A friendly and welcoming Senate President, almost like "a grandfather," was the one who announced the winners of the 16th edition of the "Witnesses of Rights" contest in the chamber of Palazzo Madama. The competition, organized annually by the Senate in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Merit, is aimed at middle school students and focuses on the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 76 years ago on December 10, 1948. La Russa joked with the young participants, saying, "Perhaps in a few years, some of you will sit in these seats and remember this day". He then addressed the students with a few words about the importance of defending rights in light of current events: "The clouds of war are once again looming over Europe; you know about Ukraine and the Middle East. This is a period when rights are under attack. Just recently, in Syria, we witnessed the fall of a barbaric and dictatorial regime, though we do not yet know what will replace it—possibly another equally dictatorial regime, certainly Islamic, but hopefully tolerant toward those who do not follow Islamic law". "Talking about universal human rights is more important than ever today," he concluded.