GRAZIA GIULIANI

Grazia is an Italian author (accartbooks.com), a passionate cook and foodie born in Milan and living in London. She learnt to cook from her Italian family of foodies who instilled in her the importance of the quality of the ingredients prepared with flair. Grazia sees food as nourishment of the body and the spirit. In 2020 she founded Flavoured.it, a digital magazine, podcast, culture and social club for the curious mind.

“The pandemic has reinforced my belief in never taking anything for granted in life.”

Q: Tell us a few things about your country, and also your life's story!

I was born in Milan, Italy with all the sense of aesthetic, art, literature, design, and passion for food that goes with it! I spent most of my life in London, which has given me a nourishing spectrum of, and appreciation for, the variety of cultures around the world. I have travelled extensively to the four corners of the world, satisfying my innate curiosity for people and visual thirst for landscapes. My life experience encompasses what I do. I feel blessed to have been able to work as a researcher, an author, podcaster and as a curator of cultural projects related to ethical, social and environmental issues - which has culminated in founding Flavoured.it. For me, to give generously is one of the most fulfilling acts of love and benevolence.

Q: What was your experience of the global pandemic crisis? Did it change your life and/or your views about the world? If so, how?

The pandemic has reinforced my belief in never taking anything for granted in life... When the pandemic struck, I was spending my time travelling between Jerusalem and Palestine. That trip was already having a profound personal, but also spiritual impact, which was then further reshaped by the pandemic. I have spent most of my time alone during the pandemic, swinging between blissful solitude and deep loneliness. Both states of mind have contributed to becoming more aware of the importance of working towards inner wholeness, to be able to face the most challenging circumstances. It has been both an internal battle to strive to find and keep my centre, positivity and faith, and an external battle against the fall of most of life’s archetypes, as we all knew them. I found the fact that the West was not equipped to face real global crises an equaliser. Since WWII life had been flowing with the ups and downs life throws at us all, but it was flowing one way or another... To become stagnant has been hard for most of us, yet lotus flowers emerge from still murky waters, and we ought to learn from nature to try, whatever it takes, to re-emerge.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

Poverty is certainly going to be felt related to debt, cashflow difficulties due to the economic slowdown. Although, I view poverty not only from a pure economic perspective, but also from a social and an individual well-being point of view. Society has seen an economic crisis affecting lives which have also been starved of cultural and social interaction, thus having a long-term intangible, yet real, effect on society.

Q: Can you share with us some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

There are periods of life when trauma becomes your reality. From "small" to "big" traumas, they all leave scars. Separation, being due to death or the breakdown of a family, dysfunctional relationships or injustice are big hurdles in life. They force you to go through the process of being totally lost and desperate because of the situation you find yourself in, and you must hold on to that feeble flickering light within yourself, for if it goes out, it is the end. Fear kills us many times in life, when in reality we only die once. It is the do or die experience - however terrifying it may be - that shakes you and awakens your survival instinct. I also find great strength in my faith in the Source. I pray, I meditate and especially I look at myself in the mirror... a lot. Sometimes I do not like what I see, and I ask to become aware of my failures, not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. I thank the Source for this awareness. Other times, I rejoice with gratitude for my versatility.

Q: If you were to ask one thing from our current leaders, what would it be?

Empathy. Leaders cannot make decisions without putting themselves in the shoes of the 'everyman', and try to understand realities - which are far away from their own lives - and that they may have only known on paper in documents, dossiers and files - but not experienced them.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

A mentor is your mirror. They are the reassurance that your ideas, dreams, and/or doubts are being heard and reflected back to you with a different perspective, which broadens your vision. The mentorship is helping to complement the two sides of my mind – the creative and investigative side, and the business side. My mind freely and actively thrives when creating, writing and researching... I am a visionary who can turn an idea into reality. Yet I am grateful for the mentorship for helping me foster the business side. 

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

Open your heart to receive the help of others when in difficulty, but always be discerning and keep your dignity - sharks are out there to eat up the vulnerable on false pretences.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives!

I have one person who has immediately sprung to mind. Although not Italian, he is more Italian than Italians! ... and this is why I would like to mention the profound humanitarian work he is doing: Father Luke Ofm, a Franciscan Monk who I have personally met. He helps refugees in Rhodes who cannot fit into official refugee camps. Fr Luke aka Padre Luca is there every day on the frontline helping, feeding, supporting men, women and children of all faiths who have fled war zones and persecution. He acts independently, although within the rules, with pragmatism, faith and a big heart. He has been in International newspapers, yet the humility of the Franciscan Monk far exceeds any fame for his action.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

I will have to talk about both countries I relate to, Italy and England, as I feel as close to one as to the other... perhaps looking at parallels will give an overview of what happens in Southern and Northern Europe. In Italy in 2020, gender equality was still an issue. The most unequal indicator was power. Sadly, sexual violence and abuse still score highly, if one thinks that sexual violence was only acknowledged as a 'crime against the person' in 1996. These are sides of Italian society that one can’t be exactly proud of. This is in spite of The Extraordinary Action Plan against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, which allocated about 76 million euros over the 2014-2016 period to fund regional and national actions combatting sexual and gender-based violence. It financed projects aimed at improving shelter and assistance services to women victims of violence and their children, as well as enhancing the local service network. A lot of work still needs to be done.

Italy has also launched the awareness-raising campaign on the elimination of violence against women addressing men and boys, entitled “FIVE MEN – Fight Violence against Women” (http://www.cosedauomini.eu/index.php?lang=en). In 2020, Italy scored 63.5 points with regards to gender equality, with 100 being the worst. Abuse is not only physical, and studies show that severe emotional abuse can be as powerful as physical abuse. Over time, it can contribute to low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. Another aspect which is hardly talked about, but something that destroys lives and severely affects women’s future, is economic abuse. In England, the figures are more encouraging when it comes to gender equality. Nevertheless, economic abuse was the great unspoken abuses. Situations where women were having to escape fraud committed by their spouses in their name, where they were being financially controlled, or where they still had to endure financial wrongdoings even years after separation. A strong voice for this issue is SEA, whose work has seen economic abuse become recognised as domestic abuse in the latest Bill approved on 8th March 2021. The law is one thing, another is the daily challenge that women affected by domestic abuse face.

Q: Share with us a phrase, a poem or a story that you love or you find interesting!

"Ultimamente erano successe tante di quelle cose strane che Alice aveva cominciato a credere che di impossibile non ci fosse quasi nulla". -

"So many strange things had happened recently that Alice had begun to believe that there was almost nothing impossible." - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.

Q: Can you share with us a project that you would like to make happen for your country or a cause that you are passionate about? 

During the pandemic, I founded Flavoured.it, which is a digital platform – at least for the time being due to the restrictions of movement, with the aim to expand and be able to physically operate in many countries when the right time comes. Flavoured.it is a digital magazine, podcast, culture and social club for the curious mind. It uses culture as a tool to highlight and tackle social, ethical, humanitarian and environmental issues. Flavoured.it brings together people of culture and people with awareness and a sensibility for the others. It is a club where members can subscribe and co-operate. I have made the conscious decision to leave the membership free during the pandemic, in order to facilitate people who find themselves in economic difficulty, yet would still like to be part of Flavoured.it. In the future, a membership fee will apply in order to foster new projects. Our ethos: Learn Digest Grow. (www.flavoured.it / Instagram: @flavoured.it)