Author Mario Calabresi Reflects on 'Effort as an Ally' Featured in Italian Exit Exams

Mario Calabresi, a prominent Italian journalist and former editor-in-chief of La Stampa and Repubblica, shared his thoughts on finding a passage from his 2025 book, "Alzarsi all'alba" (Waking at Dawn), featured in the first part of Italy's high school exit exams. "My message to the students is: the effort of commitment is an ally," Calabresi told ANSA, expressing his "beautiful emotion" at the book's inclusion. He disagrees with the notion that effort is absent today or belongs solely to the past. Instead, he believes modern society tends to overlook or fail to recognize effort, even though it remains present. Calabresi urged young people to view effort as a catalyst for realizing dreams and projects, defining it as passion, dedication, commitment, constancy, and patience. His book, "Alzarsi all'alba," explores the satisfaction derived from hard-won achievements through a collection of stories about individuals who contribute to the world and savor their earned rewards. He draws a parallel to his own childhood experience of working in his grandfather's office to earn a gift. In an era of artificial intelligence, Calabresi cautioned against the illusion that technology eliminates the need for effort in seeking knowledge. He argued that the struggle involved in the search itself generates understanding and memory, a point he believes even younger generations recognize, particularly in sports. Addressing the responsibilities of technology, Calabresi suggested looking inward at family dynamics, noting that some parents, out of love, wish for their children to avoid hardship, a sentiment he admits to sharing. The book's genesis, he revealed, stemmed from a conversation with students preparing for their "maturità," where he wished them a life filled with effort, never anticipating his words would become an exam topic. He fondly recalled his own "maturità" exam, where he wrote a free-form essay on the relationship between humans and machines, a topic he finds still relevant today.