Mission and Objectives

The Award recognizes Italian individuals or groups of people – particularly from the public administration or private companies - who have distinguished themselves for the defence of the rule of law through integrity, responsibility and professionalism, even in adverse conditions due to "environmental contexts", or specific situations, which generated pressure towards illegal conducts.

The objective of the Award is to help activate virtuous circuits of affirmation and reaffirmation of the rule of law and practices of legality. Its scope is the modernization of the Public Administration and the strengthening of mechanisms aimed at fostering business conduct based on ethics. It does not include general and abstract moralistic connotations, but rather the enhancement of concrete works and contributing to the emergence of cultural and regulatory contexts that encourage ethical practices, making them as sustainable as possible, as well as "rewarding".

Context and historical-cultural premises

At the same time, the Prize aims to be one of the "places" capable of contributing to the reflection on a series of in-depth studies of merit, both cultural and historical, that will allow the Prize to be developed in a conscious and appropriate manner with respect to those elements, including political history, ideas and mentalities, that characterize the contemporary and past Italian scenario.

Reflections such as, for example, "How could an event like the one experienced by Giorgio Ambrosoli happen at that time?", or "What is the historical parable of the concept of the rule of law in our country?", or "How come beyond the intuitions and initiatives of individuals, the conditions for an initiative like the Award are now ripe?", and other reflections that will emerge, are an integral part of the Award. It is proposed that over time they find a set of considerations and qualified insights.

The Award therefore intends to interact in a non-impromptu way with witnesses, protagonists, scholars, experts in the subjects concerned, so that the awareness-raising is substantial and not "by slogan", becoming assets that are shared as much as possible in a logic of confrontation and "team" between the various actors of the community life.

The "orientations of thought"

The Award is born with reference to cultures, ideas, ways of thinking and interpreting the rules of coexistence, community life, social processes in their complexity, articulations, and physiological conflicts, of different extractions and origins, which place the emphasis on one hand on the centrality of values - including dialogue as a method - for another on avoiding the genericities that sometimes from the proponents of values derive from it. In this sense, specific concreteness must be attributed to the theme of "values", indicating what they are, with reference to which contexts, which behaviors, and with what tools, procedures and feasible paths.. It is therefore a question of indicating as underlying to the Award a "set of concrete values", which can be clearly ascribed to the figure and work of Giorgio Ambrosoli. Among them four appear to be of particular importance: the functionality of compliance with the rules for cohabitation, the ability to place oneself also at the service of the community, the exercise of responsibility as a basic "principle" and professionalism as a characterizing requisite, of integrity as a synthesis value of behaviors consistent with these values.

(Extracts from the Project Document approved by the Promoters)