Meetings with craftsmen are underway in schools throughout Lazio: artisans, entrepreneurs and social innovation experts are participating in the The Italian Makers Project, promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale and Inail Lazio, in collaboration with the Confederazione Nazionale Artigiani (Cna).
The Itis Pacinotti in Fondi (Latina) will host one such meeting on January 29, 2014 at 10 am in collaboration with Cna Latina.
“We are happy to introduce this initiative that moulds old crafts and new technology," explains Antonello Testa, Provincial Director for CNA Latina. "When we speak about technology, it always seems that we are excluding everything else that came before, without even starting to analyse the phenomena. It’s true that communication has thousands of channels, but its even more true that one it becomes multimedia it reaches its essential peak: in this stage, it can penetrate the deepest of depth and farthest of distances. This initiative was conceived to challenge our times and practices through a synergy that students must always keep in mind in order to hold on to their deepest roots, those that are tied to local history.”
How can old crafts be relaunched with the support of technology? What can be done to get more clients and make better websites? How can we introduce domotics? The students at Itis Pacinotti in Fondi will meet with local craftsmen, including Raffele Pastore (Fondi Carpentry), Salvatore D’Urso (Elettromare Gaeta), Guido Massarella (technological systems in Fondi) and Massimiliano D'Arcangelo (Prometeo Group srl).
The students will work with their teachers on motivation and awareness and learn how to become true problem solvers. The craftsmen will present their activities and then challenge the students to propose innovative solutions to their entrepreneurial issues.
This innovative life education methodology is being promoted and experimented by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in schools throughout Italy. It stimulates students to take a positive approach to the challenges and issues that they may encounter in daily life.
The Italian Makers project aims to relaunch and promote craftsmanship among students and inspire them to take up old crafts with new technology, promote a culture of safety and prevention and enrich their local areas. The project involves 10 schools in the Lazio Region and over 400 students and 20 craftsmanship enterprises.
The training course is subdivided into various phases: training at school on the skills needed to start up a craftsmanship activity, labs to develop creativity, problem solving, communication and networking skills and the creation of local communities with a multi-sector network to identify unused areas that can be used to start up activities and craftsmanship apprentice positions.
Transversal project activities include an awareness raising campaign to relaunch the image and appeal of trades that entail manual activities as these do not only imply “knowing how to make things.” They are modern trades that can benefit from technology and provide an answer to local needs.
Watch the project playlist
For further information:
• Video documentary on craftsmanship [short version]
Press Kit
• The Craftsmen
• The Project
