Ventotene Seminar
‘Ventotene Seminar is organised by the Spinelli Institute for Federalist Studies in collaboration with the World Federalist Movement and takes place is the island of Ventotene, Italy, the last week of August each year. During the seminar dozens of young European and World Federalists gather to discuss, debate and learn with leader experts on federalist ideas regarding Europe and the world. The seminar is a unique and intensive experience that allows participants to deepen their understanding of how federalist principles can help build a better world.
Every year One World holds an annual competition to select one or two participants to attend the Ventotene Seminar. Successful applicants receive a scholarship covering accommodation, food and tuition costs in Ventotene plus a return flight to Rome. If you are interested in participating in the Ventotene seminar, please contact us or sign up to our mailing list.
Who was Altiero Spinelli?
Altiero Spinelli was an Italian political dissident who was banished to the island of Ventotene by Mussolini’s fascist regime during the Second World War. Spinelli spent much of his time on Ventotene thinking about how to keep the peace in Europe after the end of the war, and wrote the Ventotene Manifesto, calling for the construction of a united, federal Europe. At the end of the war he established the Federalist Movement in Italy.
Later in his life Spinelli was a member of the European Commission and then the European Parliament. Throughout his life he worked tirelessly for a more federal Europe. He died in 1986 and the main building of the European Parliament in Brussels is named after him.
