business. Successivamente, sempre in Inghilterra, completa un Master in Marketing, mentre nel 2015 consegue un ulteriore Master in Filmmaking presso l’Università di Roma Tre. Nello stesso anno scrive e dirige il cortometraggio ‘Boccacce’, proiettato in diversi festival internazionali e dirige diversi spot pubblicitari. Nel 2016, al 73° festival del cinema di Venezia, il suo cortometraggio ‘La danza dell’amore’ vince il premio Bookciak! Nello stesso periodo inizia la sua collaborazione con i musei: durante la permanenza al Macro sviluppa il documentario ‘Roma Pop City’ e crea uno spot per la Galleria Nazionale. In collaborazione con l’artista greco Miltos Manetas crea un progetto di video arte al MAXXI. Nel 2018 inizia la produzione del documentario sulla balletstar Petra Conti. Nel 2020 il progetto di Virtual Reality ‘Eva&Eva’ viene proiettato durante il festival di Venezia, dove la protagonista vince il premio Log to Green. Nel 2021 a Roma partecipa alla mostra collettiva Realtà Aumentate presso Cappella Orsini. Nello stesso anno vince la residenza presso il Pigneto Film Festival in cui realizza il corto Delizia. Nel 2023, si trova nuovamente al Pigneto con questa mostra fotografica presso lo Studio DBF di Alberto di Fabio, celebre pittore romano.

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The Consul attended the the Seychelles Diplomatic Cocktail Reception held on Friday 17th February 2023 hosted by Minister Sylvestre Radegonde about the Multipolarity: Seychelles’ Place in the Emerging World Order

Click to read the speech delivered by Minister Sylvestre Radegonde

Read about the new biometric passport.

“The Government of Seychelles has introduced new biometric Diplomatic, Official and Ordinary passports as of 16 November 2022, replacing the existing passport of 1997.

The new passports issued by the Immigration and Civil Status Department are highly secured, containing polycarbonate biographic (data) pages with the latest generation of security features, and are compliant with the standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)….”

A closing ceremony took place today to mark the end of the Honorary Consuls Conference at Savoy Resort & Spa.

The three-day symposium, based on the theme “Harnessing Opportunities through Diplomatic Relations”, explored opportunities to bring additional benefits in various areas of national importance to Seychelles.

Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Vivianne Fock Tave highlighted the key points of the conference. “The last three days have allowed us to reconnect in person as a group after four years to deliberate on many issues, share views and experiences with the aim of charting a way forward on how to harness opportunities through diplomatic relations.” She noted that the contribution during the meetings has enriched the vision of how to move forward whilst facing the post-COVID challenges and other international factors. Ambassador Fock Tave emphasized on the visit in the districts marking it as the highlight of the conference.

Addressing the Honorary Consuls and Honorary Consul General, Minister Radegonde reiterated the importance of their role in promoting Seychelles’ Foreign Policy and protecting the interest of the Seychellois people abroad. He also encouraged the consuls to liaise with the Seychelles embassies in their jurisdictions in order to maintain this network. He also sought their support toward advocating for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index on international platforms for the benefit of Small Island Developing States, such as Seychelles. “I hope that through this conference, you would have understood this country better and what the new Administration is trying to do to take Seychelles forward.”

On behalf of the President of the Republic and Government of Seychelles, Minister Radegonde expressed his gratitude for all the work put in place to further Seychelles’ interest and officially declared the conference close.

It was also attended and moderated by the Seychelles Ambassadors and Senior Officials of the Foreign Affairs Department. A total of 72 Honorary Consuls, Consul Generals and Honorary Consul designated attended the aforementioned conference.

The highlight of the Honorary Consuls Conference 2022 was undoubtedly the district visit on the second day of the Conference which stemmed from the “Adopt a District” concept officially announced at the Honorary Consul’s Conference held virtually in October 2021. FAD implemented the concept in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs.

All Honorary Consuls had the opportunity to visit various projects proposed by the management of their adopted districts and discussed the best ways they can assist.

About Perseverance District Project supported by our Consulate in Italy

The President of the Republic, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan was the guest of honour at the opening ceremony of the biennial Honorary Consuls conference at the Savoy Hotel and Spa, Beau Vallon, this morning. The 3-day conference taking place under the theme “’Harnessing Opportunities through Diplomatic Relations”, is being organize the Department of Foreign Affairs seeing the participation of honorary consuls of Seychelles around the world.

Prior to attending the ceremony, the Head of State and The First Lady, Mrs. Linda Ramkalawan hosted a cocktail reception at State House yesterday evening where he officially launched the Conference.

During his address that evening, the President thanked and expressed Seychelles’ gratitude to all Honorary Consuls for the diplomatic role they are playing toward the Seychelles and its citizens. With the postponement of the previous Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he hoped that the Conference would be an opportunity for further discussion on numerous projects that will benefit the country.

President Ramkalawan also commended the Foreign Affairs Department for organising the Conference and initiating for the honorary consuls to adopt a district of their choice. “And here I want to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs for introducing a new way of working. I know that on Thursday all the consuls will be going out in the districts with a meeting with the District Administrators and Members of the National Assembly to look at projects and whatever you think you will be able to participate in. It is good that you will be in a position for you to share with our various districts how we can further enhance and strengthen the collaboration between where you are, where you are based, where you are representing Seychelles, and linking it with real people in the districts. Be it Takamaka, Baie Lazare, Grand Anse Praslin or La Digue,” said the President.

