Requests for funding are not enough, what is needed is a shared plan for the future, including the goals to be achieved in the mid to long term. This is the message that Gilberto Ballin, President of Acrib, wanted to send to businesses, trade unions and institutions: “We must come together as a team to construct the future of the district together”.

For years, Acrib has been a promotor of a 360°constructive dialogue for the district’s future, but now a change in pace is needed: “In recent years – explains Ballin – Acrib has had to manage the evolution of the district autonomously, despite the presence of a dedicated territorial council”. The joint body, made up by both entrepreneurs and union members, was founded in 2001 to promote and coordinate all the initiatives useful to improving the quality and efficiency of the district. “We are different subjects but promoters of the same common interests – he adds. In fact, the Riviera del Brenta footwear manufacturing industry has important repercussions not only on the social fabric of Riviera del Brenta, but also more in general on the Italian economy”

At the end of his speech, Ballin urged businesses, institutions, and trade unions to “focus their efforts in the same direction with commitment and determination”, as promoters of a kind of States-General of Riviera del Brenta Footwear: “Now, more than ever before – concludes the President of Acrib – we must be united and look to the future together”.