COMMUNICATION FOR ASSOCIATED CHOIRS

The Federation of Italian Choirs Chorus Inside, in order to support the Italian chorality and to make accessible the information related to our Sector, informs all the associated Choirs that the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has published the notice for the assignment and disbursement of contributions to the show provided for by Article 89 D.L. 17 March 2020 nr.18 – D.M. 23 April 2020 (in an amount not exceeding 10,000.00 euros for each beneficiary). Interested choirs can contact our. offices for assistance and collaboration in the presentation of projects. For the purposes of access to the contribution, the application, signed by the legal representative of the proposing body, under penalty of exclusion, must be submitted by 4 pm on 25 May 2020. Link

BUT WHO ARE WE? Now everything is finally clear. We could not understand why in no ministerial ordinance, in any communication, in any Decree, the “Choral” Category appeared … even in the stated reopenings of activities in Phase 2 there is no mention of the CORO category. The category of the Show is named with all its employees, theaters, musicians, event agencies, cinemas … but NEVER the word CORO was spoken. We asked ourselves a thousand questions and as a Federation we strongly demanded answers from the highest institutions that, through officials and managers, finally pronounced themselves, clarifying the real reason for this colossal exclusion. IN A NUTSHELL “WE ARE NOT RECOGNIZED AS A CATEGORY”!! The Choirs are seen as territorial entities that basically carry out playful, artistic, cultural activities but completely amateur and spontaneous, without coordination or organic connection. We are disconcerted and embittered by these considerations and we have expressed this openly by sending our demands to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Culture, the Secretariats, the Commissions and many Leaders of various Ministries. Obviously we speak on behalf of our associated choirs (which grow daily in number). In summary, we claim our belonging to a CATEGORY of absolute importance for the country… a Category that produces CULTURE, that intervenes in the SOCIAL, that protects the TRADITIONS of the territories, that promotes quality TOURISM, that UNITES peoples with singing and that exports the richest MUSICAL HERITAGE in the World. We are not a “niche” of the Society but a huge number of citizens who have made chorality their reason for living, investing their resources and their time, to keep alive one of the cultural and traditional events that characterize Italy abroad. As Federazione Cori Italiani Chorus Inside, we therefore claim the role of CATEGORY for what has been done over the years by our Choirs and for the close bond that in fact unites every choral reality … WE ARE NOT DISTINCT ENTITIES without connection but each of our collectives manifests the same needs, the same motivations, the same social dynamics. Our Federation is committed, with all its strength, to coordinate, support, promote and provide services not for a single choir but for an entire choral category. From the analysis we carried out on over 500 choirs, it emerged that many collectives risk dissolving and disappearing due to the scarcity of funds to manage the resumption of activities as well as for the objective difficulty in overcoming the fear of contagion in normal social relations. We risk seeing a piece of Italian culture disappear, a centuries-old heritage built on the basis of the most authentic Italian regional traditions. We cannot accept it without opposing remedies or interventions to support the Choirs in this moment of crisis and epochal upheavals. We therefore ask the government institutions to recognize us as a COLLECTIVE ENTITY and to evaluate the right support FOR ALL CHOIRS so that they can resume their important role in our Society. This time we will not sing but if necessary we will scream our reasons! Of course we will keep you updated on developments. Thanking you for the affection you show us every day, I send you the strongest choral embrace! Davide Recchia President of the Federation of Italian Choirs Chorus Inside APS – Ente Terzo Settore Link

Let’s finally start moving!! We participated in the interesting Conference call called by the Municipal Administration of Rome in which the foundations were laid for the next choral events (Eureka projects and Roman Summer). We report below the intervention of our delegate, Luigi Ferrante, to whom goes my personal thanks for the availability and professionalism demonstrated, and the summary of what was expressed by the Deputy Mayor Luca Bergamo and the other administrators: LUIGI FERRANTE: Our Federation reiterates the need for a protocol that favors the conduct of concerts at least outdoors and a planning of all the scheduled choral events. It is proposed the establishment of a Calendar where each choir can insert its event … “what I do tonight” could be a functional calendar title for users. Given the decision of the municipal administration to carry out the first outdoor cultural activities, we also propose to use the city’s parks for this purpose. The “Choir in the park” could be the theme… Given the important number of parks in Rome, which presumably will be full of people finally free to leave their homes, the idea is to do Concerts or even “Open Outdoor Rehearsals” involving anyone who wants to try their hand at singing … a system that could give new “life” to the choirs. We also call for necessary measures to reduce bureaucracy and costs for municipal taxes (e.g. the abolition of taxes on the occupation of public land and contracts with energy providers). Finally, non-repayable contributions are absolutely necessary to support choral associations burdened by monthly management costs (rents for example) and in difficulty due to long inactivity. Support is also desirable for music writers and choir directors. LUCA BERGAMO: Municipalities have specific limits for the disbursement of funds to support income, and cannot cancel TARI or other taxes … however, they can provide dedicated funds to support activities. Culture, sport and tourism were the first activities to be closed and will be the last to be reopened. The Cura Italia Decree, while dealing in part with entertainment, cinema and audiovisual, does not cover intermittent or occasional work and does not give room for maneuver to municipalities. It was therefore requested an extension to these professional figures and to be able to transfer the tax credit to the bank. Minister Franceschini has secured 20 million measures for the non-repayable FUS for the activities carried out between January and February, and 13 M.ni of additional funding to cover copyright have been requested. Rules were required for the full disbursement of the FUS with liquidity during the year. It was also requested that the funds are not only for the workers of the show and that the Enpals Special Allowance, not only for 30 days … Emergency income can perhaps be used. It is proposed that the redundancy fund should also be extended to intermittent workers in SMEs. The Municipality of Rome has given impetus to the liquidations of the 2019 reports and the Eureka and Estate Romana projects have been confirmed, for the entire three-year period 2020-2022 The suspension of TARI and rentals has begun. Possibility of financing not only projects, but programs. Cultural activities are financed by tourist taxes, with the consequence that Rome will lack about 90 M.ni of € that will try to cover without going into deficit, with a specific request to the Government. Eleonora Guadagno There is a continuous dialogue that has been activated since the beginning with the national government and this meeting is the first of a series that wants to bring the municipality closer to cultural realities. Emiliano Paoletti Possibility to send projects via PEC is not possible (some comments express perplexity)… It is necessary to send them as registered mail also with home collection for a cost of € 3.5. The three-year nature of the project is confirmed The three-year period of the Roman Summer is safeguarded In the past, intervention in the public sector has been progressively reduced in favor of the evolution of the private sector. This mode is incompatible with the current state of the country. The contribution of culture to the development of society is decisive. But there will be no future if we do not intervene in a capillary but systemic way at the level of government, both national and local. Link