He continued, “But then you also have this diplomatic role and this is where you spent quite a bit of your time promoting Seychelles, putting forward the agenda of Seychelles. Be it looking for investors in the Blue Economy. Be it defending the vulnerability of our country. Be it encouraging tourism, or getting more visitors and here, I want to pause and say yes, through your hard work, through your promotion of Seychelles, we are now on the way back to normality. As we speak, we have surpassed the number of visitors we expected for this year, and the 258, 000 thousand mark was passed earlier this month, now we are looking at over 300,000 thousand visitors for the year 2022”

“The yield of course is much better and this is what has allowed us to be upgraded by Fitch Ratings. This is what has allowed our small country to be able to be recognized in the international arena. This is what has helped us in the various embassies; to be portrayed as a country in Africa but which performs like a developed country. So the work that you do and your contribution to our beautiful country is indeed highly noted and for this we are immensely thankful,” said President Ramkalawan.

Under his leadership and the new administration, President Ramkalawan urged the diplomats to adopt the new principles of in doing things for the country, “As a country, we believe in peace. We believe in dialogue, we believe in reconciliation and we believe that every Seychellois has a contribution to make. This is what we showed to the world and to this day Seychelles stands out as far as Africa is concerned as far as the world is a concerned and tonight I want to reaffirm our strong belief in democracy, our strong belief in peace” reaffirmed President Ramkalawan.

In his address this morning at the opening ceremony of the Plenary Session, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr. Sylvestre Radegonde again acknowledged the valuable contribution that the honorary consuls does in each of the countries that they represent Seychelles. For the defense of its interests, the constant promotion of itsimage and for the protection of the Seychellois diaspora. He further thanked them for assisting Seychelles during various difficult moments including funding towards itsvaccination campaign where he described them as “the architects of the resilience of our tourism industry and hence, the Seychellois economy,”

“This year’s Conference is being organized under the theme of “Harnessing Opportunities through Diplomatic Relations”, same theme as the Foreign Affairs Department’s Strategic Plan 2021-2025. The theme emphasizes Seychelles’ intention to capitalize on potential opportunities for the benefit of the country, to strengthen collaboration with its international partners, and to work in solidarity with them. It aims to strengthen bilateral, multilateral, and regional relations for mutual benefit, as well as to remain visible and express itself on the international arena,” said the Minister. He stressed on the important role that they play as key players in the delivery of Seychelles policies both abroad and domestically as diplomatic missions and the consular posts with dual mandate, combining traditional consular functions with the diplomatic ones. There he emphasized on the need for interaction among the local community.

“The Honorary Consuls Conference therefore offers an opportunity to each and every one of you to interact with members of the Government and public officials as well as to connect with the local communities. This interaction is crucial, as it allows you to understand how your actions are having an impact on the livelihoods of local populations and also gives the latter the opportunity to better understand your roles. -7- It is in the spirit of further enhancing this rapport between the Consuls and local communities that we have come up with the “Adopting a District” programme. This programme was launched at last year’s Consuls Conference, which was held virtually, and so this year you will get the chance to visit your adopted district. This should take you closer to the community to better understand their challenges and priorities so that you are in a better position to bring your contribution and support,” he said.

He concluded by wishing them every success in their deliberations and meetings.

The ceremony were also attended by the Vice-President of Seychelles, Mr. Ahmed Afif, Ministers, Seychellois Ambassadors, member of the Diplomatic Corps, Honorary Consuls based in Seychelles among other distinguished guests.

On the occasion of the annual “Seychelles’ Independence Day”, the baptism ceremony of the newborn “Seychelles – Italy Association” was held in Rome.

The Association has been created, on input from the Government of Seychelles, to connect Seychellois Citizens residing abroad with each other and with the Motherland.

The Association is also a vehicle for social, economic and cultural development, for the Country and for the Citizens themselves, who should become “promoters” of their Country.

The ceremony took place in the prestigious setting of the Basilica of San Saba in Rome. It opened with the guided visit of the historic Roman district of the Aventine, where the Basilica is located, managed by the Association and presented by Arch. Simona Perazzini.

A Mass was then held, officiated by the parish priest of San Saba, Father Sergio Cavicchia. After the Mass, he personally led those present for a guided visit of the complex, which is of extraordinary historical and archaeological importance and firstly settled on 700 A.C.

After the guided tour, there has been a speech. The Consul General Honorary of the Republic of Seychelles, Dott. Paolo Adelmann greeted those present. Mr. Lucio Spinelli, one of the founding members, presented the aims of the Association.

Afterwards, Ms. Monette Rose, former Director of the Seychelles Tourist Office in Rome, with competence for Italy and the Mediterranean basin, took stock of the situation of the most important industry in the Country and then passed the floor to Ms. Roberta D’Amato, of ITA Strategy, with Danielle Di Gianvito as Marketing Representative, who now holds the representation of the Seychelles Tourism Office in Rome for Italy.

In conclusion, the lawyer Valentina Iacono, presented the activities of the “Cooperative San Saturnino”, a partner of the “Seychelles- Italy Association”, which works for training people in various sectors, including work, anti-racism, protection of citizens’ rights, and it is financed with European Union funds, whose courses the Citizens can access without any cost.

We remind that the founding nucleus of the “Seychelles – Italy Association” is made up of Ms. Monette Rose, Mr. Alessandro Troisi, Mr. Paolo Bembo and Mr. Lucio Spinelli.

The evening ended with a buffet and Creole music. There were about 70 attendees.