“Women have always had to carry two burdens, the private and the social. They are the backbone of societies,” Rita Levi Montalcini once said. Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, quoted her at the opening of the “More Than Us” exhibition in collaboration with Lavazza at the UN Secretariat Building. The event is part of the 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women that is taking place in the Building until March 22. The aim is to discuss and find new ways to accelerate the achievement of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal of Agenda 2030, which calls for the elimination of gender inequality.
“This exhibit is not merely a collection of stunning photographs, but it is a visual testament to the strength, courage, and influence of modern women who are actively shaping their communities,” Ambassador Massari stated in her introduction. “Each image symbolizes our commitment to promote women’s empowerment. The necessary preconditions for this are education, food, and equal access to work opportunities.”
“More Than Us” panels are on the ground floor, just past the UN HQ Delegates Entrance. During the event, Ms. Lavazza offered her signature coffee and tote bags with the same colorful pattern as the images on display. Inside the bags, guests could find the real star of the event: the 2024 calendar–where the photos are taken from–celebrating 20 years since the Giuseppe and Pericle Lavazza Onlus Foundation was founded.
The Foundation was established in 2004 to promote and implement economic, social, and environmental sustainability projects for coffee-producing communities around the world. “Firstly, we started in Africa, the only continent on Earth where the bean was born and grows spontaneously,” explained Francesca Lavazza, a member of the company’s Board of Directors. “The first mission ever was in Uganda,” Veronica Rossi, Lavazza Group Senior Sustainability Manager, continued. “Nowadays we have 33 projects in 20 countries. For each of them, there are many different programs to build and develop women’s entrepreneurship. We offer physical and mental support to about 3,000 women, victims of sexual violence. We support youth and initiatives to improve the future for the next generation.”
The concept of the 2024 calendar develops four goals: more responsibility, “the shared commitment to offering tangible solutions to a need that comes from the individual;” more sustainability, “a protection mechanism that starts from objectives and intentions and translates into strategies and actions;” more innovation, “synonymous with legacy and change, a continuously evolving history timeline;” more inspiration, “a process that can transform something that is expected to be powerful into something extraordinary.”
“We must invest in women, or else it is just a waste of potential,” Melissa Fleming relaunched. The Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications recalled and commented on, her own experience. After long helping girls emerge and study in Afghanistan, now the ruling Taliban are suppressing them. “Instead, if we support them, all of us would benefit. Then they are oppressed, the whole world loses,” Ms. Fleming remarked.
