Specials

1. How the Federation was born

Florida, along with South East United States, hosts two kinds of residents: Permanent residents and seasonal residents. During the winter months between November and April in Florida we have over 800 thousands Italians in the two categories mentioned above, of which approximately 40% are Sicilian.

The Club’s creation becomes an important part of the Modus Vivendi of Sicilians in Florida. Because of it, this the need of a Federation that unites the Clubs of the consular’s territory of Miami became a natural and an easy task. A demographic research of the area revealed an incredible number of small Clubs representing Cities, Provinces and Villages of Sicily that embraced the idea of the Federation. The proposal of uniting them on a Regional level was welcomed with great enthusiasm, and better yet, they were happy to be an active part of it. Today we have about 6500 Sicilian families between the Federation’s members and their guests.

2. Introduction of youth in local clubs

The role of today’s young Sicilians is clearly dissociated from the ignorant and unwilling to learn youth of the previous generation. Today, more then ever before, we can see they are interested in culture as well as in the roots of their fathers, and this takes them to the only source of information available today: The Associations or Clubs.

Clubs plays a very important role in getting our emigrates' sons closer to Sicily and their culture, awakening the curiosity outside the standard concept of Sicily as a tourist attraction, and to explore the possibilities of economic inter-changes.

With this in mind we presented the photo exhibit “Sicilian Crossings” at Saint Thomas University of Miami, where about 4000 students expressed their interest in Sicilian migration.

3. The role of the Federation of Florida.

Local Clubs reporting to the Federation that connects to the Confederation of Sicilians in North America create a chain. This chain, in close cooperation with the Sicilians Government, could and should make an effort to make Sicily appear as the modern and technologic advanced island which is no longer tied to the image of Francis Ford Coppola and his Godfather, but assuring more cooperation and interest to the young Sicilian and Italians in the world.