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"Miracles do not happen every day, whereas accidents unfortunately do. The development in INAIL's mission aimed at a full responsibility for workers not only in the event of accidents, has stressed and strengthened the aim of the Institute to "prevent". This comes before anything else. This led to the idea to add momentum to INAIL's contribution to industrial Safety and Prevention policies during the Jubilee year, by relying upon an original idea such as the exhibition of votive pictures depicting industrial accidents. As a matter of fact, one only has to think about the number of pictures simultaneously "telling the story" of industrial accidents and of the industrial development and technological evolution of the last century. This initiative is the result of a lucky idea on the part of INAIL's Regional Directorate of Piedmont, which had prepared an exhibition of pictorial religious paintings called "ex voto" provided by local churches: an opportunity to reflect upon the changes in production processes, increasing industrial risks, accidents and necessary preventive measures. This exhibition has been shown in several Italian regions in addition to local iconography; once again an opportunity to discuss risks and prevention. This publication is the final outcome of a number of different experiences. It aims to merge two common aspects of the exhibitions prepared by INAIL during the year 2000: the "charming" language of votive panels, an expressive form of popular art, and the schematic, strict and instructional one of the safety system of signals. Two contemporary artists (Modica and Del Fa) have merged them: they join, integrate and introduce photographic views, overlapping stylistically different images, which already have something in common: the wish to tell, testify and warn. They end up inventing a third language out of the first two, the result of the merger between the naive and eloquent colours of votive panels and the symbolic and instructional strength of the safety system of signals, or the moving creativity of the original and authentic ex voto authors, and the standard creativity of the industrial safety system of signals. This is a visual booklet. From now on, the issue of prevention should be tackled only by the strength of images ranging from votive iconography and safety signals, which might be merged, overlapped, integrated, supplemented. These images are reinvented along the lines of a kind of empathy by putting the reporting of accidents and relevant causes into context, and the risk and the possibility to prevent them based upon a new social awareness: prevention is a miracle that men can make happen.
"God helps those who help themselves", that's what an age-old proverb says and we have borrowed it in order to comment on a previous and more traditional publication on prevention and ex voto. It is obviously fruitful to underline that the invitation to help oneself must be extended to Institutions, Social Partners, Employers and Employees, who should take advantage of the available skills and instruments aimed at guaranteeing safety and thereby the dignity of labour, an essential element of human dignity."
"Miracles do not happen every day, whereas accidents unfortunately do. The development in INAIL's mission aimed at a full responsibility for workers not only in the event of accidents, has stressed and strengthened the aim of the Institute to "prevent". This comes before anything else. This led to the idea to add momentum to INAIL's contribution to industrial Safety and Prevention policies during the Jubilee year, by relying upon an original ...
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