Month: August 2022

One of the achievements of the CAP-PERI project consisted in the creation of five different, innovative and creative outputs. 

An important element to take into consideration concerned the variety of creative and artistic languages to involve, so that each local workshop could explore a different creative dimension and develop various potentialities, thus resulting in 5 outputs different from one another. Each workshop was divided into 8 or more sessions (of 2 or more hours each), plus a final session for the presentation of the creative output.

The co-creative workshop in Palermo was conducted by Nunzia Lo Presti. It involved 23 students of the class 3° D of the local Scientific High School “Einstein”, and the creative output was a CAPPERI PODCAST.

The workshop in Milan was undertaken by Isabella Bordoni, involving 19 students from the local High School “IIS Santa Caterina da Siena” and resulted in “MICRO-GIARDINI”: a module environment of biodiversity, cohabitation and sociality. A physical, real environment, arising from processes of an artistic-formative nature, experience, affectivity, expression, recovery and self-construction.

Giancarlos Stellini conducted the co-creative workshop in Mesagne, involving 20 students from the local High School “IISS Epifanio Ferdinando”. This workshop led to the creation of the participatory video OCRA. The video is about the importance of respecting the earth and it presents different activities that were conducted, within the CAP-PERI project, on this topic. 

In Vicenza, Paola Rossi carried out the co-creative workshop engaging 21 students of class 4° BSC of the local High School “G.B. Quadri”, which resulted in SILENT CAPPERI. The aim of the workshop was to create a collective dramaturgical audio-narration, for a site-specific audio-itinerary, to be experienced with headphones while walking in the rural area of Carpaneda, which the students discovered during the experiential workshops with Valentina Anzoise, and which embodied a great number of important topics related to agriculture and sustainability

Finally, In Rome, the co-creative workshop was undertaken by Lorenzo Maragoni, engaging 48 students from two different classes of the local High School “IIS Leonardo Da Vinci”, and the creative output consisted in a Poetry Slam Live Performance. The students were introduced to the creation of poems related to the project and publicly presented the output in front of other students and school staff. 

Below you can read some of these amazing poems (in Italian)!

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Tra trent’anni il mare sarà arrivato dove adesso mi trovo io? 

Quelli di Tolfa diranno ‘andiamo al mare a Maccarese?” 

Quelle di Fregene invece, ah no loro non ci saranno più 

E vedranno in lontananza il mare che sta quaggiù. 

Qui dove adesso è pieno di verde e di gente 

Ci sarà forse un nuovo ambiente?

Manifesti sulla plastica, raccolta differenziata

Ma questa è la via giusta o quella sbagliata? 

Non sprecare l’acqua, spegni la luce!

Queste sono le cose continuamente ripetute 

Ci avete asfissiato con la storia sull’ambiente,

Volete intervenire o parlare per sempre?

(Lucretia, Giovanni, Martina e Giuliana)

***

Quando mi fermo vedo tante avversità,

ma nonostante tutto voglio pensare che 

Tra le tecnologie e le scienze in evoluzione 

molti sogni si realizzeranno.

La società capirà sempre più 

quanto è prezioso il pianeta terra

E il concreto bisogno che ha di curarlo al meglio 

Delle nostre forze e conoscenze,

Affinché possa regalarci ancora per secoli

Preziosi doni come l’acqua, l’aria e il sole.

E soprattutto speriamo di abbassare di qualche grado le temperature

Attraverso l’ecologia rinnovabile.

Credo che tutti meritiamo un pianeta sano,

Con le risorse meravigliose che da sempre abbiamo ricevuto.

Noi tutti siamo parte del pianeta terra, 

per questo è il nostro preciso dovere 

curarlo al meglio delle nostre possibilità.

Così vedo il nostro futuro

(Ylenia)

***

Io so terreno

E sembra vero anche l’arcobaleno.

Piano piano tutto sta finendo

E noi non ce ne stiamo accorgendo

Perché diciamo sticazzi 

se una pianta o un animale sta morendo.

Non abbiamo più tempo per salvare la terra

E frantumare l’effetto serra.

La speranza è la nostra ultima salvezza

Quindi fate attenzione quando comprate la monnezza.

Mi raccomando prudenza

Se non vuoi avere un futuro basato sulla sopravvivenza

In cui tuo figlio potrebbe non farcela

O morire di morte precoce,

quindi alziamo la voce

perché questo mondo non può fare questa fine atroce.

(Yuri, Nicolò)

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On August 19 and 20, 2022 in Brussels at Bois de la Cambre, ALDA took part in the Festival Théâtres Nomades and it was a big success! 

