It took 11 months for the MIUR (Ministry of Education, University and Scientific Research) to authorize the Arcigay project of teacher training courses against homophobic bullying.
The measure was passed only now that the school year is drawing to a close and the authorization is practically unusable. This hasn't stopped Arcigay from conducting training initiatives for teachers and school administrators wherever possible, such as in Bologna.
However, it's hard to believe that the "setback" was due to purely technical reasons. The signals we received from the beginning led us to believe that someone deliberately attempted to hinder a high-profile, scientifically rigorous, and formally flawless training project.
We submitted the application by the regular deadline, March 31, 2002. Projects are normally approved by the summer, but this wasn't the case for our training courses. It took a dozen phone calls, a registered letter, and several attempts to pressure the relevant undersecretary, Valentina Aprea, and senior Ministry officials to get the approval.
We will request a renewal of the authorization for the next school year: in these 11 months, the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR) has had all the time it needed to thoroughly study our training project. Renewing the authorization cannot justify further delays.
In the meantime, all our clubs can still use the authorization they have obtained to promote training courses against homophobia in their city schools.
Luigi Valeri
National Head of School and Communications for Arcigay