ROME, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- Italians need to be more confident and strengthen their social cohesion, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in his New Year speech on Tuesday.
The Italian society was experiencing many difficulties and fractures, which were not overlooked, and yet it should create the right conditions "to allow all of our resources to come to light and express themselves without impediments," according to the president.
Mattarella explained Italy was often looked at with sympathy and confidence from across the world, and not only for its richness in history and culture.
"It is not only the appeal of its (Italy's) arts, landscape, creativity, and its lifestyle, but also for its policy for peace, and for its dialogue ability," Mattarella stressed.
"That same confidence with which we are looked at from outside -- that confidence in our country -- must induce us to have more confidence in ourselves, in order to give shape to our hopes for a better future."
The head of state addressed some of the country's current problems, including unemployment, socio-economic inequalities, corporate crises, and "the need to revamp our productive system."
"Yet, we do have wide resources to face and solve these problems, and to play an incisive role in Europe and within the entire international community," he said.
After urging the whole society to build a stronger "culture of social responsibility", also in the public dialogue that develops through social media, the president focused on the high value and role of the younger generations.
"New generations know better than adults that only with a wider look we can understand and face the global dimension, and the reality of our increasingly connected world," Mattarella said in the second part of his speech.
"They have, for example, the clear perception that the climate change is a very serious problem, which does not tolerate further delays in dealing with."
The emergency caused by recent high-water tides in Venice, or the quakes and floods that hit some central regions were, according to the president, clear proof of how much the environmental protection is "crucial" for Italy.
In the final part of his speech, the head of state thanked research centers, universities, and cultural institutions across Italy for providing "an inestimable heritage of ideas and energies."
"We need knowledge and skills... culture is the great driver of our quality of life, and it makes our country's social fabric stronger," he said.