Mainly dedicated to street arts and theater, the Festival “Théâtres Nomades”  was also an eclectic moment open to NGOs and associations to share their work and projects in an interactive way. Invited by Compagnie des Nouveaux Disparus, Head of the Belgium Branch of the Anna Lindh Foundation, ALDA had a stand to promote its values and initiatives such as as the project: Climate of Change. 

The participation in the festival was a great opportunity to exchange with a broad range of audiences, including youngsters and climate activists in a festive atmosphere. It gave us the chance to present the commitment of ALDA to safeguarding the environment and to raising awareness about climate change.

The Climate of Change project underlines the link between climate change and migration, advocating for a more specific protection scheme for climate migrants.​ It also fosters the importance of involvement and participation of young people in policy making since they will face the worst effects of the climate crisis. If you haven’t done it yet we invite you to sign the petition which aims to put the topic on the political agenda and ask for actions from EU institutions.

Thanks to ALDA’s interactive questionnaire on European processes and values, colleagues from the Brussels office stimulated the public’s curiosity and engaged an interesting debate about climate change and the European Union. The approval and support of the people was clear and evident since many signatures were finally collected. 

The festival was a great chance to show the engagement of ALDA for the environmental cause underlining the solutions it is trying to promote with its projects. Furthermore, it was also an important moment of interaction with people and supporters of ALDA’s work and mission.

Funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, the #BeInclusive sport Awards 2022 aim to reward and give visibility to projects that have successfully promoted and fostered social inclusion through sport. The initiative aspires to disseminate innovative ideas and best practices in order to be replicated throughout Europe.

The calls, within this programme, address organisations and public authorities which developed projects aimed at including disadvantaged, marginalised or underprivileged groups. Those include individuals with difficult social, economic or educational backgrounds, people with a disability, health problems or cultural differences, etc. Moreover, projects that support gender equality or involve migrants and refugees are also welcomed.

In the light of the target group of the projects, there are three different Awards and related calls #BeInclusive: 

1. “Breaking Barriers in Sport”, 
2. “ Promoting Gender Equality in Sport “Be Equal”” and
3. “Sport for Peace”.

The eligible projects are the ones developed in the EU Member States or in third countries associated with the programme. The projects will not necessarily be transnational projects nor will necessarily be EU-supported.

#BeInclusive – Breaking Barriers in Sport

Prize rewards sport projects that promote inclusion, dialogue and tolerance, emphasizing the benefits of understanding each other and overcoming obstacles to participation. This category would reward initiatives that support disadvantaged groups, such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities or vulnerable young people, to meet social challenges.

Read more about the call and submit your application here.

#BeInclusive – Promoting Gender Equality in Sport “Be Equal”

Prize rewards projects promoting the empowerment and participation of women and girls in sport. This category would celebrate role models who make gender equality a reality by setting an inspiring example.

Read more about the “ call and submit your application here.

#BeInclusive – Sport for Peace

Prize rewards projects using sport as a vehicle to promote peace and European values. This category would particularly target initiatives promoting the inclusion of refugees.

Read more about the call and submit your application here.

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For other calls for proposal please check the dedicated section

[Image copyright: BeInclusive 2022]

On 19-20 August 2022, Vienna, the capital of Austria, welcomed for the second time the Experts’ Jury of the  “European Capital of Democracy” (ECoD). The latter is an initiative willing to build a network of  cities working for the increment of citizens’ participation. Recently inaugurated, the ECoD champions, every year, a city in Europe representative of democracy, and democratic local innovation.

From a general standpoint, democracy sets the basis to grow, for example, a more equal and just society, to foster freedoms, while safeguarding the planet not only in Europe but all over the world. Therefore, it should never be taken for granted; on the contrary, it should constantly be nourished.

Specifically for this very first edition, already 22 cities from 11 different countries joined, and the Experts’ Jury will now have the hard task to start scrutinizing the candidates. 

Yet, citizens can also have their say! If you are passionate about Europe, democracy, and you want to take part in the initiative, do not miss the opportunity to be among the citizens’ jury.

If “peace”, “equity” or “fair pay and prices” are causes you embrace, apply to be a member of the citizens’ jury, and be the protagonist together with other people. Selected among the 3-5 shortlisted candidate cities, previously chosen by the Expert’s one, the citizens will pick the first European Capital of Democracy, which will be announced in September 2023!

ALDA, together with its Secretary General and Chairwoman of the ECoD Experts’ Jury – Ms. Valmorbida – is very much glad to further support democracy through this initiative.

Within the project “Milan Sport United”, PlayMore! – leader of the initiative –  together with ALDA are glad to announce the open call for the participation in the training workshop “sport, inclusion and volunteering”.

