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Insider Solutions
Case Studies 2005 - To&Tu
This is a project organised by Turin City Council together with community centres, association and public administration bodies. When? 2003 |
The Centre and the neighbourhood One peculiarity of the Community Centres is their close connection and involvement with their specific locality. This entails the creation of a dialogue and the establishment of new collaborations. By so doing, the centres gather new information and foster transformation and growth. The 'dialogue' between the Centres and the neighbourhood they serve, is a two-way exchange between the Centres and their local populations: focusing attention on the neighbourhood builds relationships and opportunities for the entire city. As a result of this,the network of communications between different Centres becomes an important resource, functioning as a mean for essential exchanges of ideas and information. Spaces and Opportunities First of all it is important to define the relationship between the Centre and the services offered therein. It becomes possible to define each Centre as a space where the leading role is played by the individual and not the service itself. Having said that, the evolution of the service not infrequently becomes predominant and results in the service itself taking on the process as an all consuming activity. Centres are places that need to be looked after from a practical, aesthetic and contextual point of view in order to foster the free expression of ideas and abilities. Taking care of the space derives from the continuous dialogue between the activities offered in the Centres and the methodologies used to involve young people, and the needs of the young people within their neighbourhood. The meeting place Everything that takes place within the centres is reflected in the importance of 'encounters'. The encounters between people, between people and their opportunities and between people and the neighbourhood. These relationships become occasions to encourage personal growth and to develop experiences of citizenship. Encounters in the Centre also take place between the difference cultures of the young people. These include their practical knowledge, derived from their everyday lives and their sense of belonging to a particular group. The process of exchanging aspects of these diverse cultures provides an important contribution to the awareness of the social context in which the young people live. Promotion of creativity The Centres are also a place in which creativity is fostered. Creativity allows the meeting of different cultures, permits the free expression of different points of view, of passions and abilities directed towards the creation of products that can be useful to the whole community. The invitation The Centres have to be welcoming and a place that can be easily accessed. The diverse activities and the physical space of the centre offers a profound sense of inviting the young people, providing a space in which anyone can come along, bring his/her own story, a place in which to build good rapport with other people. Place for knowledge Knowledge and information are the fundamental objectives of the projects carried out in the Centres. All the activities that are borne out of the encounters of young people cultivate the importance of the improvement and exchange of knowledge, both technical and cultural. This is a project organised by Turin City Council together with the community centres, associations and public administration bodies. The structure of the TO&TU Network includes:
Elements that characterise the Centres:
Planning and evaluation
Activities of inclusion
Experimentation
The network becomes a metaphor to describe a means of working within individual Centres, between different Centres and all the organisations involved in this type of social inclusion work. Working within the network helps to foster a cultural and political choice. This choice entails the building of links and relationships within a social and political context that not infrequently promotes fragmentation and separation; the network therefore helps to highlight personal success as a way of self-affirmation and of developing a sense of belonging within the community. The choice of creating links and relationships is therefore a serious and meaningful strategic choice within the social and cultural context. The network within the Centres allows the fostering of the following opportunities:
It is important to underline at this point that in the TO&TU project the network plays an important role for young people. The network offers them the opportunity to step into different cultural arenas and create new links with other networks, thereby promoting a richer experience and a more complex sense of belonging. How did the young people get involved? The Centre is usually attended by people of different ages. On the one hand, this highlights the importance of the network as a project needed by diverse groups; on the other hand, it is important to recognise the necessity of keeping intact the diverse cultural contexts of the individuals, in order to meet each of their needs. Details provided by: Valeria Buonomo, Social Worker |