The inauguration ceremony of the 2025/2026 Academic Year of the University of Sannio, to be held on Tuesday, March 3, at 11:30 AM at the Sant’Agostino Auditorium in Benevento, will be dedicated to human rights and the dignity of the individual. The title chosen for the event, “Under the Sign of Human Rights and the Dignity of the Individual,” reflects the University’s commitment to fostering timely and critical reflection on the fundamental values of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are today under attack from multiple fronts.

The guest of honour at the ceremony will be Matteo Garrone—an Oscar-nominated director, screenwriter, and film producer of recognised authority on the international scene—who will deliver the lectio inauguralis titled “The Principle of Hope: Cinema and Human Rights.” His talk will offer a perspective on the relationship between cinematic language, civic responsibility, and the protection of rights. His latest film, “Io Capitano,” is shot like a counter-shot, that is, a framing in which the camera is positioned behind the character, revealing a view that would otherwise remain completely hidden from the audience.

The opening address will be delivered by Professor Felice Casucci, who will speak on the theme “WE ARE. The Impersonal in the Language of Rights,” a reflection on the meaning of words and linguistic forms through which rights are stated, recognised, and shared in the public sphere.

“The ceremony,” explained Rector Maria Moreno, “represents a central moment in the life of the University and serves as an opportunity for the academic community, institutions, and the local area to come together, fostering cross-cutting dialogue among different fields of knowledge on the founding values of democratic coexistence.”

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