The Sicily 1943 Peace, Security & Prosperity Conference 7-8 July 2023

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by Rob Drew

The Sicily 1943 Peace, Security & Prosperity Conference 7-8 July 2023
Le Ciminiere Festival Centre, Catania

The Sicily 1943 Peace, Security & Prosperity conference is being held in the Le Ciminiere Festival Centre in Catania on 7-8 July in partnership with the city’s Museo Storico to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the landings in Sicily in 1943.

The conference is part of a series of events being organised in Sicily in July to mark a turning point in the history of Italy and Europe.

It will be addressed by prominent local and international dignitaries and historians from Italy, Canada, the UK and the US.

The conference will be followed by remembrance services and wreath-laying at the Catania and Syracuse War cemeteries on Sunday 9 July.

At daybreak on Monday 10 July, memorial events will be held on beaches where American, British, Canadian forces landed in 1943.

The 325km Walk for Remembrance & Peace begins on 10 July and will follow the route taken by 1 Canadian Division and 1 Canadian Armoured Brigade in 1943.

A guided tour of the route and battles of the 78th Division will begin on the morning of 10 July and will visit Catenanuova, Centuripe, Adrano and Maletto.

For more information, contact:

Edmund O’Sullivan
UK Director
The Sicily 1943 Peace, Security & Prosperity Conference
44 St Georges Avenue
London N7 0HD
0207 0700 5300
Email: edmundosullivan1@gmail.com

For latest news, see:
www.irishbrigade.co.uk
Twitter: @irishbrigadeww

The Sicily 1943 Peace, Security & Prosperity Conference
Friday 7 July 0900 VIP and opening session (in Italian)

• Representative of Catania Municipality
• UK ambassador to Italy The Rt Hon Edward Llewellyn OBE
• Ambassador of Canada to Italy Elissa Golberg (invited)
• Representative of the US embassy to Italy (invited)
• Secretary Charles Djou, Director, the American Battle Monument Commission (ABMC)
• Mr Justin Maciejewski DSO MBE, Director, National Army Museum
• Mr Steve Gregory, founder, International Forum for Peace, Security & Prosperity (IFPSP)
• Mr Joseph Leonardo, general counsel, National Italian American Foundation
• The Sicilian perspective on the landings in Sicily
• Dr Salvatore Platania, Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943
• Mr Marco Gimillaro, Catania

1045 Coffee break hosted by Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943
1100 Keynote speakers (English with simultaneous translation)

• Secretary Charles Djou, Director, the American Battle Monument Commission (ABMC)
• Dr John Curatola, Military Historian at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, The National WWII Museum, New Orleans introduced by Justin Maciejewski, Director, National Army Museum, London
• Dr Joseph Quinn, Their Finest Hour, Oxford University

1330 Lunch hosted by Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943
1430 Memorialising events in Sicily in 1943 (English with simultaneous translation)

Topics will include
• The work of the Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943
• Lessons from Normandy for memorialisation of 1943 in Sicily
• The CWGC and its work
• The work of the International Forum for Peace, Security & Prosperity (IFPSP)
• How to use online resources
• The Faces of Syria photographic project

1700 Associazione Siciliana Motoveicoli Storiche (Italian)

• Professor Angelo Privitera
• Dr Federico Magiavacchi
• Dr Franco Scalisi

1715 Day one closes
Drinks reception in Sala C2 of the Le Ciminiere Festival Centre
2100 Evening concert in the amphitheatre in Le Ciminiere Festival Centre

Saturday 8 July

0800-1030 The British perspective (English with simultaneous translation)

• Gavin Mortimer, British special forces
• Ian Pearson of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Association on the DLI in Sicily
• Mark Howard, independent historian, on photographing Sicily in 1943
• Steve Erskine, researcher at The Green Howards Museum on The Green Howards
• Elliott Metcalfe of The Keep Museum on 231 Brigade and Brigadier Roy Urquhart
• Bethany Joyce of The Wardrobe Museum on the Berkshires & Wiltshires
• Richard O’Sullivan of the London Irish Rifles Museum on 38 (Irish) Brigade
• Michael Leese on General Oliver Leese, Commander of XXX Corps in Sicily and future commander of the 8th Army in Italy

1030 Coffee break hosted by Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943

1100 The Tuskegee Airmen in Sicily in 1943 (English with simultaneous translation)

• Waymand Brothers of the World War II Museum New Orleans introduced by Jay Wertz

1145 The Italian perspective (Italian)

• Arditi and Italian Paratroopers in Sicily, July-August 1943
Professor Federico Ciavattone, Director of The Center for the Study of Italian Military Parachuting History
• The impact of events in 1943 on the civilian population.
Dr Alfio Caruso & Dr Angelo Plumari
• Catania in 1943. A then-and-now story
Arch Daniela Viralli

1300 Lunch hosted by Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943

1400 The Italy Second World War memorialisation workshop (English and Italian)

An interactive bilingual workshop co-ordinated by historian Robert Desourdis will develop recommendations for new approaches to memorialisation of events in Sicily in 1943.

1700 Conference closes

2000 Closing music concert in The Amphitheatre of Le Ciminiere Festival Centre

Sunday 9 July
0900 The International Historical Museum Conference opens in Le Ciminiere Festival Centre

1230 Remembrance Service and wreath-laying at Catania War Cemetery

1830 Remembrance Service and wreath-laying at Syracuse War Cemetery

Monday 10 July

0545 Memorial events on American, British and Canadian landing beaches at Avola, Marzamemi, Pachino and Gela Licata

0900 78th Division/Irish Brigade battlefield tour begins

The Walk for Remembrance & Peace starts at Pachino.