Adolfo Sansolini

Born in Rome (15 November 1966), Adolfo Sansolini has lived in London from July 2004.

He is the Trade Policy Advisor for RSPCA, CIWF, [http://eurogroupforanimals.org Eurogroup for Animals] and WSPA. His activity as a journalist is presently developed through the online magazine [http://www.novamag.it Novamag] .

Animal welfare and animal rights activities

Adolfo Sansolini's activities for the animal welfare and animal rights have been linked for over 25 years with Italian organisation [http://www.lav.it LAV] , which he joined in 1980. He started as a local activist, then in charge of the ‘Litorale Romano’ branch. He joined the national board in 1989 and was employed by the organisation, 1992-1998, having responsibilities for management of campaigns, lobby activities, promotion and general direction. President of the organisation from 2002 to 2004 and Vice-President from 2004 to 2006, Sansolini ended his activities with LAV in November 2006.

On the international front, in 1993 Adolfo Sansolini was employed by IFAW as a part-time consultant to develop and coordinate the activities of the Italian office, directed by former EU Commissioner for the Environment Carlo Ripa di Meana.

In 1998 he became the Southern European (Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain) Campaigns Coordinator for CIWF and the European Coalition for Farm Animals. In May 1999 Sansolini conducted a successful hunger and thirst strike to persuade the Italian government to support phasing-out the battery cages for laying hens in the European Union.

As a consequence of this action, the then Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema decided to support phasing-out the cages at the European Union level. The change of position of the Italian government was decisive in convincing other governments to follow, and EU Directive 1999/74/EC was approved on 19 July 1999.

From 2001 to 2004 Sansolini worked as a consultant for Eurogroup for Animal Welfare (in 2006 re-branded as Eurogroup for Animals), being in charge of contacts with the Italian representatives in the EU institutions, and of co-ordination of European campaigns of Slovenian and Greek organisations.

In 2003 he received the RSPCA Michael Kay Award “in recognition of services to European animal welfare”.

In 2004 accepting the offer to become the new CEO of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV), Sansolini moved from Rome to London, where he has remained after leaving the BUAV. From 2004 to 2006 he also served as chairman of the [http://www.eceae.org European Coalition to End Animal Experiments] .

He is now working as the Trade Policy Advisor RSPCA, CIWF, [http://eurogroupforanimals.org Eurogroup for Animals] and WSPA, co-ordinating the work of these organisations in the fields of WTO, Free Trade Agreements and Development.

Human rights

Over the years, Adolfo Sansolini has joined organisations and campaigns for gay rights, for the abolition of the death penalty, for the rights of persons with Down syndrome, for fair trade, ethical banking, and development. As a conscientious objector to military service in Italy, he worked for 20 months in the Caritas surgery for immigrants in Rome.

Journalism

Adolfo Sansolini has written articles for magazines, newspapers and websites in several countries. From 1996 to 2003 he initiated and conducted the programme "Un habitat per tutti i viventi" ("A habitat for all living beings") on Vatican Radio: a monthly programme on animal rights, human rights and protection of the environment. He has been a contributor for several programmes of BBC radio channels, mainly on Italy and Vatican-related news. In 2006 he was part of the group which started the web magazine [http://www.novamag.it Novamag] .

Religion

Adolfo Sansolini joined the Roman Catholic Church at the age of 12. From 1988 he started to visit the [http://taize.fr ecumenical Christian community of Taizè] , attending prayers organised by the Community in Rome and then London. After moving to London in 2004, he started to attend Anglican services, joining the Church of England in 2006.

Politics

He started his activities with Partito Radicale at the age 13, then organising local campaigns and becoming treasurer of the local branch of the Party for 3 years. In 1989 the joint list of ‘Verdi per Roma’ (Greens for Rome) was formed by the radicals and by the two green parties for the local elections in Rome. Sansolini was head of the list and first of the elected in Council 13 (Ostia). He resigned in 1990, after his move to central Rome.

External links

* [http://www.novamag.it Novamag]
* [http://www.rspca.org.uk RSPCA]
* [http://www.ciwf.org.uk CIWF]
* [http://www.eurogroupforanimals.org Eurogroup for Animals]
* [http://www.wspa-international.org WSPA]