Aiming to encourage integration and social inclusion of refugees in the Metropolitan City of Milan through different activities, the project focuses on sport as a medium through which communication avenues can be opened between people, no matter their social status and background.

🚶If you are:

• A volunteer or collaborator of voluntary associations, NGOs, cooperatives or foundations active in the field of sport or social promotion;
• Passionate about integration through sport of refugees, migrants and people at risk of social exclusion; 
• An organisation that promotes or intends to activate inclusive sports activities;
• Speaking English.

Together with a multicultural team of 20 people, including 6 members of European sports or social promotion associations, 8 local sportsmen and women and 6 local refugees, you will be able to:

• participate in recreational activities of PlayMore!
• share your experience and compare it with that of your peers
• contribute to the identification of effective models and practices

🚶When and Where?

From Thursday 15th to Saturday 17th of September at the PlayMore! Sport centre in via della Moscova, 26, Milan, Italy.  

🚶How to participate:

If you are interested you can send an email  by 28 August 2022 to  Elena and  Rita attaching the completed and signed participation application with the CV by providing the information requested. 

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Call International volunteers 

Participation Application 

In mid July 2022, Vinnytsia experienced a tremendous missile attack that killed 21 people, including 3 children. This is yet another brutal attack to a nation that has been suffering relentlessly since February 2022. It goes without saying that ALDA expressed its solidarity to everyone living in Ukraine. In a tweet, Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary-General of ALDA, re-stated ALDA’s position towards the war against Ukraine, underlining ALDA’s continuous support to the Ukrainian population and reiterating the willingness to establish a new Local Democracy Agency in Vinnytsia.

Since the beginning of the crisis, ALDA has been constantly working to provide concrete help to Ukraine, operating together with the Ukrainian Local Democracy Agencies in Dnipro and Mariupol. In its commitment to reinforce the Local Democracy Agencies, in June 2022, ALDA invited the community of Local Authorities and Civil Society Organisations to the Conference entitled “Supporting the Local Democracy Agencies in Ukraine”, which took place in Brussels. The conference was aimed at giving a reliable update on the situation on the ground in Ukraine, as well as on the activities that ALDA carried out and to provide support to civilians and people in need. The conference was a great success, and it emphasised the will for future initiatives, cooperation and potential opening of the Local Democracy Agencies in Odessa and Vinnytsia.

Since the beginning of the war, ALDA has always shown a strong bond with Ukraine. As declared in its “Statement on the Russian exclusion from the Council of Europe” and in its “Statement on Ukraine-Russia” ALDA firmly condemns the war against Ukraine and it will never stop supporting the country and its people, and to ask the European Union to have an even more engaged role to end the military invasion and start a peace process. 

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Awarded with the European Union’s Operating Grant of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), ALDA promotes the participation of citizens and local communities to the Union Values. In line with the Programme’s priorities and objectives, many of ALDA’s projects and initiatives are inspired by the CERV’s four pillars, and are implemented in cooperation with a large network of members and partners all over Europe and its Neighbourhood. More in specific, the four pillars are: 

1. Equality, Rights and Gender Equality 
2. Citizens’ engagement and participation 
3. Fight all types of violence
4. Protect and promote Union values

More concretely, within the ‘Citizens’ engagement and participation’ pillar, ALDA joined the Award Ceremony of the “Let’s become European Citizens” by European Federalist Movement (EFM), which took place on 30th June 2022 in Verona, Italy. 

The contest, promoted by the EFM, involved a number of students from the Veneto region and aimed at promoting a closer approach of young people to the European Union’s policies and issues. Through initiatives such as this one, ALDA can tackle these issues with a bottom-up approach, relying on the support of sponsors and partners sharing the same values.

Benefitting from 20 years of experience when it comes to citizen engagement and mobilisation, ALDA strongly believes in and supports the active participation of youngsters in the European processes, and thus raising awareness on the benefits of European citizenship from a younger age. 

The DESIRE Project, for example, aims at stimulating youngsters’ critical thinking and raising consciousness on the EU and its core values and advantages. This is particularly compelling in an historical moment where the Union is fighting against euro-scepticism and internal divisions. Starting from the younger generations to achieve a higher objective, ALDA can stimulate growth and development of the democratic realities citizens are living in with the direct participation of civil society, in order to foster active participation in the European process.

These are just two of the many projects ALDA is involved in: the activities supported by the Operating Grant’s programme are diverse and entail various partners. 

Overall, ALDA’s actions for the promotion of democracy and citizens participation in Europe are effective and contribute both in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030, and in proactively supporting the attainment of the CERV Programme’s objectives and principles.

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