GALLARATE – «Only those who dream walk 100 years». It is the slogan, “translated” also into an ad hoc logo, which accompanies the celebrations for the first century of life of the AGESCI Gallarate scout group 1founded way back in 1924. They are 80 kids who, led by 80 responsible leaders (volunteers), carry out the mission of Baden Powell with the insignia of “Gallarate 1”. Sunday May 19th they were 300 of them – including scouts from yesterday and today, families and onlookers – for Mass in the Basilica and lunch at the Youth Center.
All in the center of Gallarate
The celebrations have the center of the city of Gallarate is animated on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th: on Saturday 18th scouting was told through a photographic exhibition (“100 photos for 100 years“, in the church of San Pietro) which retraced the history of Gallaratese scouting, and one demonstration of techniques and constructions that the boys use during scout activities (“Poles, ropes, squadrons at work”, in Piazza Libertà). It was Sunday the 19th on the day of the birthday party which began with the Eucharistic Celebration in the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta and continued with lunch at the Youth Center together with scouts from yesterday and today, families and onlookers.
The celebrations
The 100 years of the AGESCI Gallarate 1 scout group are «an anniversary to celebrate to dream of the future of scouting in the Gallaratese reality», as they explain the scout leaders Veronica Cavalleri and Marco Caruso. The Group is making it through a complex path of meetings and initiativeswhich began last April 19th in the Martignoni room with the narration of the group’s history by Mariano Sinisi (author of the books Passa la Gioventù: history of scouting in Gallarate and Manual for Lupetti Dentro) in dialogue with the journalist Roberto Morandi. Last week at the Sacred Heart Institute, for the second entitled event “It’s the power of the dream!”was the protagonist the war clown Marco RodariClaun Il Pimpa, with a testimony of the volunteering experience that led him to take care, through the art of clowning, of children who have suffered trauma as a result of a war they experienced or are still experiencing, forcefully fueling their dream of peace.
Next appointments
The path will then continue between September and December 2024, with further initiatives, always aimed at the city and those in the area involved in education:
- “Stray Eagles: Believe, disobey, resist“, scheduled for September 21, 2024 at 5pm, a theatrical monologue that tells a true story of young scoutswho in the twenty years of fascism, when everything seemed lost, decided not to lower their heads and give their contribution to the resistance to fascism;
- “What dreams for education today?” scheduled for October, a dialogue with Alberto Pellai on educational topics which are relevant today in the education of children, teenagers and young people;
- “From failure to a new dream“, scheduled for November 14, 2024 at 9.30 pm with Don Claudio Burgio who will offer his reflection on the theme of the role of adults in accompanying children and young people to overcome the possible failures that can be experienced in everyday life.
The motto and the logo
To accompany celebrations and celebrations the motto “Only those who dream walk 100 years” to «underline – the Group explains – how the ability to dream is fundamental in the educational field to ensure that young people can look to their future with confidence». The path of these celebrations «desires increasingly strengthen the scout group’s bond with the city and to make this reality known to all those who have not had the opportunity to come into contact with this reality. In the hope that this celebration can truly be shared in the city of which the group has always felt a living part in these 100 years.” The logo that accompanies the centenary was created directly by the boys and analyzed in a panel created by the scouts Davide and Giosuè Aliverti (see photo).
The Gallarate group 1
The AGESCI Gallarate 1 scout group (Italian Catholic Guides and Scouts Association) is an educational reality in the city of Gallarate which offers children, teenagers and young people in our territory, in the age group from 8 to 21 yearsa proposal for free time and extra-curricular activities which is structured according to the principles and method of scouting created by Baden-Powell in 1907 and adapted to boys and girls in today’s social reality. The scout method attributes importance to all the essential components of the person, striving to help them develop and grow in harmony, in a journey that is attentive to each individual’s individuality.
