Between May 8th 2012 and June 12th 2017, Lampedusa-based Giusi Nicolini was mayor of the municipality Lampedusa and Linosa. As a historic representative of Legambiente she served as a longstanding director of the nature reserve of the isle of Lampedusa and has rendered herself conspicous fighting against illegal construction projects on the isle and for the protection of nature, especially the protection of the beach Spiaggia dei Conigli – the spot on the island of the highest symbolic importance and the most important nesting site for Italy’s marine turtles. In the light of the arrival of refugees on Lampedusa, Nicolini took a strong stance against Italian national policy and the terrorist media campaign of 2011. She is convinced that the “biblical exodus”, that was being referred to, never actually took place.
Since her first months in office, she has been fighting to liberate the isle from its isolation when dealing with the constant tragedies on the sea. She appealed to both the public and the European institution, strongly criticising the severe structural deficiencies of the area and the emergency management upon the arrival of migrants.
was awarded numerous prizes for her commitment as a mayor for the citizens of the isle during the migration crisis, including the Civil Passion Prize in Verona, the Simone de Beauvoir Prize in Paris and the Olof Palme Prize in Stockholm, the Saint Geroge Medallion in Kraków and the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe. In April 2017, she was awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize. In the municipal elections however, she was not re-elected as mayor. She has carried on her work as an activist to date.
