Today is the last valid day to vote for works presented at Amici per la Pelle, a national contest promoted by UNIC (Unione Nazionale Industria Conciaria, the Italian Tanners Association), together with Lineapelle. The prize-giving ceremony will take place tomorrow morning, at 11am, in the Service Centre Auditorium Hall, at Fieramilano Rho. Over one thousand young students, aged 12 to 13, coming from the Italian leather districts, are expected to crowd into the Auditorium tomorrow. This year their creativity focused on the Museum Tan theme: works are exhibited at the fair hall 9, as well as in the virtual gallery on UNIC’s Facebook page. You may express your own vote at the fair either by filling in the specific form or by clicking on I Like It, on the picture of your favourite work. The contest, on its seventh edition this year, has engaged, since 2012, over 8,000 pre-secondary school students in a six-month-long educational journey, across visits in tanneries, purifying plants and research centres. The final destination of the journey is the creation of a leatherwork. The contest aims to engage very young boys and girls in the leather industry. It is no coincidence, then, that following Amici per la Pelle, registrations at tanning specialized professional institutes, located in the leather districts, increased by 20% or so.
