Pavia. Municipality sponsors Arcigay

PAVIA The ten-day standoff between the city council, the Anti-Discrimination Office of the Pavia City Council's Department for Equal Opportunities, and Arcigay over the denied, and now granted, sponsorship for the Diversity Festival, supported by the National Anti-Discrimination Office and the province, has ended well. Ten associations and the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) communities, as well as those with disabilities, foreigners, women, and men of all ages, races, and religions, will gather in the square at 3:00 PM for the third year in a row to demonstrate that a little respect and tolerance are all it takes to live side by side. Flyers—paid for by Arcigay—are already posted around the city with the festival's program and the city's logo bordered in black. As Councilor Cristina Niutta wrote to the help desk associations, the city would not grant Arcigay sponsorship due to the positions expressed by one of its members, Giuseppe Polizzi, on his personal Facebook profile regarding the national UDC party, which was accused of homophobia, and other comments about the center-right and gays. The city had recommended that the request be submitted by another association, but the revolt erupted. Now the city has reconsidered: "The City of Pavia, at its council meeting on May 29, granted sponsorship to the "Diversity Festival" initiative, which will see the participation of numerous associations affiliated with the Anti-Discrimination Help Desk, with the aim of raising awareness among citizens and increasing the will to combat all forms of discrimination. The program was recognized as being in line with the spirit and objectives promoted through the Help Desk." "We are satisfied. We thank the gay community of Pavia, civil society, and the associations working for diversity who have made their voices heard and shown their support for the association and myself in recent days,’ said Giuseppe Polizzi, founding member of Arcigay Pavia. «Now is the time to work to ensure that similar things don’t happen again.“.