“Itália, ti voglio bene!”

 

“If our choice is progressive, if we are in favor of life and not death, equity and not injustice, of right and not of arbitrariness, coexistence with the different and not its denial, we have no other way but to live fully our choice”.

Paulo Freire

 

The International Meeting of Paulo Freire Forum is organized every two years and among the participants are Paulo Freire Institutes from different continents aiming to share different possibilities of achieve an education effectively transforming and guided to a social justice. The 8th edition of the Meeting, which was theme of the first issue of the UniFreire Bulletin, was held in Los Angeles, from September 19 to 22 of 2012, and hosted and organized by Paulo Freire Institute (PFI) – UCLA (University of California), together with the Paulo Freire Institute of United Kingdom.

The general theme of the Forum of 2012 was “Think a World where is Easier to Love: The Education and Social Justice of Paulo Freire”, being developed through three sub themes: Gender and Education, the Role of Intellectuals in Education and Eco-pedagogy.

The VIII edition of the Forum built a critical space for dialogue between 125 exhibitors and 200 participants from over 15 countries. Several important aspects of its accomplishment deserve highlight, among them: the participation of Dean Marcelo Suarez-Orozco and Carlos Torres (PhD in Anthropology by UCLA/Director of PFI – UCLA), as well as Penny Jane Burke (Director of PFI – UK); the performance of the students of Social Awareness Network for Activism through Art group; the cultural visits for the Laboratory-School of UCLA; the presentation of Critical Visual Literacy: an experience of Getty Museum, held by Simon Kenrick, British scholar of History of Art, teacher at Antioch University, Los Angeles, and also, a traditional meeting of World Council of Paulo Freire Institutes that, among other relevant subjects, defines in one of Paulo Freire Forum’s edition where will be held the next one.

Paulo Freire Institutes from Portugal, Italy, USA, Brazil, Argentina and England participated in this meeting of World Council. Penny Burke and Silvia Manfredi presented their applications to the organization of the edition of 2014 of International Meeting of Paulo Freire Forums, proposing that it would be held in England and Italy, respectively. After a dialogue and reflection period, was decided that the IX Edition of Paulo Freire Forum will be host in Italy.

Also in Los Angeles, Silvia Maria Manfredi and Piergiorgio Reggio, respectively the president and vice-president of Paulo Freire Institute of Italy, talked about the richness of opportunities and also the challenge that will be to host and accommodate educators, researchers and social assistants from different countries that are reference in what refers to freirean pedagogy.

The fact that Paulo Freire Institute of Italy be the host of the International Meeting of Paulo Freire Forum of 2014, made the work that they develop was theme of this Community Highlighted section.

Paulo Freire Institute of Italy is a non-profit association, founded on December 30 of 2005. It was born with the objective of being a reference to those who act in the education’s field, in a general form, and the community work. It has as principles to promote criticism to education which is made as a tool of pure transmission of knowledge, education that restricts people and social groups to mere receptors and depositories of knowledge and cultural practices, and also, to affirm the creative and libertarian potentialities of education, as praxis guided to the social change and/or transformation and for dialogic ways of communication.

For the creators of the Institute, the education of adults and the social and cultural action are the main tools for the appreciation of individuals and communities, in the perspective of “be more”, according to the expression coined by Paulo Freire himself. PFI of Italy assumes as goals:

• Promote, update and reinvent the pedagogical-cultural contribution of Paulo Freire, adapting it to the Italian sociocultural context;

• Gather contributions for the cultural and scientific debate of themes linked to educative and social work for the development of communities. Particularly attention is dedicated to overcome of the distances between different scopes, such as from universities, NGOs and entities from both public and private sector, with the perspective of enable a greater articulation;

• Contribute for the development of formation and education of adults and of development works of community, in the context of Italian reality;

• Favor the route of cultural and professional growth of youth who operate in social and community field, educators, formers and cultural animators, and those who have experiences of associations;

• Be a space of confrontation and human and professional growth for those who operate directly with social problematic and processes of exclusion;

• Contribute for the debate of Italian experiences of education of adults and for works with the community through contacts and exchanges with specialists of foreign associative and institutional realities, particularly in respect of the reality of countries members of European Union;

• Participate in international network of Paulo Freire Institutes in the world, keeping exchanges and promoting collaborations ways;

• Achieve experimental and innovative interventions, in the scope of adults’ education and community development. 

 

Many have been the efforts of PFI of Italy in the sense of make reality the goals described above.

