PADUA – There are many topics that every day touch the sensitivity of the members of the board of directors of the CSV of Padua and Rovigo. One of the most urgent and pressing ones, also considering the most recent news events in Padua, is that of gender equality. This is why a commitment of 50 thousand euros to undertake actions both internal to the structure and external, with which to act on a cultural level and try to dismantle frequent stereotypes and attitudes both in society and in the world of volunteering, which although it can prove to be open and inclusive.
The project “Balances in motion: thoughts and actions free from gender stereotypes” will start with an internal training course at CSV, which will involve advisors, employees and collaborators at the same time; in the meantime, a group of associations active on the topic will be identified, which will be involved in the co-construction of an omnichannel awareness campaign against gender stereotypes. At the end of the route, a show will be offered to all citizens.
“We are faced with a real educational and cultural emergency”, underlines the vice-president of the CSV Marinella Mantovani, “as Csv we have decided to tackle it from inside and outside, trying to touch more of the realities of our territory and gradually trying to bring together the subjects who can be most incisive. It will be a path co-built with the third sector, schools, communication professionals and citizens”. “The CSV has decided to start this work to try to contribute to a cultural change, without a pre-ordained recipe but asking for the help of all the people who want to contribute, starting from the associations that are getting involved”, underlines the president Luca Marcon“let us therefore address a appeal to all citizens to send us reflections, proposals, stories, experiencesto actively contribute to this change. An appeal obviously also open to associations in our territories.” To contribute to this path it is possible to leave your mark by email [email protected].
“We want to stimulate widespread reflection throughout the community through the protection of human rights,” adds the councilor Patrizia Zantedeschi, “we would like CSV to take on a different role, to make a concrete commitment, both in the provision of services and in raising awareness of its main stakeholders, which are the associations. Even the world of volunteering experiences the same contradictions as society: we must bring education there too.” Vice President Mantovani adds that the objective “is address the cultural root of the problem of gender violence. Over the course of these four years, there have been over six hundred feminicides, an average of 150 per year, one every two days. We must start with the younger generations and for this reason a large part of this journey will also take place in schools. Volunteering has a fundamental role in addressing this social emergency, demolishing gender stereotypes that do nothing but cultivate hatred and violence. Volunteering must therefore initiate concrete actions to spread the culture of gender equality and the CSV takes the field to get involved with the strong desire to have an impact”.
The first concrete commitment will be to take the staff to visit the Anti-Violence Center of Padua, part of the Centro Veneto Progetti Donna network, where it will be possible to learn about the various services offered such as psychological consultancy, legal consultancy and the process with which women they arrive at other routes or other structures, depending on the severity of the reported cases. The visit to the Cav of Padua is scheduled for Wednesday 22 May at 5:00 pm.
At the same time, an internal training course on gender will start at the beginning of June which will touch on topics such as stereotypes, masculinity, violence and communication, also aimed exclusively at CSV staff, including its board of directors.
Also in the month of June, a series of meetings will begin with a group of associations (Centro Veneto Progetti Donna, Donne in nero Padova, Epimeleia, Lottodognimese Padova, Mimosa, PadovaDonne and Tetris have already been contacted, others will be involved shortly) which will coordinated by an external facilitator and assisted by the communication area, to co-build an omnichannel communication campaign against gender stereotypes, which will be launched close to November 25th. The process will culminate in the organization of a show, which will be held close to 8 March 2025.
The councilor for Gender and Equal Opportunities Policies and Counteracting Gender Violence of the Municipality also took part in the presentation at Palazzo Moroni in Padua: “We thank the Volunteer Service Center for this very important project which adds to a puzzle we are building in our territory regarding the topic of training on discrimination and gender violence. Volunteering also proves to do its part and to create a social and cultural fabric that is increasingly aware of the problems concerning gender inequality and violence and, naturally, increasingly ready to fight this phenomenon, together we can make a difference”.
