Education for 50 disadvantaged Romanian children

The Lumea lui Pinocchio Association continues to work on the social inclusion of disadvantaged children, seeking to open up to the local community in the conviction that only a sensitive and responsible society can respond to the educational needs of the most vulnerable children. Over the past year, several activities have been launched to strengthen this dialogue with the territory, through meetings with local institutions, families and the city's schools, attended by the beneficiaries of the Pinocchio Centre: it is precisely this latest initiative that we want to tell you about, as an important step towards building the society of tomorrow. We will do so through the words of Aisha, an international volunteer who is carrying out her civil service at the Pinocchio Centre for a year, and who has accompanied the centre's educators on this adventure.

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"The European continent, as well as each of its member states, is a constellation of ethnicities, languages and cultural traditions that throughout history, as well as today, make it an extremely rich place with enormous potential. Increasingly, it is realised that the factor of diversity is a strength, an element to be leveraged for the strengthening of cultural identity, openness to others and consequently progress.

These issues take on increasing strength in the international arena when it comes to reflecting on the improvement of social conditions and the inclusion of often disadvantaged minorities. This is a slow path, which needs a lot of work to raise the awareness of social actors in order to reap the benefits.

At this point, the question arises as to how an inclusive attitude that values diversity as a benefit and not as an obstacle can be spread and entrenched.
On which members of society should we focus in order to spread the idea of diversity inclusion as a good social practice? On children, on those who, free of prejudice and preconceptions, use this notion as a new and exciting filter for learning about the reality around them. A training that, put into practice from an early age, could lead to normalising this attitude, to making it a constitutive part of a person's values.

Lumea lui Pinocchio di Panciu, through a project financed by North European funds, has promoted within the city's schools a series of workshops entitled "Multe chipuri, o comunitate" ("Many faces, one community") that began last November and has now come to its conclusion.
The aim of the initiative was to involve the youngest segment of society, through activities suitably adapted to the age of the children and carried out during school hours. The cycle of workshops, which first involved the older ones and then the younger ones, revolved around a single objective: to raise awareness of tolerance and empathy, to train the ability to empathise in those situations where malaise is tangible, to raise awareness and reduce the risk of discrimination and social exclusion of minorities. Among the activities proposed, the one that had the greatest resonance was "Fa un pas înainte" ("Do a step forward"), during which the children were put in a position to simulate real-life situations and realise how great the distance is between those who enjoy resources and those who do not.
For the younger classes, on the other hand, the association set out to deal with the theme of diversity as an opportunity and an advantage. Through activities designed to reflect on important topics, such as the appreciation of diversity, pride in the characteristics that make us unique, and the emotional consequences of marking inequalities, it was possible to lead the children to a discussion and exchange rich in content.

An attempt was made to emphasise how everyone was different but at the same time unequalled, unique and extraordinary. They began by analysing differences in physical appearance, height, size or braces on teeth, and then moved on to reflect on cultural, religious and linguistic diversity. Each of them told the class why they felt unique: some because of the passions they cultivated, some because they were born in another place, some because they could speak another language and some because they had grown up in contact with other religious beliefs. The appreciation of each child created an atmosphere of general enthusiasm and awareness of diversity as a privilege and advantage for the class, a small microcosm containing the society of tomorrow. "

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