VILLADOSSOLA – Stop discrimination of all kinds. This is the goal of the project. «"No one is like me"», created by Agedo, the association of parents, relatives and friends of homosexuals, which together with Arcigay of Verbano Cusio Ossola is bringing to the high schools of the area with the support of the Region, Province and Municipality of Verbania. "Over the last three years, we've met with numerous students from the province to try to break down prejudices," explained Paola Dell'Orto, president and founder of Agedo.
«We went in almost all eleven high schools in the province and we met almost 500 kids, mostly from the third year of high school" he adds Marco Coppola President of Arcigay Verbania and the association's national school coordinator. "The data collected is extensive, and it's clear how much more difficult it is to live out one's homosexuality in such a small area than in places like Milan, Bologna, or other large cities," he continues. .
At each meeting, students were given a questionnaire and shown a video documentary entitled: «"No One Is the Same. Adolescents and Homosexuality"» Sponsored by the Province of Milan, the meetings were followed by face-to-face discussions, allowing the students to express their feelings, experiences, and opinions. "The encouragement of direct dialogue between students is an important aspect of the project," says Coppola. "The data collected led to some very interesting results," Coppola emphasizes.
In cases of bullying within institutions Only 3,11% of the kids who witness it intervene in defense of the person who is the victim of the insults. Thirty-five percent say they've never intervened. "The data that emerged when asked: 'Do you think a homosexual boy or girl feels safe in your school?' is sobering: 62.71% of respondents said no," the president of Arcigay notes.
The data collected shows that prejudice and discrimination are increasingly occurring due to the incorrect information that adolescents obtain from a variety of sources.«The belief that a different person is also inferior stems from an incorrect perception of diversity as well as an insufficient dose of habit of understanding and empathy.»Coppola explains. Agedo and Arcigay believe in the importance of any work aimed at understanding the most diverse differences, such as gender, sexual orientation, geographic origin, disability, religion, and language. "The value we've identified through the project is the need to provide accurate information as a basis for generating independent and critical opinions, and a foundation for mutual understanding and civil coexistence. In several cases, young people write us emails after attending the meetings at school, thanking us for discussing the topic," Coppola explains.
After the first two phases of the project, the one in schools and the staging of the show «Martian municipalities», the third part will be presented in October. «"If I were you"», will be the title of a publication which will include some fictional or real stories that will have as their sole common denominator discrimination of all kinds and which will be created by the students.