“School is a very complex ecosystem, but also the best part of our society,” pointed out Mirta Michilli, Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, at the event presentation that was held yesterday at the Istituto comprensivo Melissa Bassi in Tor Bella Monaca. And the development of inclusive and sustainable ecosystem for the educational community is the objective pursued by Project Smart & Heart Rome with the support of the City of Rome, especially with human capital from the areas suffering the greatest educational poverty and school dropout rates.
The Council was represented by Raffaele Gareri, Director of Rome’s Digital Transformation Department, who presented the innovation gym project in the context of the Smart City Plan, in which “smart” is not just a technological aspect, but a social one, too. The programme aims to create an ecosystem in which “Phyrtual Innovation Gyms collaborate, share strategies and become inspiring models of inclusion,” explains Alfonso Molina, Scientific Director of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
The aim is to collaborate and leave no one behind. The administrators of the first three schools in Rome where innovation gyms will be opened are projected towards a future based on collaboration and common goals.
The Headmistress of the school that just hosted the event, Alessandra Scamardella, declared: “Individual public schools in difficult areas can do much alone. We need the synergy of all educational forces.”
Stefania Forte, Headmistress at IC via Poppea, thanks FMD for having chosen suburban areas as a fertile ground on which to develop the Innovation Gym model: “Each students has hidden talent and schools must make this emerge. The Phyrtual Innovation Gym can strengthen this role. Thanks for allowing us all to dream together.”
Rosa Caccioppo, School Administrator at IIS Carlo Urbani in Ostia, the school that will host the third gym, declared: “Our school is open to the future. And it will be a better future if we all work to integrate digital tools, promote social interaction, and creative a productive and sustainable environment.”
The Smart & Heart Rome network also includes universities in Rome. “Democracy, inclusion and access to education are a value shared by all schools. This project is based on an alliance that will benefit individuals and society,” points out Andrea Benedetto, Director of the Department of Engineering at the Rome “Roma Tre” University.
The University of Tor Vergata was represented by Daniele Carnevale, Associate Professor of Automation and Control, who hopes this alliance will drive students’ desire for science and knowledge, with universities firmly in the front line for the project objectives.
Tiziana Catarci, Professor of Computer Engineering and Director of the Computer, Control and Management Engineering Department at Sapienza University of Rome is interested in inclusion to drive gender equality: “The digital revolution cannot be left to men alone. I hope that this project will drive gender inclusion. Only 15% of the students in my courses are women.”
Three labs - Digital Manufacturing, Sound Lab and Stop Motion as a Narrative Tool - were held for primary and first-degree secondary students during the public event to share the emotion of the first day of school with the students at the Melissa Bassi School in Tor Bella Monaca. We truly hope that the everyone – school directors, young students and university department heads - will not lose hold of yesterday’s enthusiasm.
The event video is available on Facebook
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