For a society free from mafia, corruption and all forms of illegality
Libera is a network of associations, social cooperatives, movements and groups, schools, unions, dioceses, parishes, and scout groups, involved in a commitment not only against mafias, corruption, crime and those who feed them, but also strongly 'for': for social justice, the search for truth, the protection of rights, transparent politics, a democratic legality based on equality, a living and shared memory, and for a citizenship that lives up to the spirit and hopes of the Constitution.
Established in 1995, over the years it has maintained its ethical and practical orientations. The first focus is continuity. Good starting ideas must be realized with tenacity and daily commitment. The second is its proposal. The fight against mafias and corruption cannot be based solely on indignation: it must follow the proposal and the project. The third is the that is, sharing and co-responsibility. Mafias and corruption are not only a criminal issue, but also a social and cultural one, to be tackled by joining forces.
Presence of Libera in the territory
It is present throughout Italy in 20 regional coordination groups, 82 provincial coordination groups and 278 local groups. 80 international organizations belong to the Libera Internazionale network, in 35 countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America.
More than 4,000 young people participate in the commitment and training camps on confiscated assets every summer. About a thousand of them coordinate environmental protection projects in collaboration with the Forestry Carabinieri. More than 5,000 schools and university faculties are engaged with Libera in the construction and implementation of training and education courses on accountability and democratic legality, with the involvement of thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and university professors.
Libera carried out an initial census of successful experiences of social use of confiscated assets, the result of a law for which, in 1995, it promoted a petition that collected one million signatures: over 650 associations and cooperatives are the assignees of assets in Italy; these deal with inclusion and services to people, job reintegration, youth training and gathering, urban and cultural regeneration, and supporting victims and their families.
Remembrance and Commitment: Libera's Pillars
Libera considers it important to keep alive the memory and remembrance of the mafias’ innocent victims. These men, women and children have lost their lives at the hands of mafia violence, to defend our freedom, our democracy. This is a shared and responsible memory thanks to the testimony of their relatives, who strive to keep their loved ones’ ideals and dreams alive.
Every year, on 21 March, the first day of spring, on the Day of Remembrance and Commitment in memory of the mafias’ innocent victims, in many places in our country and abroad, all the names of the mafias’ innocent victims are read out loud. It is a long list, recited as an endless civil rosary, to make them live again, to never let them die. It starts on the 21 March, to continue on the remaining 365 days of the year, because only by making memory an instrument of commitment and responsibility is the seed of a new hope planted.
