Coding Girls in Mozambique: cultural exchange and role modeling session
“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.” - F. Kafka
“Beauty is a concept that manifests itself in many forms and manners, but I am convinced that one of its most authentic and rewarding expressions lies in sharing. Sharing means opening up to others, exchanging ideas, experiences, emotions. It is an act of generosity that enriches both those who give and those who receive, creating a significant bond between people. The beauty of sharing becomes even more evident when young people from different cultures meet, and "beauty" is the word with which I would summarize the double appointment on Friday, June 28 as part of Programme Coding Girls in Mozambique.” This is how Elisabetta Gramatica, who coordinates the project for the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, describes yet another special day connecting Rome, Milan, and the Provinces of Nampula and Sofala in Mozambique. Here’s her story!
The day began with an exchange between twenty high school students from Nampula, a province in the north-east of Mozambique, and various Coding Girls and trainers from the Fondazione Mondo Digitale – Sophia, Elisa, Lara – but also with the enthusiastic participation of Anna Pia and Laura, two Digital Civil Service volunteers who have recently joined the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. After a dynamic exercise to break the ice, the students from Mozambique divided into groups to create an imaginary travel itinerary. The objective was to help the Italian girls discover the wonders of their country. They created detailed itineraries that included visits to national parks, pristine Indian Ocean beaches, and historic cities like Maputo and Beira. There was no shortage of proposals for culinary tastings and moments of leisure with typical dances. And it is precisely to the notes of a Mozambican dance that the true beauty of this exchange was revealed: an authentic sharing experience through the universal language of music, one of the most powerful and beautiful forms of intercultural sharing. The students from Nampula sang and danced to the song and the Italian girls, with a certain pride, played "36", the new single by our Laura Ubaldi. Thus, we found ourselves in a beautiful sound dialogue that even overcame linguistic barriers.
In the afternoon we moved to Sofala, a province in central Mozambique, where twenty students aged 16-23 listened to Micol Spitale, now Assistant Professor (RTD-A) at the Polytechnic of Milan, who conducts research in social robotics and shared her story of challenges and successes, highlighting the importance of perseverance, education, and self-confidence to achieve one's goals. This comparison, almost between peers, demonstrated that role models do not necessarily have to be distant or unattainable figures; rather, they can be ordinary people who, through their experiences and their commitment, become examples to follow. The curiosity of the students and the authenticity of Micol's story made this meeting a moment of sharing that enriched both parties and highlighted the transformative power of personal experiences in motivating and guiding new generations.
It is also through these experiences that the youngest (but not only) learn to see the world with ever new eyes and appreciate what is simply beautiful: be it an imaginary journey, an improvised dance with other who are thousands of kilometres away, or the inspirational testimony of a young woman.
Beauty, in all its forms, flourishes when it is shared.
