Verona University Screens Veronetta: The New Face of a Neighborhood, A Documentary By Obehi Ewanfoh
On May 28, 2014, the University of Verona opened its doors for a crucial event. Inside the Polo Zanotto, director Obehi Ewanfoh premiered his documentary, “Veronetta: The New Face of a Neighborhood.” This wasn’t just a movie night. There was more to it. Obehi had spent years interviewing students and residents in Veronetta, the very neighborhood where the university sits, to capture the real, unedited lives of the African and immigrant community living there. It was a massive success that brought the “hidden” side of the city directly into the spotlight of the university.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
This event was a perfect example of what we call “Mission Excavation” in AClasses Academy. It’s about digging up the truth of our daily lives and turning that information into something valuable that the world cannot ignore. The screening brought together an incredible mix of leaders, including:
- Anna Leso: The City Councilor for Equal Opportunities.
- Agostino Portera: Director of the Center for Intercultural Studies.
- Mustapha Wagne: A key leader for the migrant community in Verona.
- Obehi Ewanfoh: The filmmaker and architect of the project.
Why This Matters for You
For any Diaspora business owner, leader, or founder, this event is a great example of how to be heard. It shows the power of the Story-to-Asset methodology. Instead of waiting for the media to talk about us, Obehi took a “fragmented reality”, the everyday struggles and joys of a neighborhood and turned it into a professional project.
See also Samia Oursana Interviews Obehi Ewanfoh About His Works In The Diaspora Community in Verona and Italy
By doing this, he forced major institutions (the city government and the university) to sit down, listen, and recognize the African Diaspora as a vital part of the city’s future. He proved that when you own your story, you own your seat at the table.
Deconstructing the “Veronetta Lab”
Veronetta is not just a neighborhood in the heart of Verona; it is a historical crossroads of the African Diaspora. Since 1976, it has served as the “first room” for thousands of Africans arriving in Northern Italy, a gateway that has witnessed the evolution of our community from survival to contribution.
However, for nearly forty years, the narrative of Veronetta was “rented” by outsiders. In the local press and political discourse, it was often described through the lens of a place of tension, a “problem area” to be managed, or a demographic anomaly. The inhabitants lived there, but they did not own the story of the space they occupied.
When Obehi Ewanfoh began filming in 2013, he was acting as a Narrative Strategist. By securing the support of the Verona Film Commission, he moved the community from being the “Subject” of police reports to being the “Architects” of their own history.
The documentary focused on “Intercultural Fusion,” specifically highlighting the Casa di Ramìa (the Intercultural Women’s Center). It didn’t just showcase the struggle of migration; it documented the sophisticated life of the neighborhood.
It proved that the Diaspora didn’t just “occupy” Veronetta, they gave it a “new face.” This is the first step toward Institutional Sovereignty: refusing to let the situation define your presence and instead defining it through your own lens.
The Formula of Institutional Engagement
It’s important to note that Obehi did not simply “post a video” online; he architected an environment where the story became undeniable capital.
The Strategy of Presence
To move from a marginal figure to a sovereign leader, one must understand how to leverage the three layers of institutional power:
- The Political Layer: By involving Anna Leso and the Assessorato alle Pari Opportunità, the project gained official recognition. It moved the Diaspora’s story from the “fringe” to the “center” of civic responsibility.
- The Academic Layer: By partnering with Agostino Portera and the Center for Intercultural Studies, the documentary was elevated from “journalism” to “research.” It became a peer-reviewed asset that scholars and students would be required to cite for generations.
- The Grassroots Layer: By including Mustapha Wagne, the project remained anchored in the “Sovereign Truth” of the streets. It ensured that the intellectual heights of the university did not lose touch with the heartbeat of the people.
This is the exact methodology we employ at AClasses Academy. We call it Asset Architecture. You cannot bypass the system if you do not first understand how to speak to it from a position of authority.
Obehi used this event to prove that “Trapped Expertise”, the lived wisdom of a neighborhood, could be codified into an asset that brings the University Rector and the City Council to the same table.
The “So What?” for the Diaspora Founder:
If you are a professional or a business owner today, are you merely “working” in your field, or are you creating the “documentary” (the asset) that makes the authorities come to you?
At AClasses, we teach you how to stop being a worker in someone else’s narrative and start being the Architect of your own.
From “New Faces” to “Legacy Builders”
In the documentary, the residents of Veronetta shared their experiences of integration. But we must be careful with that word. In the context of Economic Tenancy, “integration” often implies fitting into a house you do not own and following rules you did not write.
The Polo Zanotto presentation was a Sovereign Pivot. Obehi was not asking for permission to exist in Verona; he was presenting the Story-to-Asset proof of the Diaspora’s cultural and economic contribution.
He took the “fragmented dialogues” of a neighborhood, voices that were often talking past one another, and synthesized them into a trilogy covering 40 years of history.
The Multi-Generational Blueprint
The documentary was part of a larger trilogy designed to bridge the gap between three distinct waves of the Diaspora:
- The Pioneers (1976–1990): Those who arrived with nothing and built the first social networks.
- The Established Residents: Those who turned Veronetta into a hub of business and cultural fusion.
- The New Generation: The children of migrants who are neither “foreigners” nor fully “integrated” in the traditional sense, but are instead creating a third, sovereign identity.
Now, look at your own journey. What lessons will you take from this story, and more importantly, how will you turn that inspiration into a concrete plan for your future?
- Narrative Inheritance: Because of this event, the children of Africans in Verona can now look at a University archive and see their parents not as “refugees” or “laborers,” but as the Protagonists of the city’s modern evolution.
- Asset Conversion: This event proved that a filmmaking skill (codified knowledge) could be turned into a Signature Video that builds global trust and institutional leverage.
- Building the Fortress: The success of this screening provided the “Social Capital” necessary to transition from a local researcher to a global educator. It was the precursor to the Obehi Podcast and the AClasses Academy platform.
Conclusion: Reclaiming the Architect’s Seat
The presentation at Polo Zanotto on May 28, 2014, was the moment the “Laboratory of Veronetta” produced its first major global result. It proved that when we document our journey, we stop being “Economic Tenants” and start being Legacy Architects.
Obehi Ewanfoh did not wait for the Italian media to tell the story of Veronetta. He became the media. He did not wait for the University to study his people. He provided the study.
As the proverb says, “One who has been bitten by a snake fears a lizard.” For too long, our community has been bitten by the “snake” of misrepresentation and the “lizard” of institutional exclusion. It is time to stop fearing the systems that were not built for us and start building the systems that are.
AClasses Academy is that system. We are the sanctuary where your “Journey” is transformed from a series of events into a Fortress of Peace and a Sovereign Asset. Book Your Free 15-Minute Legacy Strategy Call Now.
