The “Climate Change? Claim the Change!” project has recently come to an end. Managed by Fondazione ACRA and financed with 8×1000 funds of the Istituto, it aimed at encouraging those behaviors that combat climate change starting from education and the empowerment of young people and the educating community.
More than 90 teachers participated in training courses in order to acquire effective tools to approach the issue of environmental protection and individual responsibility in their classes.
Furthermore, 1,600 students actively took part in workshops in primary and middle schools in eight regions in Italy.
In the extracurricular context, the project organized four residential and semi-residential workshops on climate change, with the participation of 90 youths from different regions in Italy. Teaching methodologies included outdoor education, theater, cinema, narration, drawing and sports.
Local actions to combat climate change were activated all over Italy, with the active participation of 13 youth associations in twenty municipalities.
Among other initiatives, during the Orvieto Cinema Festival, on 20 September, representatives of the IBISG participated in the award ceremony for the best short films by youth below the age of 25 on environmental sustainability.
We report below the experience shared by some beneficiaries and trainers, which highlight the great value of these actions.
Sara Marazzini, who is in charge of ACRA projects in Italy and Europe, said: «Our goal is to let people understand that every choice we make here and now is directly linked to everything that happens elsewhere: environmental dynamics, migrations, etc. Our interventions aim at fostering a sense of community that overcomes borders and recognizes that we all belong to our planet, our shared home.»
Experiences
The journals of the regions: accounts of ACRA’s various initiatives
Umbria
Gubbio
«In April with our class we explored nature, vegetable gardens, aromatic plants and farm animals! We realized that understanding nature in depth is key to loving and protecting it! We understood that waste sorting can also be fun.»
A student of the Montessori primary school in Gubbio
Spoleto
«We had gloves and pliers to clean walking paths. This way we didn’t have to bend down and touch objects with our hands. By the end of the day we collected 2 bags full of trash! I understood that everyone can make the difference, starting from small, simple actions to take care of the environment!».
Children in the Cooperativa Il Cerchio who participated in an active citizenship day cleaning mountain trails near Spoleto in collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) of Spoleto
Lazio
Rome
«On 20 May our class participated in a theater education festival. We went on stage at the “2 PINI” auditorium in our city to make adults understand how important it is to protect nature and combat climate change. A turtle trapped in a plastic bag, a mountain standing naked without its trees, the bees’ waggle dance: these are some of the stories we wrote, scripted and staged».
Students of the I.C. Publio Vibio Mariano who took part in the theater education festival organized by Associazione Domus Artis
Marche
Serra de’ Conti
«I attend the Leopardi school in Serra de’ Conti, a village in the Marche region. With ACRA trainers we learned about taking care of the landscape. We explored the sounds and characteristics of the landscape, we made drawings and learned how to write stories about nature. Then we studied the history of the “San Francesco” park, which was a landfill until recently and is now becoming a wood. Our drawings and ideas on how to clean up the park and make it more beautiful were shown in an exposition first at the “Noceto” in via Valle and then in the San Francesco Cloister, in the center of the village.»
Student of the Giacomo Leopardi primary school in Serra de’ Conti
Friuli Venezia-Giulia
Pordenone
«In the framework of the sustainability festival, today we are staging this first project called “Benzina” (Gasoline) that focuses on environmental and water resources sustainability addressed by different generations. In this theatrical play three characters of different ages and social status interact in a supermarket. It is our response to the environmental challenges launched by the “Climate Change? Claim the Change!” project by ACRA. »
Extract from a radio interview with Marta, Francesca and Rachele from the “Innesco” youth theater group created in collaboration with the Spk Teatro theater association in Pordenone
Lombardy
Milan
«Hi, I’m Valentina from Associazione CasciNet. We participated in the call for proposals on environmental challenges of the “Climate Change? Claim the Change!” project. Our proposal is called “La porta verde del grande Parco Forlanini” (The green door of the great Forlanini park) and it consists in planting some trees to increase the value of an area that has a special history because it is located at the southern border of the city of Milan, which used to be the limit between city and countryside. Today the dividing line is blurred and this area is looking for a new identity, which we are trying to rebuild in close collaboration with the local community. CasciNet’s motto is “regenerating land, regenerating people”. These two components cannot be separated and both find concrete realization in this reforestation challenge. »
Extract from a radio interview with Valentina Capocefalo of CasciNet, an association of young people under the age of 35 in Milan that actively pursues transition practices towards environmental sustainability. It participated in the “Environmental Challenges” contest.
Veneto
«In the training activities carried out with ACRA we used the theater education methodology to create a space where boys and girls can express their ideas and feelings on a certain topic. In my class the topic was wolves, animals that we should respect because they are at risk for extinction, but that can make us feel very afraid. And they also have a symbolic role in childhood stories. »
Extract from the interview with Emilio Milani, ACRA trainer in the Veneto region