Today, the Biblioteche di Roma, is hosting the first day of the final event of the Global Junior Challenge, which has reached its 8th edition.
The Conference on "School as Conceived by Tullio De Mauro" was opened by Mirta Michilli, at the helm of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale since its foundation in 2001 as the Consorzio Gioventù Digitale. At the time, and for over 1° years, the President of the organisation was Linguist Tullio De Mauro (Torre Annunziata 1932 - Rome 2017).
Mirta Michilli’s Address
This GREAT CELEBRATION OF INNOVATIVE AND INCLUSIVE SCHOOL is how we, at the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, have chosen to commemorate our great mentor Tullio De Mauro, who guided the Fondazione Mondo Digitale since its creation, back in 2001.
We wanted to honour him with a CELEBRATION, a joyous event, for he was a great man, and besides being a great scientist and the greatest Ital
ian linguist, he was JOYFUL and IRONIC, too. He knew how to enjoy the best in life and he LOVED to be around children and YOUTH. He was always present at the past 7 editions of the Global Junior Challenge and always wanted to present the awards to the winners.
However, we honour him with an event for SCHOOLS, because SCHOOL was always at the centre of his civil and intellectual committment as a professor. He always repeated that not only is “studying a tool for freedom,” but also indispensable to increase a country’s productivity and allow the participation of all citizens for the public good – of everyone, excluding no one.
He felt the URGENCY OF ACTING TO HELP SCHOOLING in our country and I believe this was one of the reasons he stayed with us for so long, lending advice and developing strategies, but also to help implement the simplest projects.
RECOGNISING COMITTMENT AND REWARDING THE EXCELLENCE, especially of TEACHERS, was another characteristic that he always demanded be present in our work. This is his heritage. And the Global Junior Challenge is this, too: an award for the many excellences of Italian school. And the award for the Innovative Teacher that we will present tomorrow aims to recognise and promote the precious role of school administrators and teachers who work daily moulding inclusion and quality into education.
Starting this year, the Global Junior Challenge will be dedicated to his memory. We are committed to promoting a high quality, inclusive school and remind everyone that a country cannot be great without a great school system.
Finally, I would like to remember what Tullio taught me, personally, what helps me be a better person, and which I will always cherish:
The curiosity, the gentle manners, and the humility, because as Professor Serianni reminds us in one of his texts, quoting Leopardi:
“Almost all men of great value, have very simple manners.”
