Social inclusion in Piazzola sul Brenta (Italy)

Details: Created on Sunday, 03 April 2016 09:44; Written by italy

SOCIAL INCLUSION IN OUR LOCAL AREA – NORTH EAST OF ITALY

Sofia Cabrele IIS Rolando da Piazzola, Piazzola sul Brenta (ITALY)

In order to avoid social exclusion, our territory has always worked hard to create and promote associations and also services that could help foreign young people feeling part of our society. Most of all, many people voluntarily accept to take part in different non-paid activities the local associations organize for this purpose. In order to be able to offer such activities, the associations must be registered and authorized by the town administration.

One of the associations that best works to promote social inclusion in our town, Piazzola sul Brenta, is Jonathan http://www.jonathancoop.com This free social cooperative is made up of young volunteers who help students of all ages and nationalities study and learn the Italian language to get quickly integrated in the italian society. However it also organizes outside activities, such as games and projects, in order to teach Italian and foreign youth that cultural differences are not a barrier.

Other projects like the previous ones have been in use for foreign people and not only youth: for example the scouts. It is a Catholic group of people, teenagers but not only, that once a week gather to help associations which are against mafia to sell products and do volunteer work , and three times a year organize an excursion, usually in the mountains, to get to know each other better and learn together how to deal with difficulties.

Also our local church helps a lot to encourage social inclusion. In their activities, priests support people to accept different life styles, go over barriers that divide different generations, create the conditions so that everyone could be of help for the others.

However, as we know, social exclusion affects also national people with economical problems. In fact, sometimes some Italians do not feel entirely accepted and included in the society for several reasons: for example, they are unemployed or temporarily out of jobs. Some feel excluded because they don’t have enough money to pay fees or buy cool clothes. To avoid this sense of inferiority the Italian government has decided to earmark some money to families with a temporary precarious situation but also has created aggregative opportunities for dialog aimed to encourage mutual understanding and socialization. Also the provincial council is involved in similar projects: they have built and destined a number of houses and flats to people who don’t have one but especially don’t have the money to pay for it. In addition to this, the province organizes events, usually on Sunday, of reunion: they play films for younger and adults, invite people to talk about today’s issues.

I think our territory is doing lot of useful things for social inclusion. However it would be better to organize more days in which foreigners could have the opportunity to feel really part of the local population. This doesn’t necessarily mean to do it with public speeches or debates. An idea could be to organize once a month a sort of party with a theme that includes foreign cultures: an example could be represented by a Chinese party, in which people (Italian and other ethnic groups included) have to wear typical Chinese clothes and eat Chinese food. This could help to better appreciate life styles different from the Italian one.

SOCIAL INCLUSION AT OUR SCHOOL ROLANDO DA PIAZZOLA

Alessandra Facco IIS Rolando da Piazzola, Piazzola sul Brenta (ITALY)

improve social inclusion my school "Rolando da Piazzola" organises a lot of projects that are very helpful, such as students’ exchanges to international destinations, alternative days of school, sports and workshops after the school, social days and desk services.

These projects help not only shy or introverted people to communicate but also students of recent immigration. In my opinion the most interesting and original projects are the alternative school days and social days. The school organises about 2 or 3 such days a year in which teachers don’t teach and regular lessons are banned. During these days we have the opportunity to choose different workshops on several topics, for example science, art, music and cre ativity. There are also debates and conferences organized by the students’ board where topics such as drugs, business and medicine are discussed. Students can join any workshop they like so we choose according to what we are interested most and it's a different way to learn. During the meetings we aren't divided into regular classes but we are with students from all the school so we can interact with young people we don't know. During the debates we first listen to a trainer or a qualified person and after we ask questions and we share opinions and ideas. According to me, talking to different people and not only to classmates is a nice way to interact.

The social day is also a good experience and it's a new experience in the school. The students who join the project have to work for a morning to earn some money that will be given to charities. They also reflect about poverty and people’s exploitation during the meetings before and after the day of work.

