The submission of the works for the first edition of the Prato artistic literary prize: Tales of war and liberation sponsored by the municipalities of Prato and Montemurlo and the province of Prato expired on April 30th; the announcement envisaged the participation of schools in the province of Prato from elementary to high school.
While for the little ones an artistic work was planned that would recall the times of the war with collages, paintings, drawings and re-elaborations, for the older ones the form of a story was required.
The participations were valuable, all of them, and the participation of the classes of children who also joined the support projects with the local Memory Associations, such as the National Association of Fighters and Veterans, was particularly important. The students visited the city’s places of resistance and the stumbling blocks and assimilated the concept of Memory so well that, among all the drawings delivered, some faithfully reproduce the “memory” stones of the city.
Not least were the works of the high school students: reading stories that speak of resistance, partisans, deportation was exciting for the organizers but recognizing that these children had undergone a process of identification with these characters was the culmination of the spirit with which the award was created. The characters that come from the minds of the young people, cross-referenced with the true history of the town, with the events of the city and with family memories, have managed to confirm that even young people, if encouraged, can take a journey of memory and be spokespersons for historical facts.
An aspect to underline is the multi-ethnic participation of students, in a city like Prato which has its strength in diversity. Reading stories of the territory written by students who come from different continents with radically different traditions and discovering that they have made the history of this territory their own is perhaps the most incredible and exciting surprise: Memory is also a vehicle for integration and participation.
The organizers and creators of the initiative (Francesco Bianchi, Luciana Becherini and Marco Zanini) would like to first of all applaud the teachers who accepted the award and got involved, confirming that Memory, if valorised and revitalised, can be part of a stimulating path for today’s young people. If pupils, students and their families become a vehicle of Memory we can be certain that our history will not be lost and that those who lost their lives and suffered unjust deprivations during the war will always be remembered.
The jury was appointed in the persons of prof. Giampiero Nigro (Ancr President), by prof. Francesco Venuti (historian), by prof. Giuseppe Aucello (President of the Gothic Line Museum) and the writer Angela Pagnanelli while the date for the award ceremony has been set for the 3rd of June 2024 at 10:00 am at the House of War Memories for Peace. The winning class of the competition will be invited to the awards ceremony, open to all free of charge, the top three classified will be awarded and it will also be possible to visit the permanent exhibition on the Great War which, we remind you, is also accessible to the blind.
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