Giulia Di Cairano: A Young Beacon of Literature and Social Issues Honored by the Italian Republic

Giulia Di Cairano is one of the 29 new Standard Bearers of the Republic honored by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. At 18 years old, originating from Calitri, a town in the province of Avellino, she uses her love for writing, especially poetry, to raise awareness on important issues such as the value of democracy, environmental protection, gender equality, and the South of Italy. From a young age, she participated in many literary contests, achieving recognition both nationally and internationally. She volunteers for a periodical, managing a column of book reviews related to the territories of the inner areas and writes for numerous newspapers and blogs. "The commitment for which I was awarded the honor of standard-bearer of the Republic by President Sergio Mattarella," explains Giulia Di Cairano, "is directed towards the fields of literature and social issues. It is an honor for me to receive this important recognition, aimed at enhancing the high humanitarian concepts to which democracy is inspired. My activity consists of many fragments scattered in poems, articles, and conferences on various topics, of which I find it difficult to draw a general design. However, that I have dedicated a good part of my adolescence to writing is evident from my biography." The young woman recalls that "at the age of eleven, I won the first prize in the regional competition 'Inno alla vita' for a poem written at ten. It was my middle school teacher who saw a potential talent in me, inviting my mother to support me." Since then, she has participated in several international poetry competitions, being awarded in five editions, from 2018 to 2022, in the San Gerardo Maiella International Prize, organized by the Unitre of Muro Lucano (PZ). In 2019, she received the Special Prize for Best Young Author in the literary competition 'Mille papaveri rossi', the Special Prize for Young People in the 'Don Luigi Di Liegro' International Competition, with a ceremony in the Capitol, an indescribable emotion, the 1st Absolute Prize for Young Poets in the 'Il Dantesco' International Competition, with a ceremony at the papal palace of Anagni, the 'Young Promises Award' in the Michelangelo Buonarroti International Competition. In the following years, she received other recognitions in the same competitions and in 2020 began volunteering at the periodical 'il Calitrano', holding a column of reviews on books related to the territories of the inner areas, to cultural particularisms, and to new and unconventional thoughts and ways of understanding the world. She also wrote other articles for newspapers and blogs, always on a voluntary basis. Examples are the reflection on the book 'Paesaggio con rovine' by Generoso Picone, journalist of 'Il Mattino', and the considerations on school after the pandemic, born after reading an article on 'Il Quotidiano del Sud', published on the same and written as a letter to the then Minister of Education Bianchi. She participated in the Festival 'Le radici delle nuvole', directed by Franco Dragone, in 2022, and in other events, "committing myself," she says, "always to raise awareness on important issues, such as the value of democracy, environmentalism, gender equality, and the South. I am enrolled in Acipea and recently became an editor at the 'Scomodo' magazine in the culture section."