Italy (Brussels Morning) The entities Bios and Puliamo Messina have participated in the regional call “Youth and sustainability” with two different initiatives that aim at the same objectives: to promote social and educational inclusion, educational growth paths, and to combat youth discomfort. The details of the proposals that would be funded if the evaluation were positive.
Palazzo Zanca collaborates with local associations, aiming to enhance the skills of young people while simultaneously promoting the city’s cultural and artistic heritage. It is with this motivation that the municipal administration has decided to participate, as a partner, in two projects presented by two local associations, Bios and Puliamo Messina. These associations have applied to the regional call “Youth and sustainability,” which taps into the youth policy fund.
“This is the result of a journey we are undertaking within the territory,” explained Liana Cannata, the Councilor for Youth Policies of the Municipality of Messina. “There has been a synergy with associations dealing with youth and the territory, following what is social innovation: co-designing with the existing realities in the city to enhance the skills of young people and at the same time promote the city’s cultural and artistic heritage. A network has been created in the city that allows us to be ready to adhere to these initiatives.”
The general objectives are “to foster social and educational inclusion of young people and to combat youth discomfort by promoting knowledge of the local context in socio-environmental and techno-anthropological aspects,” as stated in the call, and “to encourage educational pathways for growth and awareness of young people through good practices that promote the acquisition of skills in the artistic and/or sports fields, also valorizing city spaces designated for youth aggregation.” However, the associations plan to pursue them with different activities.
The initiative “A.S.I.MO.V. – Going to Sicily In Virtual Mode” by the Bios association “focuses on the social, inclusive, and sustainable participation of young Sicilians between 14 and 29 years old to promote the psychophysical well-being of young people and the prevention of youth discomfort in the most disadvantaged territories, ensuring them effective educational opportunities and promoting knowledge of the local context in socio-environmental and techno-anthropological aspects, actively involving young people in aggregative processes, even with innovative methodologies – as read in the project description – More specifically, the project aims to create a partnership with educational institutions (represented by the Provincial School Office of Messina), the Municipality of Messina (which will also involve its youth council) and the CIRCE Association (which is part of the Network of Museums of Sicilian Emigration and owns the Museum of the Island of Salina), so as to promote social, inclusive, and sustainable participation of young people in school and social relationships in general, in a project logic aimed at developing an innovative approach to spreading knowledge (through Virtual Tours) of the specific aspects of the local context, such as cultural, anthropological, and environmental aspects, through the acquisition of good practices including digital ones and knowledge of low environmental impact production processes and methodologies useful for the development of territories and enterprises in order to foster the employment potential of young people (such as the acquisition of skills in the digital sector) and at the same time counteract youth discomfort in its various forms, with particular attention to the most disadvantaged territorial contexts and the presence of so-called NEET youth.”
The planned activities, as explained by the members of the association in the description of the initiative, aim to actively involve young people in aggregative processes, “even with innovative methodologies, in order to promote their social inclusion and school support also outside school hours, including through consulting and support on specific topics”, as well as to promote the socio-cultural, territorial, and anthropological heritage of Sicily, “through the knowledge of good practices and innovative methodologies also digital and with low environmental impact, with the aim of providing tools to favor youth employment and entrepreneurship and offer development potentials of the local context”; spread the knowledge of good practices and eco-sustainable methods with low environmental impact, “aimed at maintaining biodiversity in public spaces of cities to promote a healthy urban environment.” And not only: the project, as always read in the sheet, also aims to actively involve young people in production and creative processes in order to promote their social inclusion, promote the cultural heritage of Sicily also from a perspective of employment and youth entrepreneurship; enhance public spaces (e.g., theaters, green spaces, velodromes, parks, etc.); encourage youth aggregation and social inclusion through the promotion of cultural activities; foster the acquisition of skills to promote the psychophysical well-being of young people and the prevention of youth discomfort in general, with regard to the causes that generate school dropout in the most disadvantaged territories.
The other initiative, on the other hand, that of the Puliamo Messina association, titled “S.P.R – Resilient public space,” aims “to transform portions of the territory of the outskirts of Messina into regenerated public spaces, promoting the active participation of the community and favoring sustainable development through an inclusive and artistic approach. The main objective is urban regeneration, transforming degraded public areas into more welcoming, safe, and vital spaces, actively involving residents, especially young people, in the co-design and realization of interventions, thus promoting direct community participation in defining their living environment – as read in the description – The project also aims to offer training and artistic opportunities, especially to young people, to foster the development of skills useful in the professional context, thus improving the physical spaces, but also contributing to the cultural growth of the community, also promoting knowledge of the historical-artistic and cultural heritage of the city.”
“The planned activities include data collection through territory analysis, public meetings, questionnaires, and creative workshops, co-design that will involve the community in defining specific urban regeneration projects of three public spaces in three different districts, the physical transformation of these spaces through interventions carried out by artists, craftsmen, and with the active participation of the citizenry – explains the association – In addition to physical regeneration, the project aims to create social content in the new regenerated spaces, with artistic, cultural, and educational activities, with the goal of providing opportunities for personal growth and development, especially among young residents. Collaborations with local artists, craftsmen, and professionals will be developed, as well as the active participation of the community, with the use of human resources and local skills, will promote greater involvement. The communication of experiences through a web platform will help share the successes of the project, inspire other communities, and promote the creation of replicable models.” This project also involves the collaboration of other local entities, besides the Municipality of Messina, namely: the Volunteer Services Center of Messina (Cesv) and the Ionio Association.
In both projects, moreover, in case the evaluation outcome is positive, the Youth Council of Palazzo Zanca will also be involved.
You can read the original article here
