The Anrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF) was founded in July 2011 by the Bocelli family and inspired by the love and positivity they received from fans and partners around the world. Since then, ABF has grown to become an independent nonprofit organization led by world class professionals who oversee the strategic development of key projects. The foundation’s main mission is to empower people and communities in circumstances of poverty, illiteracy, and suffering due to disease and social exclusion by promoting and supporting national and international projects that encourage people to overcome these barriers and express their full potential.
Since 2011, ABF has raised over 54 million euros, which has led to the construction of nine schools in Italy and Haiti that offer access to world class education to over 3,500 students every day. Furthermore, ABF has created welfare projects that provide access to drinking water and basic medical care to the more than 400,000 people who live in the most remote and impoverished areas of Haiti. The foundation also creates and promotes educational projects using music as an additional tool for social inclusion and talent development, all in line with Goal 4.7 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
On September 30, 2023, the ABF hosted a very special fundraising event in Florence, Italy under the name of “Memories that Matter with Maestro Andrea Bocelli.” It included a lunch on October 1, hosted by Veronica Bocelli and the Ricci family at Antico Setificio Fiorentino. The concert included Andrea Bocelli performing with his talented, 10-year-old daughter Virginia and an auction of specially curated, bespoke items such as dinner with Sir Rod Stewart, a day of filming with John Travolta, and a weekend stay at the private Italian island Li Galli in Positano which fetched 80,000 euros.
The evening was a storytelling experience curated by Mark Aldridge and personally hosted by Bocelli with a special dinner and concert at the magnificent Chiesa di San Firenze where the ABF office occupies an upper floor. This exclusive event offered 100 attendees the chance to forge cherished memories while supporting the foundation’s GlobaLab program. Started in June 2022, ABF GlobaLab is an empowerment program for young people aged 16 to 25 years. It builds upon on the profound link between the quality of individual existence and the opportunities for building relationships, experimentation and reflection, the value of processes for research, and the discovery and nurturing of talent and intelligence in individuals and groups.
The program enables the potential abilities of each student to emerge, which offers them opportunities to grow and learn and intentionally develop plans for their own lives. The GlobaLab project encompasses not only the empowerment of young individuals, but also the enrichment of their social setting via superior, valuable opportunities for practical experiences. Both aspects influence the opportunities for growth offered and the terms of support regarding context, experimentation, and the real measurement of everyone’s skills and abilities.
GlobaLab’s goals are achieved via activities scheduled throughout the year to create the conditions guaranteeing young students can discover and understand their aptitudes and talents; gain an awareness of the world and the complex reality existing around them; engage in dialog, comparison, and the pursuit of new meanings and perspectives for life; come into contact with the public and the for-profit and nonprofit institutions involved in ABF’s work; and have opportunities to become leaders by gaining experience in real relationship contexts. For more information and donation, please visit the website: andreabocellifoundation.org.