Discover the Programme for Courage, EMERGENCY’s 2026 Festival
Festival events will take place across the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy, from 4-6 September. Check out the programme below. Note that many of the listed events will be available via simultaneous translation.
Palazzo Da Mosto, 3.30 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGETOGETHER: SO FAR, SO CLOSE A special guided exhibition preview with Professor Painé Cuadrelli and IED representatives Palazzo Dossetti Courtyard (Viale Allegri, 9), 5.30 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGETHE FEAR THAT LINGERS: LIVES AND HEALTH IN TODAY’S AFGHANISTAN With Orzala Nemat, independent researcher; Dejan Panic, EMERGENCY’s Country Director in Afghanistan; and Dr Marwa D/O Mohammad Yasin, gynaecologist at EMERGENCY’s Maternity Centre in Anabah (via video link) With a video contribution from Diego Ibarra Sanchez, documentary photographer and filmmaker Moderated by Giampaolo Musumeci, journalist at Radio 24Geographies of courage #Afghanistan #EMERGENCY Piazza Casotti, 6.00 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGECOURAGE, RESISTANCE AND SURVIVAL IN WAR With Yousra Elbagir, journalist at Sky NewsThe world, intensely #Sudan #forgottencrisis Piazza Prampolini, 6.30 pm | ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLETHE COURAGE TO BE THERE: EMERGENCY TELLS ITS STORY Featuring Rossella Miccio, President of EMERGENCY; Giorgio Monti, EMERGENCY’s Medical Coordinator in Gaza; Michela Paschetto, EMERGENCY’s Director of Nurses and Allied Health Professionals; and Svetlana Tertychna, EMERGENCY’s Field Officer in Ukraine Moderated by Tonia Cartolano, Editor-in-Chief of Sky Tg24Dialogues against war #courage #EMERGENCY Piazza San Prospero, 11.00 pm to 1.00 am DANCE LIKE NO TOMORROW Music by DJ MazZz in collaboration with The Riff#danceitout #pop
Piazza San Prospero, 8.00 am PRACTISE TO RECONNECT* Hatha Yoga class with Paola Crisafi, Hatha yoga teacher *This class will be led in Italian but is open to all. Please bring your own yoga mat. When you wake up #selfcare Palazzo Dei Musei, 10.00 am REVELATIONwith Lorenzo Meloni | ENGLISH LANGUAGE A special guided tour led by the artist Lorenzo Meloni of his major photographic exhibition, Revelation, developed in collaboration with EMERGENCY Teatro San Prospero (Via Guidelli, 5), 11.15 am NO GOOD MEN by Shahrbanoo Sadat (Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, 2026) Original version (Farsi) with English subtitles (1h 43min) Courageous glimpses Viale Allegri, 8, 12.15 pm | ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLESUDAN: WHO HAS THE COURAGE TO STAY With Rossella Miccio, President of EMERGENCY; Elena Giovanella, Medical Coordinator at EMERGENCY’s Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Khartoum; Roberto Crestan, EMERGENCY’s Director of the African Network of Medical Excellence (ANME); and Samir Ibrahim Alabed, EMERGENCY’s Logistician in Sudan Moderated by Laura Silvia Battaglia al-Jalal, journalist and documentary filmmaker In class with EMERGENCY #ANME #EMERGENCY Piazza Martiri del 7 Luglio, 2.15 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGECALL TO ARTS – LEAVE YOUR MARK AGAINST WAR with ivan A participatory public artwork inviting visitors to contribute to a collective visual statement against war. Guided by street poet ivan and EMERGENCY volunteers, participants are encouraged to draw, write and leave their own message on a large, shared canvas, creating a space for reflection, creativity and public engagement. Viale Allegri, 8, 3.30 pm | ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLECONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION TO WAR IS A RIGHT With Simonetta Gola, Director of Communications at EMERGENCY, and legal experts Domenico Gallo, Alessandra Algostino and Veronica Dini Featuring a contribution from Oren Ziv, journalist at +972 Magazine (via video link) Moderated by Claudio Jampaglia, journalist at Radio Popolare and co-coordinator of the R1PUD1A campaign Palazzo Dossetti Courtyard (Viale Allegri, 9), 5.30 pm | ENGLISH TRANSLATION AVAILABLEWars Over Water and Natural Resources With Lorenzo Tondo, journalist and correspondent at The Guardian, and Lorenzo Meloni, Magnum photographer Featuring a video contribution from Yousra El Halees, EMERGENCY’s Logistician in Gaza Moderated by Giampaolo Musumeci, journalist at Radio 24 Geographies of courage #environment #climatechange Piazza Prampolini, 8.00 pm | AI TRANSLATION AVAILABLEPresentation of the Seietrenta XL Episode Dedicated to Gino Strada With Mario Calabresi, president and editorial director at Chora&Will Media and other guests Piazza Fontanesi, 11.00 pm to midnight DJ SET in collaboration with Radio Bruno and the Piazza Fontanesi Traders’ CommitteeDance like no tomorrow #danceitout #pop
Piazza San Prospero, 8.00 am COME ON, BREATHE!* A unique awakening for the mind, led by Erica Monti, a Kundalini and Yin teacher, and Federico Taddia, a writer and cultural cross-pollinator. *This class will be led in Italian but is open to all. When you wake up #selfcare Piazza Casotti, 11.15 am | ENGLISH LANGUAGEVISIONING PROCESSES, PEACE PROCESSES With Ben Acheson, independent researcher and former NATO official The world, intensely #peacestudies Viale Allegri, 8, 12.15 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGEUKRAINE: TACKLING ISOLATION With Daria Rieznik, EMERGENCY’s Field Officer in Ukraine; Svitlana Tertychna, EMERGENCY’s Field Officer in Ukraine; Luca Rifiorati, EMERGENCY’s Project Coordinator in Ukraine; and Alessandro Lamberti-Castronuovo, EMERGENCY’s Primary Healthcare Focal Point Moderated by Laura Silvia Battaglia al-Jalal, journalist and documentary filmmaker A lecture with EMERGENCY #Ukraine #EMERGENCY Palazzo Da Mosto, 2.00 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGEA COFFEE WITH… An informal conversation with Dejan Panic, EMERGENCY’s Country Director in Afghanistan Un caffè con… #afghanistan #EMERGENCY Piazza Casotti, 3.15 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGESHAPING THE FUTURE: 5 YEARS OF EMERGENCY IN UGANDA With Robert Mugabe, EMERGENCY’s social worker in Uganda The world, intensely #Uganda #EMERGENCY Palazzo Dossetti Courtyard (Viale Allegri, 9), 5.30 pm | ENGLISH LANGUAGESTAYING AND CARING: THE COURAGE OF SUDAN With Yousra Elbagir, journalist at Sky News, and Suha Abdelwahab Abdalla Hassan, Head of EMERGENCY’s OAT Clinics in Khartoum Featuring a video contribution from photographer Faiz Abubakr Mohamed-Hamed Presented by Giampaolo Musumeci, journalist at Radio 24 Geographies of courage #Sudan #EMERGENCY
*We are continuing to update this page; the full programme schedule will be available in the coming weeks.
COURAGE The 2026 EMERGENCY Festival
4–5–6 September
Every year, the EMERGENCY Festival brings together journalists, philosophers, writers, representatives of EMERGENCY and leading contemporary voices.
Join us in Reggio Emilia for three days of exploring peace, rights and culture, with more than 50 events and thousands of supporters.
This year, we’ll discuss courage. What it means to invest in people, rather than weapons. To provide care, to cross a border, to object to war, to take a stand.
Together, we’ll foster an environment for collective reflection on peace and the practice of human rights, and to offer keys for interpreting – and acting – to build a better world.
Becoming a friend and partner is an opportunity to support EMERGENCY and associate your company and brand with a major event, where distinguished guests lead the conversation on some of the most important the issues of our time: access to care, conflict, migration.
These are the very same themes and values found across all of EMERGENCY’s humanitarian work, and with which the supporting company also chooses to align itself.
