From Saturday 5th December to Tuesday 8th two meetings were held in Sasso Marconi, near Bologna; the first one concerned the Bullying Project, the second was none other than the last meeting of the Youth Network before the XIII National Congress in February 2010.
There were so many of us, so eager to do things, to share our stories, to discuss and engage in constructive exchanges.
The aim of the Bullying Project workshop was to work on development of new "Communication Campaigns"" on the topic. And so it was. We begin with an excellent non-formal activity to review definitions and discover best practices to apply in schools to prevent homophobic bullying. We then get into the heart of the workshop with four hours entirely dedicated to the topic of social communication: we discuss concepts, slogans, keywords, commercial communication formats, and the brainstorming process. And beyond the technique, we begin to use a common language, to bring our ideas to life and make them real.
Let's try an experiment: dividing ourselves into three groups we work on a anti-bullying campaign Each of these focuses on a different actor/recipient: the bully, the target, and the observer. We work really hard, building on the concepts developed and discussed previously, and after the plenary presentation of the three drafts, the first day of activities concludes.
Sunday is coming and to get a better understanding of the context in which these communication campaigns will operate, we are hosting a speech by High School Students Network, a national student union that deals with the protection of students' rights in secondary schools, with whom we have had the opportunity to work in recent years. I believe this meeting was very useful: collaboration, as well as the simple exchange of information between us and the student unions, is necessary. both to make us more aware of the internal dynamics of the school environment and to facilitate, and this is no small thing, our real and concrete commitment within the classroomsi. The debate is very heated and well-attended, with many asking for information on student rights, such as how to convene an assembly or the protections schools offer to prevent discrimination and exclusion.
The day continues with two very important focus groups. In 2007, Arcigay created a European-wide project on the topic of homophobic bullying, called "Schoolmates"". And among the materials produced there was a ‘'Survival manual for students'’ with information on discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice, and violence.
We set ourselves the goal of improving this tool, after two years of work on schools at Arcigay, in a social context where the word "bullying" has become associated with too many meanings. We're divided into two groups: one works on the content, and I oversee the graphic design. Personally, I was impressed to see everyone so active and eager to use the tools and terminology we shared earlier in the best and most effective way. The result is excellent work in terms of content and structure, which, as usual, is presented and discussed in plenary. Happy and exhausted, we bid farewell to a portion of the group and take a break.
After a shower, we're ready to officially open the Youth Network meeting.
In our recent Skype meetings, we've set ourselves ambitious goals, resulting in a very busy schedule. That's why we try to meet after dinner, too; and it turns out to be a wonderful evening of sharing and discovering the activities of the Arcigay Youth Groups and their Provincial Committees. Each of us brings along materials, photos, videos, and PowerPoint presentations. We travel from Catania to Bolzano, from Turin to Modena, from Milan to Mantua, from Livorno to Pisa, from Naples to Perugia. And no one believes the clock when it's one in the morning...
On Monday, after the usual "warm-up," we begin a new journey. Let's discuss what we mean by “youth” and “generation”. We talk about young gay people and young people in Arcigay. About the things we have in common, the differences. Each of these words carries a significant weight in our work, but it's not easy to find a common understanding about them, both inside and outside the association. We talk about them to provoke, but also with the intention of learning to better explain who we are and why we're involved.
We continue with a moment of "European" education. Fabio (Saccà) tells us how young people and LGBT people are included in the framework of policies for the full social inclusion of citizens in the European Union. It seemed like a political science course, but instead we find ourselves in a lobbying laboratoryWe acquire common points of reference with respect to laws and social policies, Europe has been working on the youth population for years, but based on specific assumptions and precise definitions. We look at how young people are viewed by institutions, what their needs are, what factors institutions consider "exclusionary" for young people from society, and the strategies in place to overcome them. Finally, we defined "how LGBT youth are doing" today using IGLYO's Report on the Social Exclusion of LGBT Youth. This part has given us the tools to "explain" within and outside Arcigay the reasons for youth participation and why young people should benefit from specific services.
We found ourselves with a wealth of tools in hand. And I must say they would have been very useful in the next workshop, the most important one: the one on our future. Imagining the next three years in association means commitment, responsibility, it also means needs. Using countless post-it notes, we've tried to highlight what the Youth Network intends to continue to address in the coming years, gathering ideas, proposals, and suggestions. At the same time, we've also highlighted the needs we'd like the association to address, in terms of training and support. There are many projects, but by building them together, everything truly seems much closer and much more possible.
December 8th arrives, the last day. It's a day entirely dedicated to the Congress and we tackle it starting from what unites all of us members: the statute. We've seen what Arcigay is today, how it works, what its goals are, how its mechanisms work, how the next congress will work, and how it will be possible to participate.
And finally we get one last visit: they join us Giovanni Caponetto and Paolo Patanè as representatives of the two motions under discussion during the XIII National Congress of Arcigay. The meeting's intentions were very simple: to allow us to share who we are, what we do, and what we have accomplished; at the same time, to better understand what has been discussed within the Association in recent months and how we can improve Arcigay together. I must say the meeting was very interesting. Even though we had very little time available, I believe that illustrating our work was very useful in showing them our great determination, motivation, and, above all, the professionalism that I believe we have demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate in the future, whatever the outcome of the conference.
After the meeting, we took a final hour to exchange some impressions: how it went, what we thought of the Congress. We tried to compare the positions at stake, we committed to studying all the documents more closely, but above all we renewed our intention to produce our own contribution, a document to be presented to the Provincial Committees for the Congress. A document we are currently working on.
Personally, I took home a lot of things, and forgive me if I couldn't better convey the spirit and details of these four days in Sasso Marconi. Many have gone home, but for me, the adventure doesn't end here.
Time to pack your bags and We're off again to Scotland, to Edinburgh for the General Assembly of the International LGBTQ Youth Network IGLYO.. Stay tuned. We'll tell you about this one soon, too. Warm greetings to everyone.
