So 100 primary school children no longer felt like strangers in their own city
How can we combat educational poverty? But also reduce social detachment and at the same time strengthen the sense of belonging in primary school children, especially in peripheral neighborhoods and among those who come from migrant backgrounds? This is the mission undertaken by ConquistaMi, an educational project born in Milan in 2024 that, in its first pilot year, ended at the end of May.
In this first year it involved more than 100 second grade children from the Francesco Cappelli State Comprehensive Institute and the Arcadia State Comprehensive Institute.
Through four workshops designed as “open-air schools” (Time in Motion, Ideas in Motion, Emotions in Motion and Water in Motion), the children explored the city and some symbolic places: the Gallery of Modern Art, the Museum of Science and Technology, the Gallerie d'Italia and the Civic Aquarium.
Designed by a group of women with experience in the Third Sector, supported by a scientific committee and a multidisciplinary educational group, this social project arises from the need to strengthen the sense of belonging between the city and children, especially for those from the suburbs and with migrant origins. Among Italian children, only 26% feel a sense of belonging to their country and only 24% to the city in which they live . These percentages drop among minors who come from migrant families, respectively 19% and 18%, and plummet among those who do not have citizenship, 14% and 13%.
Added to this is a strong detachment from local culture: over 50% of children in Italy between the ages of 6 and 17 have never visited a museum or historical site and 48% have never read a book outside of school books (data processing by Integration Mapping of Refugee and Migrant children in Schools and other Experiential environments in Europe – Immerse and Save the Children).
Furthermore, 80% of parents tend to enroll their children in schools outside their neighborhood (data from Open Polis and Save the Children), creating a physical and social distancing from students of migrant origin who remain in schools on the outskirts, effectively creating a social divide and school segregation.
In its first pilot year, the project wanted to respond to this educational and social emergency with a playful, experiential and cultural approach: the activities included walking, along itineraries designed to stimulate active knowledge of the territory and the city . Physical movement became a metaphor for emotional, cognitive and civic movement.
Each child received an “explorer’s passport” to complete with stamps and reflections, a map to track their discoveries, and participated in designing activities with the help of their teachers.
At the Gardens of Villa Reale the results of ConquistaMi were presented in an event attended by, among others, the deputy mayor of Milan Anna Scavuzzo , Emmanuel Conte, councilor for the Budget, State Property and Extraordinary Housing Plan and Lamberto Bertolé, Councillor for Welfare and Health.
"In contact with the children who participate in our workshops, I have had the opportunity to observe how the beauty and knowledge of artistic and cultural heritage, from an early age, are able to ignite authentic emotions : amazement, infatuation, wonder. Emotions that are reflected in a profound sense of well-being and, often, in a happiness that can be read in the eyes" proudly stated Maria Beatrice Garagnani, president of the board of directors of Conquistami.
The project was accompanied by a professional study to evaluate the social impact . The study, conducted by Alice Recine with a long experience in Save the Children, an expert on the topic, involved children and teachers through questionnaires and focus groups at three times a year, detecting significant changes in: sense of belonging, cultural curiosity, relational well-being and lifestyles .
This last point, in particular, was developed thanks to the collaboration signed with the Valter Longo Foundation (a non-profit organization founded in 2017 that promotes a healthy and long-lived lifestyle, starting from childhood) which has embraced the project and has allowed us to establish a virtuous alliance to combine the learning of culture with the value of a correct lifestyle in the areas of food and exercise.
"We do not want this project to remain an isolated experience in the school cycle", concludes the president, "but rather that it be the first step of a continuous and long-lasting path , with our laboratories permanently integrated into the school offer. For next year the number of small recipients will at least double, and we are also preparing a new pilot project for 25/26 dedicated to secondary primary schools ".
The next step, the promoters announce, is also to go beyond the borders of Milan and look at other schools in other cities.
In the opening image some children participating in the project in front of the Sforza Castle – all photos from the press office
Vita.it