Help-desk service is very common in Italy and it's offered also in our local area. The Rolando students help younger students to do their homework. Most of these children are immigrants or they have behavioral problems and poor school results, so they need help. It's a good opportunity for them because they can improve the language and feel integrated.

Playing sport in a football or volleyball school team can be a good way to interact and have fun. Every team have rules that must be observed and the players have to respect each other following these rules. I think that sport is not only entertainment but also a way to learn what respect is when you live together with others. It’s a good way to promote inclusion.

Exchanges are the most social experience and the most helpful but not everybody can afford to host a partner or pay the money to take art in them. However it is an experience that I recommend to do. Learning about other culture is useful to learn to respect it.

SPORT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

Elena Oliver IIS Rolando da Piazzola, Piazzola sul Brenta (ITALY)

I think sport as well as being important to the participants’ physical and mental health, physical activity can also be very valuable in social inclusion and integration. Sport teaches us how to work in a team, it promotes tolerance, respect for others, cooperation, loyalty and friendship.

Team sport is a great model in which to learn the basics in working into a team format. By working together as a part of a group with a common goal, things that an individual can’t reach on their own can be finally possible. The capacity of sport to create links between humans and communities is another factor that helps to link people of different origins, different religions or cultures.

In my opinion sport is important especiallyin the life of a person with a disability. This is because the rehabilitative sport can have influence not only on the physical health but also on reintroducing people with a disability into society. Furthermore, sport teaches independence.

In the place where I go swimming in Piazzola sul Brenta I’ve known a girl who has physical problems. She had a car accident five years ago and she had to have her leg amputated. I asked her if sport had relieved her in some way. She said that sport helped to ‘forget’ the accident and to feel finally free. She also made some new friends there who now help her in a lot of things.

Immigration is a factor that touches us in a particular way nowadays, especially here in Italy. Thousands of refugees escape from Syria every day to try and have a better life here in Europe. I think sport is a way to welcome these people and to try to make them feel integrated and at home.

Sport should be encouraged in schools and should be practiced also in our free time. Unfortunately nowadays in our society to practice sports you need to belong to some sporting associations, hence, an expense for the family. Local councils should provide adequate and safe spaces so that everyone, also from poorer backgrounds can enjoy sport. Sport can be done outside, in a public garden where children or teenagers can meet and play football, basketball, cricket…

In my village for example, a football field has been built where everyone can access and play a game, no matter if you are rich or poor.

All in all, participation in sports is extremely important, and should be encouraged much more. I think that also thanks to sport we could finally learn to accept the “different” and to open our minds to different cultures which we can learn to know and to appreciate.

SOCIAL INCLUSION OF PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

George Petrea IIS Rolando da Piazzola, Piazzola sul Brenta (ITALY)

Social inclusion right now is one of the hottest topics. Thanks to globalization people can travel much more and it's easier for those with economical difficulties to change country, in order to improve their lifestyle. Anyway it's never too easy for foreigners to get acclimatized in a new country, so we interviewed some of them about the various problems they encountered when they first moved here to Italy.

The main problem at the beginning is the lack of knowledge of the local language. This is the first big issue that foreigners meet the first time they arrive in a new country, because when you don't know the language you can't communicate with others so you are cast out of the society and it can be really stressful.
Another problem our interviewed people met when they moved to another country was the local bureaucracy. When somebody goes to another country for the first time, they don't know exactly what the rules are and how they have to behave in order to be bureaucratically regular regarding the identity cards, sanitary services and taxes to pay.

Lastly, another difficulty people had is that in a new country you basically start from zero and you are like a newborn. This problem is both given by the lack of knowledge of the language and by some stereotypes people have about your native country, because it's much harder for local people and institutions to rely on you. For example, if you don't have some references it's hard to get a bank account or a house because people don't know you so they are quite suspicious.

We tried to find out some solutions for these three main problems and we all agreed on one thing: it would be much easier for foreigners if local institutions organized some meetings for people coming from the same country where they can attend some lessons so they can learn the local language in a faster way. These meetings would be good also to encourage communication in order to help each other on the other problems they can meet. At the moment we don't have this kind of institutions in our local area but we think it should be the first of many steps which can help avoiding social exclusion.