As part of the civil and military cooperation projects that the Italian contingent has been conducting for some time to support the Lebanese population, the knowledge of reciprocal cultures, as well as being an element of aggregation between peoples, is a determining factor for a more incisive and widespread penetration in the social dynamics by the peacekeepers, indispensable for the knowledge of the territory in which we operate, but it is above all an opportunity to deepen the needs and requirements of the population itself.
For this, on the initiative of the Lebanese humanitarian association Alpha, the Italian Blue Helmets have promoted with the patronage of Tibnin, one of the main inhabited centers of southern Lebanon, the cultural event Tibnin Cultural Day, where Lebanese, Italians and soldiers of different nationalities presented their own handicraft, gastronomic and musical peculiarities of their respective countries and playful activities were proposed for the little ones together with the soldiers.
One of the moments particularly appreciated by the Lebanese, which aroused considerable curiosity and interest, was that of the exchange of historical-cultural knowledge.
Currently, the Italian soldiers operating within the United Nations mission in Lebanon come for the most part from the brigade Aosta, which leads the western sector of the area of responsibility of UNIFIL (United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon) whose departments are based in Sicily.
Thanks to the common Phoenician, Lebanese and Sicilian historical roots they found themselves, in one evening, sharing traditions and peculiarities which, with the contribution of some donors from the province of Ragusa, were able to reproduce in the Land of the Cedars.
As Brigadier General Giuseppe Bertoncello, commander of the Italian contingent in Lebanon expressed, during the inaugural ribbon-cutting of the event together with the mayor of Tibnin Nabil Assad Fawaz, it is essential to share "Our cultures all together to bring prosperity and development to our peoples".
The Italian mission in Lebanon led by the brigade Aosta, in his third term in the Land of the Cedars with the colors of the United Nations, he is responsible for the Western Sector of UNIFIL in which 3800 UN peacekeepers operate in 16 of the 47 countries contributing to the UN mission and of which about 1.000 Italian soldiers are part of.
Support for the population and local institutions is one of the pillars of United Nations Security Council Resolution no. 1701 of 2006, a fundamental task that the Italian contingent carries out with a commitment also aimed at strengthening the traditional bonds of friendship that bind Lebanon and Italy.
The Italian Blue Helmets have been working to ensure stability for over 16 years in southern Lebanon, close to the Blu Line, the demarcation line with Israel.
The activities carried out in the Operative Theater are conducted under the coordination and according to the directives given by the Interoperable Summit Operations Command (COVI), led by the general of the army corps Francesco Paolo Figliuolo.
COVI is the staff body of the Chief of Defense Staff, responsible for planning, coordinating and directing military operations, national and multinational joint exercises and related activities.
