Roberto challenges hunger for Oxfam

A BOCCONI ALUMNUS, BARBIERI IS THE GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE NGO'S ITALIAN BRANCH, OVERSEEING TEN PROGRAMS IN TEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

He has a passion for running, perhaps because when people challenge themselves personally, they also discover new meaning in their work lives. Roberto Barbieri, general director of Oxfam Italia, is indeed heading ambitious and extraordinary projects, such as #Sfidolafame (I challenge hunger) and #Sfidalingiustizia (Challenge injustice). Barbieri graduated in 1992 from Bocconi with a degree in Economics and Social Sciences, and maintains that “800 million people in the world suffer from hunger, but we can be the generation which ends this drama. To achieve this, we need concrete programs and investments, as well as a different response from political institutions. Extreme inequality is also conditioned by the global economy’s dynamics, and to highlight this concept we presented our report, An Economy for the 1%, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which was well-received”.  Barbieri’s experience in the area of international cooperation started much earlier than his role at Oxfam. In fact, he first worked for several consulting companies, then for the United Nations, and for UNICEF in Central America. “When I returned to Italy, I handled social planning in local bodies and third sector organizations; this work was very similar to what I did at UNICEF”. And finally he joined Oxfam, first as director of cooperation, and then in 2012 he became its general director. “All of these experiences have enriched me, and have allowed me to broaden my viewpoint on current realities”.

Today, Barbieri’s role involves guiding, supervising and sharing programs which have been started in ten countries, but he also has the task of being an external representative. “We work in the water, environment, health, food, salary, and training sectors, and we’ve become increasingly present in Italy with projects destined for vulnerable communities like migrants and asylum seekers”.  Barbieri defines a common line of action to apply to each intervention, bringing an analytical approach and a certain amount of critical detachment in regard to the various issues. When dealing with donors – whether institutions or private individuals – he aims to provide them with concrete answers about what Oxfam’s added value is, and the impact it can have in its missions. His aspiration is, in fact, to be able to help people understand that issues like poverty and extreme inequality are the result of people’s attitudes “and as such, they must lie at the heart of each citizen’s political choices and commitments”.
 

by Allegra Gallizia