Naples to Reggio Emilia: a matter of looks

With “Naples and Reggio Emilia, a matter of looks” a hundred of children from the Campanian city to the Emilian town

At the international Malaguzzi center and at Palazzo Magnani to see “L’Arte inquieta” exhibition

Fondazione Reggio Emilia – Loris Malaguzzi center, located in Reggio Emilia, and social enterprise Dalla Parte Dei Bambini and Fondazione FOQUS from Naples, are the two realities that actively participate with the purpose of development in pedagogic research and sperimentation of educational process in delicate areas of Italy. For the first time they officialize a partnership that built a priviledge axis between the two experience and the two cities of North and South.

Fondazione Reggio Children, born from educational experience known all over the world as Reggio Emilia approach, and Dalla Parte Dei Bambini, that deals with inclusion process and gave start to FOQUS Project in Quartieri spagnoli of Naples, signed today, Thursday the 2nd of March at Chiostri della Ghiara of Reggio Emilia, a multi-annual agreement which commits the two institutions in a collaboration that is based on a common research and experimentation on contents and educational process.

The collaboration was signed during a special initiative:  “Naples and Reggio Emilia, a matter of looks” that takes place from today until the 4th of March in the emilian city and involves 100 children from elementary schools ‘Dalla Parte Dei Bambini’ of Naples and their peers from the school of Loris Malaguzzi center. They will be with their teachers, in an intense program realised in collaboration with the Institution of the Municipal Infant toddler centers and preschools of Reggio Emilia, of Reggio Emilia srl and the social cooperative of educational services Panta Rei.

The group from Naples – 80 children and 20 adults arrived today at AV Mediopadana Station – was received at the Great cloister of the Ghiara Hostel, the mayor Luca Vecchi and the assessor of Education Raffaella Curioni of Reggio Emilia municipal. The agreement was signed by Rachele Furfaro, FOQUS President and Carla Rinaldi, Fondazione Reggio Children President.

Also Gigliola Venturini and Nando Rinaldo were present, they are respectively the president of the Istitution schoold and preschools of childhood and the director.

“Welcome, i hope you will have a good time in our city, you will be able to see important things that you have already studied in your beautiful city: contemporary art and tricolour, two themes that characterize Reggio Emilia very much” said the mayor Luca Vecchi to the delegation as soon as arrived.

“Thanks to the two fondazioni , they are important in cultural and in educational experimentation, thanks to this agreement Naples and Reggio Emilia are now closer, so that it will be possible for them to exchange knowledge and experience in educational area. This will be a positive collaboration, rich of passion. The mayor of Naples and I discuss it in a recent conversation before you arrived here”.

Talking with the ‘little’ guests, mayor Vecchi said that among the hopes that will turn in certainties this year there is also that Naples will win football championship. All children clapped and it started also a request of autograph for the mayor.

CONTENTS OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN NAPLES AND REGGIO EMILIA

The partnership signed between FOQUS Fondazione and fondazione Reggio Children consists in a closer collaboration and research sharing, and an identification of teaching methods that deals with dispersion and school drop-out, climatic emergency and inequalities, where the role of school assume a crucial function, which it has to be appropriated , updated and renovated.

The importance assigned to the environment and to the quality of school spaces, active participation of families in educational process and the relationship with the community are only a few common traits of mutual advanced developments, which consented the two institutions to be known as pedagogical excellence in Italy and abroad, in particular the certainty to achieve with educational quality project and results of excellence the most difficult areas of urban context and inner areas.

The two institutions, besides their deep differences, have both based their educational philosophies on the potentialities which every child carries. They recognize his right to specific educational programs and highly professional ones. This collaboration pre-announce their commitment on central matters in public debate on school and education.

THE PROGRAM OF CHILDREN’S VISIT FROM NAPLES TO REGGIO EMILIA

The program of “Naples and Reggio Emilia, a matter of looks” will allow to investigate the methods that explore the relationship between art and education, and allows a pedagogical debate between the teachers of the two educational realities.

Today they visit Palazzo Magnani. The children from Naples, Reggio Emilia’s host for three days, cultivated for months an epistolary relationship with artists (alive and not) that would have showed their work in the exhibit “L’Arte inquieta”, organized by Fondazione Palazzo Magnani in these weeks. But many months before, in October, this artists discussed about art with children from Naples. In the imaginary letters (wrote by the teachers) , artists invited kids to debate actively about their works and after months of rich debate each child could see live the picture of the artist. In Palazzo Magnani rooms, children could observe all the piece of art of the “L’Arte inquieta” exhibit that from the very beginning had offered the paintings that would have been protagonists of the educational project.

On the 3rd of March, the program follows with the participation at educational laboratories at the international Loris Malaguzzi center, at Remida and in Emilian schools. On Saturday at 10am children will visit Sala del Tricolore, at the city hall, where the italian flag was born; here the visitors will be welcome by the municipal Council president Matteo Iori.

SUBJECTS OF THE PARTNERSHIP

Fondazione FOQUS (Fondazione Quartier Spagnoli) handles from 2013 an importan project of urban regeneration and social inclusion, that experiments in a fragile quarter of Naples a new model of welfare, education and economy. It promotes social resources, places and people, thanks to educational and social programs.

www.foqusnapoli.it

Social enterprise DPDB (Dalla Parte Dei Bambini), founded in 1985 by Rachele Furfaro, handles in Naples a network of international schools inspired to the cooperative pedagogy of Freinet, of which the principals are the centrality of the subject that learns and the cooperation in the building of shared meanings under the cornerstones of the educational system; it gave rise to regeneration project which develops itself in Quartieri Spagnoli and it promotes Fondazione FOQUS that it’s now in charge.

www.dallapartedeibambini.it

Fondazione Reggio Children born in 2011, the last one born in the world that constitues the educational experience in Reggio Emilia, known as Reggio Emilia approach, develops research projects as well as solidarity and educational ones in Reggio Emilia, in Italy and all over the world in collaboration with various partners. Projects of social interest and cultural integration on a national base and also international, often directed to areas of poverty and social distress. Fondazione Reggio Children in particular refers to the content of the Card “Education of Quality, a global challenge” recently approved, that promotes an education of quality based on educational experience of Reggio Emilia and on the centrality of the child since he is born, as answer to educational, environmental and social emergency, with the collaboration of national and international communities.