Paolo Fumagalli Award

It took place on June 3 in Beirut, at the Italian Embassy, the ceremony for the Paolo Fumagalli Award, from day one the heart and coordinator of the Work In Progress program. Paolo passed away on January 19 due to a relentless illness, but until the end he dedicated every energy to a mission close to his heart: helping young Lebanese entrepreneurs. His fellow travelers are continuing the work, and in the meantime they decided to dedicate an award to him; for this first edition it was awarded to the project owners of Café Agonista, one of WIP’s symbolic projects. Beside Wassim El Hage, who in 2018 had already opened in the Lebanese capital the bar where disabled youths work, were two of them, George Gergi and Farah Ballout, who have recently become partners of Wassim.

Hosting the event was the Italian ambassador to Lebanon, Fabrizio Marcelli, a longtime friend and supporter of the initiative sponsored by the NGO Pro Terra Sancta. Next to him on stage were Daniele Sacco, the new coordinator of WIP’s Advisory Board, and Andrea Fumagalli, Paolo’s son, also a member of the Advisory Board.