Behind this project is the Argentine businessman and philanthropist Luis Quinelli, president of the Fundación Vitae Global, created in 2012 with his wife Jessica Siniscalchi. In a conversation with DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS during a stop in Miami before leaving for Italy, Quinelli said that from his beginnings in the world of telecommunications he learned “from the impact that the media has on people.”
Likewise, he confirmed that “the entertainment and arts industry not only show reality, but also shape the heart and spirit of the people. They are a powerful tool and can be used for good.”
An audience with the Pope
Everything started from “a strong conviction that we had to talk to the Pope Francisco, for the ideas we were having and the things we were developing”. This is how in 2017 “Pope Francis found out what we were doing and we had a private meeting with him in Rome. From there began a very fun process of going around the world meeting global leaders and beginning to structure many things that we dream of.”
The Vitae Summit 2022 will be the first meeting of its kind organized by the foundation. As Quinelli pointed out, “we are going to receive the words of inspiration from the Pope Francisco, but the most interesting thing is that it is going to be a conversation”. The goal is for the meeting to generate actions to “bring again hope, unity, reconciliation, at a time in the world where we are experiencing different challenges, strong polarization, many negative messages.”
Regarding the visit of the artists to Rome, he commented that the summit will allow them to get to know, on the first day, the art and the Vatican museums. They will also have a moment of reflection in the Sistine Chapel and then a dinner. On the second day they will visit the Academy of Sciences.
In these sessions “we are going to be working dynamics with all the artists, where we are going to start with a reflection on what is happening, identify the challenges, explore how we can do things together to promote a cultural transformation towards the positive”.
He added that “this Pope is a great listener, it is one of the great virtues he has, and he wants to listen to the artists because they are the ones who can reach the people.”
He also stressed that “it is not a Catholic event, it is an event where we precisely seek to have diversity, where everyone has a connection with spirituality. That’s interesting because for there to be innovation there has to be different people in the room”.
He highlighted the importance of “sitting at a table with totally different people, giving us the space to get to know each other, and despite our differences, look for the points we have in common, and then, starting from those points in common, begin to build a new reality”.
As he pointed out, “dialogue is fundamental, the new thing that is going to happen for the good of humanity has to do with building from what we have in common.”
If I were to thank the Pope, I would do so “for his generosity, he has the capacity to dedicate himself to supporting activities like ours and to be looking at an issue of the war in Ukraine the other day, for example. He is a tireless worker.”
If I had to criticize something? “You cannot ask for more, he is a revolutionary Pope for the world. He is making a great contribution at a time of some complexity. He knows when to speak, when not to speak; Sometimes silences speak louder than words. Many times he is criticized for that. But he also knows how to apologize.”
As he noted, “the entertainment industry is extremely powerful, and we are focused on unleashing that potential for all of us.”
Although the names of the artists and the details that they will share with the Pope are still reserved, among the 25 figures there are those who have recognition from the Academy, Billboard, Tony, World Music Awards and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. There are musicians, actors, directors and producers.
However, Quinelli exclusively revealed the names of three of the artists who will be part of this privileged group: singer Andrea Bocelli, actor Eduardo Verástegui and singer-songwriter Alexander Acha.
About Vitae
Vitae Global is a global non-profit organization that is made up of diverse artists, executives and global leaders whose mission is to transmit universal values that positively impact people’s hearts and illuminate their spirits through the arts, media mass and entertainment.
Vitae brings together all the experience that Luis Quinelli acquired throughout his career, first as an entrepreneur, and then as a businessman, in communication and in organization management. He defines Vitae as the biggest project of his life, and whose mission is to spread values through different artistic expressions.
In recent years, thanks to the support of various internationally famous organizations and artists, as well as world leaders such as Pope Francis and Queen Sofia of Spain, Vitae has launched various cultural projects and initiatives that have positively impacted hundreds of thousands of people around the world, generating multiple meeting points and bridges between them to embrace differences and build community.
Part of the work of this foundation was the campaign “Play Hope”, which included the launch of the song “La Bendición Unidos”, in the middle of the pandemic in 2020, with the participation of Ibero-American artists.
More about Luis Quinelli
Luis Quinelli defines himself as a “hacker” of the 1990s, who directed his computer skills to generate a positive impact. He started his business with just a computer and several phone lines in the bedroom of a friend who later became his business partner.
In its beginnings, its work focused on telematics, integrating telecommunications with information technology, providing BBS (Bulletin Board System) services, through which people connected, chatted and exchanged programs. In 1994, the worldwide boom in computer networking accelerated his growth and prompted him to do more in the industry. He founded SION as a “garage startup” similar to many similar global companies that started the same way. SION’s main goal was to create a means of communication that would allow it to convey messages and values to those on the other side.
SION grew exponentially with the arrival of the Internet and became one of the first companies in Argentina to provide Internet (IP) and telecommunications services to homes and businesses. Currently, he leads a team of more than 150 employees, whose main objective is to bring internet connectivity to developing countries in Argentina and Latin America where infrastructure is still lacking.
Married to his wife for 22 years and father of four children, Luis Quinelli is passionate about his family, his business ventures and his vocation to bring positive and transformative messages to humanity.