Finally, we can proudly say that an Italian team from Selmi High School, Modena, named “Piuma d’Oro” (Golden plum), created a story that stunned the Committee. The translation was made with an essential contribution of another class (3N, linguistic branch) of the same Francesco Selmi High School. Students found out the final result during their trip to Teatro di Modena, where they had a unique opportunity to hear one of the gems of opera- Puccini’s “Turandot”.
The student’s story originates from daily actions connected to the wrong disposal of waste and deals with universal problems of illness, sense of guilt, impassivity and activism.
The main character, Perla, is a young, selfish, ignorant woman who does not care about Planet Earth as she leaves some trash on the street. She starts to evolve the moment she gets ill because of the pollution. Asking herself why it is happening to her, she falls asleep and then realises that she contributed to the environmental degradation. Perla wishes for a change, and as she hears about a severe flood in Romagna, she rushes to help. Even though the protagonist is ill, she puts all her energy into voluntary work. Luca, her new friend and activist, tries to stop her and starts explaining his activist mission: to investigate the life conditions of the people living near the graphite mines in Asia.
Unfortunately, he has to stay in Romagna and organise rescue work there. Perla insists on going in his stead. When she arrives at the village, she wants to see Dr Li, who oversees the project. But suddenly she hears some screams and sees a man hitting the Doctor and going away. Perla reaches Li to help her and ensure she is okay, and they start talking. Li explains that the man she was arguing with, Zao, is a chief of a multinational graphite extraction company, and he accused her of spreading damaging information about his business. Perla and Li become friends, and when Perla starts to feel worse, the Doctor tells her about Hemidesmus Bazzicus- a plant that could heal her- and takes the patient to a hidden botanical garden full of these plants. They are followed by Zao, who eventually confesses that he also struggles with the illness. He asked Li to help him, offering money, but the woman refused, angry after what happened. Perla, however, manages to convince her friend to help Zao, who, in gratitude, turns his company into a sustainable organisation.
Stay tuned for the stories of Polish and Finnish students!
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