In the first half of 2013, the group focused on two important actions, already reported in the first issue of this Bulletin:

1) Promoted important discussion on the theme “The youth and the Participation – activating new ways of citizenship and democracy”, through the lecture held by Frei Betto, on March 19 of 2013 in the community of Novello, region of Piemonte, province of Cuneo, Italy. The lecture was an initiative of Paulo Freire Institute of Italy, in partnership with the Center of Formation Milton Santos – Lorenzo Milani and YEPP (Youth Empowerment Partnership Programme, also from Italy).

2) Held a formative meeting called “Essere Pìu – Personal Growth and collective freedom in the perspective of Freirean Pedagogy”. Through the methodology of “Circles of Culture”, provoked reflections on the era in which we live and the need of radical review of our way of live. The meeting accounted with the facilitation of Piergiorgio Reggio, vice-president of Paulo Freire Institute of Italy and with the participation of members of trentino group of this same Institute. The activity began with the realization of a self-formative path, followed by preparative for the seventh edition of Summer School of Freirean Pedagogy. This, was recently initiated, having the same theme of the formative meeting: Essere Píu.

This edition of Summer School foresees different formative activities coordinated by educators such as Bruno Volpi, founder of World Association of Families and Communities; Prof. Sergio Tramma, Professor of Social Pedagogy – Università di Milano Bicocca; Gisella Vismara – Professor of Accademia di Brera – Milano and Mario Valzania, trainer and psycho-dramatist – Milan. Among the formative activities offered deserves highlight one of them, entitled “People with difficulties and the resources of community – dialogue and conflict from some histories of life”, held in San Bernardo di Rabbí, on August 20 of 2013. This public event gave opportunity to the dialogue between Enrico Molignoni and Sara Nannini, from the group of PFI of Milan and authoress, as her father Aristide, of the book “Gli porterò un vasetto di miele” (“Will bring a jar of honey”). The mediation of the activity was made by Piergiorgio Reggio and there was an intervention of father Giorgio Butterini, cappuccino friar, of Trento.

 

  

Also in this second semester of 2013, PFI of Italy will promote a very important meeting. No only by the chosen thematic for dialogue, by, above all, because this meeting will be debated with more precisely some aspects of next International Meeting of Paulo Freire Forum.

The realization of the sixth Paulo Freire National Forum, under coordination of PFI of Italy, accounts with the collaboration of a group of other associations in its organization. Representatives of these groups will be gathered in Santonno (Italian commune of Lombardia’s region, Province of Varese), on September 20 and 21 of 2013.

The event will start one day after the date of birth of Paulo Freire.

  

Hosted by Father Monti Institute, the title of the forum of PFI of Italy will be: “Globalization and Crise: Educational Alternatives”. In the first day, will participate of a table Prof. Carlos Alberto Torres, sociologist, director of Paulo Freire Institute – Los Angeles and teacher of University of Carlifornia. Together with him will be Prof. Silvia Manfredi (sociologist and pedagogue, teacher of UNICAMP and president of Paulo Freire Institute of Italy).

In the website of Paulo Freire Institute of Italy will be available for download the program of Paulo Freire National Forum, whose entries are already closed. The event will be concluded with the annual meeting of PFI of Italy partners.

On Saturday 21 of September of 2013, will be held an important meeting on IX Paulo Freire Forum, hosted in Turin, between September 17 and 20 of 2014. Is expected a conversation about contents, methods, mode of sensitization and promotion, organization of sub-events, forms of groups, associations participation and further aspects. Turin (in Italian, Torino) is capital and the biggest city of Piemonte’s region, the fourth largest city of Italy and also one of the most populous. The city is headquarter of the manufacturer FIAT and was the capital of Italy between 1861 and 1864. It is in Turin that also is the Turin Shroud, a symbol very important for the Christian community of the planet.

In the last week of August of 2013, Paulo Freire Institute of Brazil received the visit of Silvia Manfredi. In a lively and respectful conversation, both institutions established ties of collective affection and reflection for the next edition of the Forum. Promise to catalyze all that refers to the methodological plan (about the nature of formative activities of the meetings), as well as to use this to interfere positively in the interpersonal relationships of that proposed to be there.

  

 

UniFreire, besides to continue digitizing the materials for all editions of International Meetings of Paulo Freire Forum, in a website that already presented for the International Council (http://forum.unifreire.org/), also started to organize a document-synthesis, kind of a tutorial or general guidelines for the organization of a Paulo Freire Forum, based on the eight first experiences already accomplished.

To know better Paulo Freire Institute of Italy, please, access: http://www.paulofreire.it/