Dear Readers,
Welcome to the ABF Globalab blog (or as we’ll call it, the magazine)! Even before we begin publishing our thoughts, reflections, interviews, and articles on the topics closest to our hearts, we’d like to open the doors wide to this new adventure by explaining why we decided to take the plunge by launching a magazine.
The reason is simple: it is because the young spirit within each of us, in perhaps the most unconscious and profound part of our experience, believes in and places trust in writing as a form of expression, as an artistic vehicle to silently denounce and etch what our generation—often out of fear of judgment—still cannot confess aloud. Because, paradoxically, the silence of words set upon paper is anything but a soundless silence; the lifeblood and content of writing, in fact, live on in the echo of those who, upon encountering those words and finding themselves in them, choose to read them aloud. Writing possesses an inherently disarming quality: despite being conceived by a single individual, the moment it is shared, it immediately transforms into an incredibly collective force. After all, this form of communication is nothing more than a faithful transcription of our thoughts—something that comes to life thanks to those who share the same values we ourselves have the courage to believe in.
Through our imagination and initiative, this space is already transforming into a refuge—an emotional haven and a place of shared connection—both for the writer and for the visitors or devotees who choose to explore it, viewing a piece of paper—whether physical or digital—as the walls of one of the sanctuaries that have always been most faithful to humanity: a dwelling of ideas that human beings can furnish with the hopes and emotions they most cherish, a metaphorical home of mutual exchange where we can all metaphorically feel welcomed, a virtual diary in which to give new meaning to conflicts, in which to construct previously unexplored narratives of the misunderstandings of the world around us and of the generation to which we belong, but above all a symbolic place of change where, even if only metaphorically, we can chart a course toward the sea of a tomorrow that no longer frightens us, a sailing ship of words that becomes a tool for exploring, in all its forms, the archipelago of topics closest to our hearts—from current events to education, from innovation to career guidance, and much more.
The idea behind this journal also stems from the fact that, amid the torrent of practicality and frenzy that has recently come to dominate our daily lives, there is a growing sense—particularly among young people—of the need to return to the contemplative spirit of our origins, to carve out a space for self-expression that is independent of the pace and confusion of the world outside our minds, and above all, the decision to launch this magazine stems from the belief that even a single sheet of paper, if conveyed with the right awareness and ambition, can become a universe that unites and transcends the boundaries and differences of origin, ideals, and age.
This blog represents a corner of the world for us—perhaps an infinitesimally small one—but one where solitude can become harmony, where diversity can become richness, and where the individual can become part of a whole. This magazine, however, also embodies a place where one can fearlessly swim against the tide, because while writing brings us incredibly close to those who think like us, it is also true that writing possesses an indecipherable anti-conformist undertone; for if it is true that our identity is shaped by the actions each of us chooses to take, sometimes, however, the essence of the human being stems precisely from the contrary thought—that is, from declaring aloud what one chooses to have the courage not to become, not to take part in, not to be complicit in. Surrounded by news like what we see today, it is easy to come to believe that world events determine the tone of communication, of journalism, of the phrases we choose to write and speak, of our thoughts, of our emotions, and sometimes even of our actions, yet we like to hope, perhaps foolishly, for exactly the opposite—namely, that the right words might also help to truly forge, sooner or later, a better world.
Diletta Maglioccola
