E.N.E.R.G.Y.

In many urban areas characterised by high social fragility, such as the neighbourhoods of Ponticelli in Naples and Brancaccio in Palermo, educational inequalities continue to widen.

Educational poverty, high school dropout rates and the scarcity of training opportunities profoundly limit the right to learning and the well-being of girls, boys and adolescents. In these contexts, the need to activate pathways that promote educational equity, family support and greater cohesion between school and community emerges strongly.
In these contexts, the need to activate pathways that promote educational equity, support for families and greater cohesion between schools and the community strongly emerges.

It is precisely from this need that the E.N.E.R.G.Y. - Enhancing Nurturing and Education Rights Globally project took shape in 2024, born from the collaboration between Fondazione Reggio Children and The Human Safety Net, a global initiative of Fondazione Generali, with the aim of building participatory educational contexts and promoting active citizenship, social inclusion and a sense of the common good.

Through concrete and inclusive actions, designed to actively involve children, parents, caregivers and education professionals, the project aims to strengthen educational and relational skills, experimenting innovative approaches based on unstructured materials, expressive languages and participative methodologies.

To respond to the educational needs in the most fragile territories, the project proposes integrated solutions that focus on the relationship and the community, including:

• Training courses: meetings for parents and shared activities with children, to strengthen the educational relationship and stimulate creativity, reading, psychomotor skills and digital reflection;
• Open days: educational moments in school and cultural spaces (such as Remida Napoli), designed to promote family participation and a sense of community;
• Training and exchange among educators: workshops and peer-to-peer meetings to support professional growth and build a stronger territorial educational network.

After an initial participatory co-design phase with schools, educators and local realities, an initial calendar of educational and training actions was defined in both territories that will accompany children, families and communities throughout the project.

In Naples, the project involves the Istituto Comprensivo 83° ‘Porchiano Bordiga’ together with the associations Remida Napoli and Aporema. Activities began on 12 April 2025 with an open day at the school, designed as a celebration and presentation of the project, with workshops for children and parents. Further open days are planned from May 2025 to June 2026 at Remida Napoli, with the aim of strengthening family participation and building lasting educational ties. At the same time, training courses for parents and caregivers and a cycle of joint parent-child meetings, designed to stimulate educational dialogue through shared experiences, will start. Starting in May, the ‘Info-Infanzia’ desk, hosted within the school, will also be active, with weekly thematic programming and the involvement of local professionals.

In Palermo, the project actions are developed in the Brancaccio district, involving the Istituto Comprensivo Sperone-Pertini, the Mare Memoria Viva association and the Cuore Che Vede association. Among the main activities, a summer service dedicated to pre-schools is planned for the summers of 2025 and 2026. Training meetings for groups of parents and caregivers are also planned, representing an innovative model of a parenting support desk.

Finally, a psychological and relational support space will be activated within the Sperone-Pertini Comprehensive Institute. The service, aimed at children, young people and families, will adopt an integrated approach combining psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioural and systemic-relational counselling techniques, adapting to the specific needs of each person involved.