To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, Mondadori Store, Italy’s largest bookstore network, is launching the awareness campaign “Facciamo luce”: a week of events, testimonies and activities designed to spark shared reflection on the issue of gender-based violence.

The initiative, which begins on Monday 17 November, highlights knowledge as one of the key tools for building a culture rooted in respect and equality. The campaign’s claim, “Facciamo luce”(Let’s shed some light), is grounded in this very principle, celebrating the power of reading, books and words as drivers of change.

The project will unfold across all physical and digital Mondadori Store channels, from bookstores to social media and the e-commerce site mondadoristore.it. Stores across the network will take part through moments of dialogue and reflection, supported by collaborations with local organisations and associations.

The “Facciamo luce” program

Starting on 17 November, a calendar of events in various Italian cities will offer opportunities to explore and discuss issues related to stereotypes, language, representation and gender relations. Authors, journalists, cultural voices and social creators will take part, with the aim of creating open, inclusive spaces for dialogue.

The thematic strands include:

“Identity and women’s stories”:

• 18 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Piazza Cola di Rienzo 81/83, in Rome, Lucia Tancredi presents her book “Ersilia e le altre”;
• 19 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Corso Porta Romana 78/80, in Milan, Jennifer Guerra leads the workshop “Dissonanti: le donne soggetti e oggetti della musica”, a conversation on how women are represented in music, between objectification and agency. Guests include: Veronica Tosetti, author, and Riccardo Burgazzi, publisher and author;
• 23 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Galleria Alberto Sordi, in Rome, within the Rewriters Festival, journalist Rory Cappelli hosts “Le donne dimenticate: riscrivere la storia. Incontro con Melania Mazzucco”.
• 25 November, Mondadori Duomo bookstore, in Milan, journalist and TV author Marta Perego moderates “Quello che le storie ci dicono”, a roundtable bringing together theatre, literature, psychology and linguistics to explore how storytelling shapes our understanding of gender differences, relationships, power, the body and freedom. Speakers include: Valeria Perdonò, actress, speaker and co-founder of AMLETA; Lorenza Gentile, writer; Valeria Locati, psychologist, psychotherapist and bibliotherapist; and Veronica Repetti, linguist and communicator.

“Domestic Violence”:

• 19 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Piazza Cola di Rienzo 81/83, in Rome, Anna Tiziana Torti and Lorenzo Greco present “La distanza che ci unisce”;
• 10 December, Mondadori Bookstore, Galleria Alberto Sordi, in Rome, Irene Vella discusses her book “Era mia figlia”.

“The grammar of masculinity”:

• 20 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Piazza Cola di Rienzo 81/83, in Rome, Jennifer Guerra leads the workshop “Spogliatoi e chat del calcetto: dove gli uomini imparano a fare gli uomini”, focusing on the models that shape male identity. Guests include: Alessio Maronn, a communicator who focuses on masculinity, and Maria Anna Di Gioia, professor and author.

“Rights and protection”:

• 21 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Galleria Alberto Sordi, in Rome, as part of the Rewriters Festival, journalist, host and human-rights activist Claudia Conte curates “Donne, diritti, dignità: educazione al rispetto e alla non violenza”. Speakers include: Marta Schifone, head of her party’s delegation on the Labour Committee at the Chamber of Deputies and first signatory of the bill establishing STEM Week; Simona Baldassarre, Lazio Regional Councillor for Culture and Youth Policies; Emanuele Prisco, Undersecretary at the Ministry of the Interior with responsibility for victims of violent crimes; and Paola Di Nicola, judge of the Court of Cassation and legal consultant to the Parliamentary Commission on Femicide.
• 23 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Galleria Alberto Sordi, in Rome, again as part of the Rewriters Festival, “La violenza informatica contro le donne: l’emergenza sociale”, curated by journalist and TV host Myrta Merlino, with Roberta Mestichella, Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Italian State Police.
• 24 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Piazza Cola di Rienzo 81/83, in Rome: Costanza Jesurum presents her book “Violenze di genere. Prevenire, comprendere, curare”.
• 27 November, Mondadori Bookstore, Galleria Alberto Sordi, in Rome, presentation of “In rivolta. Manifesto dei corpi liberi”, a collective volume whose proceeds will support WeWorld’s projects for women’s rights in Afghanistan and Palestine.

“Education is prevention”:

• 23 November, Mondadori Bookstore in Vimodrone, inside the Vimodrone Shopping Centre, in collaboration with Leo Scienza, the educational workshop “C’e una bella differenza” will explore diversity, prejudice and gender stereotypes.

The full calendar of events scheduled in bookstores across the country is available on mondadoristore.it.