A cultural, artistic and aggregative container completely aimed at minors in the heart of Torricelli, an at-risk neighborhood in the city of Cerignola.
It is “Open Space – Multipurpose Community Center for aggregation, expression and active youth participation”, the project presented on 23 April at the ‘Cercat’ in Cerignola and supported by ‘Con i Bambini’, a non-profit company which finances programs to combat child educational poverty.
A real ‘Territorial Educational Pact’ with the city’s Educational Community, signed together with the Municipality, represented at the conference by the official Mariapia Berardi, of the Department of Social Policies: “The idea is to enhance a neighborhood on which we have been betting for a few years”, Berardi herself declared, “which will allow us to identify and combat cases of minors at risk, abandonment and school dropout, while enhancing youth protagonism”.
Theatre, cinema, music, books, comics. Art courses with particular attention to the world of graffiti, trying to create street-art contests and impromptu exhibitions on site. But also photography and videomaking, passing through more manual workshops such as ceramics, stage costumes, set design, without forgetting courses of education in legality and citizenship.
Spazio Aperto will be all this, “giving full citizenship to people with social disadvantages as well as disabilities – as added Marco Sbarra of Escoop, project leader – hoping that it will become a point of reference for the entire city”. The place designated to welcome activities through professionals and sector specialists is the Cercat in Cerignola (in via Urbe, corner of via La Spezia): “It will be here that the same guys involved – added Giuseppe D’Agostino, project coordinator – they will give their contribution in planning the activities, also thinking about how to refunctionalize the structure”.
A decisive role will be that of the Don Bosco-Battisti Comprehensive Institute: “Our job will be to hook up the guys and bring them here – said teacher Irene Guercia – this is because we are present as a nursery, primary and secondary school, we know our students and often we do not realize their hidden talents which they simply do not have the opportunity to bring out”.
The contribution of the Alice cooperative will also be important, which will guarantee a mini-bus service for users, creating a network between the neighborhoods of Cerignola. In addition to the aforementioned entities, the following partners complete the picture of the Educational Community: aps OltreBabele; aps Resurb; Liberarti Association; the L’Albero dei Fichi bookshop by Marianna Longo; Cinema Riuniti; Verderamina Association; Waste Stone Social Cooperative.
