PEOPLE TAKE SELFIES EVERYWHERE OF EVERTHING, ALONE OR NEXT TO A CELEBRITY. THE SYMBOLA FOUNDATION, HEADED BY ERMETE REALACCI HAS CHOSEN “10 SELFIES 2017” OF ITALY’S STRENGTHS TO HELP RESTART IT, INCLUDING AGRICULTURE

People take selfies of anything and everywhere, a dish at the restaurant or next to a celebrity, so the Symbola Foundation has decided to indicate the ones that identify Italy’s strengths with "10 selfies 2017". “Ten shots of a country that is ready to start up again: Italy can beat the storm and this is the best answer to the crisis and our identity that is looking to the future”, said the president of the Foundation, Ermete Realacci. This sort of "2.0 ten commandments" list applied to the future of Italy, of course, had to include the agricultural and food sector.

“Italy leads with 68 products quality agribusiness products. Our agriculture”, writes Symbola, “ is more sustainable and safer. Sixteen Italian agro food products are number one on international markets; pasta, tomatoes and other vegetables, vinegar, oil and beans are all champions in the world market share. And there are 52 others, which are in second or third place, meaning we are on the world trade podium with over 68 products. Italy is the strongest country in the world for "distinctive" products. It is first in food, 292 PDO / PGI / TSG, and wine, 523 DOC / DOCG / IGT. Italy's organic agricultural area is the second largest in Europe, and it has the highest number of companies in the sector”.

Agriculture is, therefore, one of the 10 points to restart Italy, which is “one of the five countries, after China, Germany, South Korea and Japan, to boast a production surplus higher than 100 billion dollars”. And, Symbola adds, “its "Green economy" is also one of its strengths, as well as being number one in the world for number of UNESCO sites, photovoltaic systems, and European leader in energy efficiency and emissions. Further, there is also its circular economy, a model of sustainability, which sees its group companies among the most competitive in the world, and so on.

“We have to look to our strengths to revive the economy and meet world challenges, all the while never forgetting our antique burdens and today’s myriad of problems. We can start by looking confidently towards the future”, said the president of Symbola, Ermete Realacci, “while not renouncing our soul. Italy is competitive thanks to cohesion, concern for the human factor and its strong relationship with territories and communities. Italy can be a stronger and together a socially more sustainable outpost of that economy that emerged from the Paris Agreement, confirmed at the COP22 in Marrakech, on climate, as we have read in the auspices of Pope Francis. Its economy can provide adequate response to the new demands of global consumers in the XXI century - equity, sustainability, and beauty. These are the themes that Italy must put at the center of its government and the G7 it will host in May”.