Inauguration of the photographic exhibition
“INTIMATE WORLDSKILLS”

by Raffaele Montepaone

Friday September 27, at 6 pm, Polo del ‘900, Piazzetta Franco Antonicelli

Event in collaboration with Agenzia Piemonte Lavoro, ISMEL (Istituto per la Memoria e la Cultura del Lavoro, dell’Impresa e dei Diritti Sociali) and Polo del ‘900

Twenty-five shots by Raffaele Montepaone follow closely, in an intimate and discreet way, the long and intense preparation of the five Competitors at the 2024 WorldSkills World Championships in Lyon, in the days leading up to the international competition.
A tale on the tip of the emotions, which caresses anxieties, worries and expectations and transports us inside the different moods experienced by the participants, while waiting for the day of the challenge.
Intense images that read the geography of their movements, under the attentive and conspiratorial gaze of their Experts and Tutors: concentrated glances, quick and attentive hands, gestures that are repeated, that become natural.
Hours of practice, of training, to achieve perfection of form.
And to sustain the effort, the passion for a craft that means the future.
Last exhibition opening day is October 7.

Methods of access: free entry.

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Raffaele Montepaone was born in Vibo Valentia on May 20th, 1980. His passion for photography emerged straight away: when he was only twelve years old. He began to frequent the family photography studio, where he focused on the technical and theoretical aspects. He moves towards reportage and anthropological photography. His is an intimate humanistic investigation that is already manifested in his first project, on which he continues to work. A true hymn to life, starting with the title ‘Life’, in which he recounts through eyes, faces, hands marked by time, old Calabria and its dignified beauty. Awards at the 2014 FIOF, Honourable Mention at the 2015 FIOF, in the same year he won the special Talent Prize 2015 that allowed him to exhibit his work Memoria at the Pietro Canonica Museum in Rome. Moreover, in November 2015, he exhibited in Paris at the Carrousel du Louvre gallery Spazio Farini 6. In March 2016, Christie’s knocked out one of his works along with those of the great authors, a work that was included in Christie’s Personaggi e Paesaggi d’Italia volume. In the same year, the Afi (Archivio Fotografico Italiano) organised a solo exhibition of his work in Legnano for the European Photography Festival, where he received wide critical acclaim from international critics. In July 2017, the book Life was published with a preface by Ferdinando Scianna, while in October he exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art Marca in Catanzaro with the solo exhibition Oltre gli Stereotipi. In 2018 he is at the National Library in Turin; in 2019 he exhibits at the Les Bernardes Cultural Centre in Salt, Girona, Spain, and with a solo show at the Ferrero Foundation in Alba.
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WorldSkills International

It is an international organisation founded in 1950 and recognised by the United Nations. Among its objectives is the promotion of education and training throughout the world. Today, 89 nations and regions are members. For more than seventy years, it has been highlighting youth excellence and emphasising the fundamental role of skills for the economic growth of societies, aiming to strengthen vocational education and training in order to better meet the challenges of the future. Every two years it organises the world’s largest trades competition, with young competitors selected from member countries competing. It is a unique event, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. The Competitors represent world excellence in vocational training for young people aged between 17 and 25. They compete in over 60 trades and are selected from the national WorldSkills competitions. The competitions are based on WSOS, the WorldSkills Occupational Standards, which represent the catalogue of international skills, knowledge, competencies and best practices related to specific occupations. They are a global benchmark because they reflect a globally shared vision and define what competencies and skills should be required of those performing a specific job role. They are drawn up by international experts and are updated every two years. Competitors are supervised and trained by Experts and Tutors, both of whom are teachers or industry professionals. The former define the job tests, establish the evaluation criteria and make up the juries that evaluate the Competitors. The Tutors, on the other hand, provide technical support to the Competitor, ensuring that the training programme is carried out, and act as a link between the Competitor and the regional or national WorldSkills organisation.

In 2014, the Piedmont Region, through Agenzia Piemonte Lavoro, joined WorldSkills, sharing its aims and objectives, and organised five editions of the WorldSkills Piemonte Skills Championships in Turin. The initiative is financed by the European Social Fund ESF 2021-2027. The last competition was held in 2022 with the participation of over 140 competitors who competed in 14 trades, assessed by 80 experts. More than 80 technical and vocational schools and training agencies took part. The sixth edition will be held on 23 and 24 October 2024 in Turin. Girls and boys qualified in the competing trades can participate in the national and international WorldSkills competitions. In 2024, the WorldSkills world trades competition took place in Lyon in September.