From local collaboration to the creation of Territorial Education Pacts
A key meeting dedicated to the Peer Sharing project was recently held in the heart of Rome's Municipality VII. This strategic initiative aims to build a true educating community in one of the largest and most complex areas of the capital [see news item Building educational alliances].
The aim of the project is to network and strengthen all those who, in various capacities, are involved in education: schools, associations, cooperatives and local authorities. This is an intense commitment with a common vision: to make the VII Municipality, an area that stretches from San Giovanni to almost Frascati and has a population of around 330,000, equal to that of Florence, a territory capable of valuing its diversity and transforming it into opportunities.
‘The challenge is difficult but also very, very beautiful,’ commented the promoters, recalling how important it is to bring together diverse realities and build lasting alliances.
A model of complementary collaboration
During the meeting, Cristiano Colombi of the SAL association (Solidarity with Latin America Onlus), a partner in the project, highlighted how the day was a valuable opportunity to bring schools and associations together. The discussion gave rise to innovative analyses and proposals, confirming that the needs of schools and the services offered by the third sector complement each other, generating tangible value and new ideas for the future.
Simona Cavallo of Fondazione Labos, project designer and researcher, emphasised that the work revealed different educational needs from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, but also a surprising complementarity between what schools require and what associations offer.
Schools as meeting places
For Marcello Morlacchi, Councillor for Education in Municipio VII, the Peer Sharing project represents “a fundamental building block for the development of an educational community”. The recipe identified? Make schools meeting places: educational centres open to families, parents and children even after school hours, capable of expanding the educational offer and becoming a stable point of reference for the local area.
Towards local education agreements
With the most intense phase of the project now complete, attention is turning to the development of local education agreements. These are agreements that will formally establish alliances between institutions, schools, organisations and associations, ensuring continuity for the actions already underway and opening up new prospects for shared growth.
The Peer Sharing project demonstrates how, through collaboration and synergy between the different components of the community, it is possible to provide concrete answers to educational needs and build a future richer in opportunities for young people in the area. It is a big puzzle, in which every piece – school, association or family – is essential to complete the picture of a cohesive and resilient educational community.
Peer Sharing is a project selected by Impresa sociale Con i bambini as part of the Fund to Combat Child Educational Poverty. The aim of the project, drawing on the diverse skills of the partnership led by ForumSad, is to combat educational poverty in the area by strengthening the educational community of Rome's VII Municipality through “peer sharing” between the various actors active in the area.
