(From left: Codogno Municipality Culture Councillor, Communication Director Stefano Massaro, Mayor Francesco Passerini and Artistic Director Elena Verdelli)
Codogno, November 21, 2024 – On Wednesday 20 November in the packed Theatre Hall of Codogno’s Polo Fieristico, the awards ceremony for the Giuseppe Novello International Prize for Humour and Satire was held, during which the ten winners were revealed.
It was the celebration of the competition that during 2024 recorded unprecedented numbers of participation and involvement at a global level, thanks to a targeted and innovative re-launch and communication strategy. ‘We invested almost an entire year in the realisation of this ‘special’ edition, and the numbers speak for themselves: 490 participants from 62 countries, 2358 online voters, a jury of 13 experts in the fields of graphics, art, journalism and communication. It was an immense amount of work, but extremely rewarding,’ say Stefano Massaro, Communications Director, and Elena Verdelli, Artistic Director.
Culture councillor Silvia Salamina expresses great satisfaction: ‘We strongly believed in the re-launch of the Novello Prize, convinced that humour and satire are fundamental tools for promoting culture and debate. The choice of an online edition made it possible to reach a wider audience and to make the most of the participating talents. These extraordinary numbers confirm that we have taken the right path’.
Five prizes were awarded for the Senior category and the same number for the Junior category to the authors of the winning cartoons, selected by the vote of the online users added to that of the jury of experts: 1st Prize (with an award of 1,500 euros), 2nd Prize (with an award of 750 euros), 3rd Prize (with an award of 500 euros), as well as the special mentions ‘Critics’ Prize’ and “Audience Prize”. Online at www.premionovello.com you can view the official catalogue with the names of the winners and all the competing cartoons.
The organisation will crown this record-breaking edition with a closing show, scheduled for the evening of 21 December in Codogno, hosted by Lodi cabaret artist Franco Rossi and with the participation of various artists. Details on the event will be announced in the coming weeks.
The re-launch of the Award was made possible thanks to the synergy between several actors: the Municipal Administration, with Councillor Silvia Salamina and the entire staff of the Education and Culture Offices, Elena Verdelli (Artistic Director), Stefano Massaro (Communications Director), the members of the jury, those who voted online, the sponsors, the sponsoring organisations and, of course, all the artists.
