The Manifesto of the Fondazione Simone Cesaretti ETS: Twenty Years of Vision for a Global Culture of Sustainability

Almost twenty years after its founding, the Fondazione Simone Cesaretti ETS continues along a clear trajectory: promoting a culture of sustainability that integrates economic, social, environmental, and human dimensions. This path does not arise from a simple program of activities, but from a broader vision, encapsulated in the Foundation’s Manifesto.

The Manifesto is not a static document. Rather, it represents a cultural and civic horizon, born from the memory and experience of Simone Cesaretti, and developed over the years through the work of scholars, researchers, and young people. The origins and deeper meaning are recalled in several videos by two voices that have accompanied the Foundation since the beginning: journalist Ilaria D’Amico, a friend of Simone, and Professor Gian Paolo Cesaretti, economist and founder of the Foundation.

Revisiting these words today means understanding how the values that gave life to the Foundation have not only remained intact, but are even more necessary in an era marked by increasingly interconnected environmental, social, and economic crises. From this perspective, the Manifesto continues to point the way: building a global culture of sustainability based on knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the engagement of new generations.

The Seed of the Foundation: Youth, the Sea, and Participation
One of the most moving events celebrating the Fondazione Simone Cesaretti ETS traces its roots to the first edition of the “Youth and the Sea” event, organized in Terracina after the Foundation’s first year, in 2008 (watch the video here).

Recalling that moment, Ilaria D’Amico emphasizes that the choice of location was no coincidence. For Simone, Terracina represented much more than a simple place: it was a space for life, relationships, and discovery, the place where one could connect with the sea and the energy of the natural elements. The sea thus becomes a metaphor for openness, depth, and connection between people and the world.

From the very beginning, the Foundation’s goal was clear: to involve young people in a path of knowledge and participation. The competition organized on that occasion demonstrated the strong desire of new generations to contribute ideas and projects to building a different future.

However, the value of participation is not presented as merely an educational or cultural activity. It is something deeper: a way to activate energy, stimulate curiosity, and generate awareness. In D’Amico’s words, the portrait of Simone emerges as a person capable of continuously gathering inspiration, nurturing relationships, and transforming friendship and love for the sea into a shared energy.

The Sea Becomes a Symbol of Sustainability
The sea thus becomes almost a symbol of sustainability itself. It is a vast, complex, and fragile space at the same time, highlighting the need to think about the future in terms of balance between nature, society, and human development. The seed of the Foundation was planted right here: in the belief that the relationship between young people, knowledge, and the territory can generate a new awareness of our role in the world.

The Values of Sustainability: A Shared Vision
The Foundation’s cultural path also takes shape through the Forum organized in 2009 (watch the video here), a moment of reflection dedicated to sustainable development and the values that should guide the future of contemporary societies.

In her opening remarks, Ilaria D’Amico recalls the years of friendship with Simone Cesaretti—the years of adolescence and university—when exchanging ideas and aspirations provided fertile ground for imagining the future. Those conversations among friends, between books and moments of lightheartedness, revolved around a fundamental question: what kind of world do we want to build? Not an abstract question, but a concrete reflection on the values that should guide human development.

In this narrative, sustainability does not appear as a technical concept or merely a set of environmental policies. It is a comprehensive approach to social and economic life, capable of integrating multiple levels: the environment, the economy, the territory, as well as human relationships and personal growth.

D’Amico emphasizes a crucial point: values cannot simply be invoked in public discourse. They must be lived and translated into concrete practices. Only in this way can they become the foundation for truly sustainable development.

The Forum was created precisely with this goal: to transform insights and aspirations into a path of study and practical application. In other words, to build a space for dialogue where scholars, professionals, and young people could collaboratively develop new models of development. The Foundation thus positions itself as a place for cultural exchange and intellectual development, capable of connecting theoretical reflection with concrete action—a laboratory where the idea of sustainability becomes a shared, open, and continuously evolving process.

The Foundation’s Manifesto: Toward a Global Culture of Sustainability
If Ilaria D’Amico’s remarks convey the Foundation’s emotional and cultural origins, the words of Professor Gian Paolo Cesaretti during the same meeting (watch the video here) provide a more precise articulation of the theoretical and political vision guiding its actions.
At the core of the Manifesto is a key idea: sustainability cannot exist without recognizing the interdependence between the different dimensions of development. Economic, social, environmental, territorial, and generational aspects must be considered with equal importance. According to Cesaretti, one of the main obstacles to building a global culture of sustainability is the asymmetry between these dimensions. Contemporary society tends to favor the market and economic growth while neglecting the social and environmental balances that make truly lasting development possible.

From this arises a clear critique of the so-called “market fundamentalism”: the idea that market laws alone can constitute the sole criterion for organizing society. A market without shared rules risks conflicting with the laws of nature and the needs of social cohesion.
But this fundamentalism is not limited to the economy. Cesaretti also calls for recognizing and addressing other forms of closure: cultural, ideological, religious, ethnic, or generational. Any form of exclusion or radical opposition represents an obstacle to building a sustainable society.

For this reason, the Foundation’s Manifesto places a fundamental principle at its center: the recognition of the rights of future generations. Thinking about the future is not simply about planning economic development, but about ensuring that natural, social, and cultural resources can be passed on to those who come after us.

This vision also informs the Foundation’s working method: a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach. Economists, sociologists, biologists, doctors, scientists, and communicators must engage in dialogue, overcoming academic barriers that often hinder a complex understanding of global challenges.

The Foundation positions itself as a network hub, a meeting place for diverse expertise, capable of promoting a culture of sustainability that is simultaneously scientific, social, and human. Cesaretti uses a particularly evocative metaphor: that of a fragile plant that must be cultivated and protected. The global culture of sustainability is still young and vulnerable, but it can grow if supported by a broad and conscious community.

Nearly twenty years after its founding, the Fondazione Simone Cesaretti ETS continues to pursue this path. The Manifesto is not merely a statement of intent: it is an ongoing invitation to research, dialogue, and shared responsibility.