Tomorrow, June 20, is the annual "Io ci sono" Solidarity Football Tournament for refugees that will be held in five Italian cities together with Microsoft and the Fondazione Mondo Digitale. This is a unique challenge against indifference with schools and immigration reception centre guests.
The Italy that sides with refugees is the slogan coined by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to celebrate World Refugee Day 2017.
And this commitment is buttressed by the "Io ci sono" Solidarity Football Tournament promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale, which thanks to the support of Microsoft and the patronage of the UNHCR, is now Italy-wide.
Tomorrow, June 20, junior high students and immigration reception centre guests will meet on football pitches in Milan, Rome, Naples, Catania and Messina to launch a shared message of solidarity and welcome. For the first time, this year the match will also be held in Milan, where Microsoft has inaugurated a new office that is becoming an aggregation centre not only for institutions, schools and third sector organisations, but also for all citizens who wish to employ technology to increase their competences and reduce the social divide in their reference community.
This initiative consolidates the collaboration underway between Microsoft and the Fondazione Mondo Digitale for a shared project that promotes the social inclusion of immigrants and refugees in their host country through educational activities. From 2016 to 2017, the partnership has led to two projects - RefugIS and Co-Host – that have allowed over 2000 refugees to access school and participate in digital, linguistic and civic literacy courses held by Italian students.
One thousand and three hundred students from school in Rome, Naples Reggio Calabria, Palermo and Catania have acted as digital, cultural and social facilitators. The local courses and organization of events such as “I Am There” are part of the "Third Reception Formula" that transforms schools into a hub for education, integration and citizenship 4.0.
On June 20, over 200 students and reception centre guests will participate in Rome in the solidarity football match. In Rome and Milan, a special tournament will involve Microsoft employees. The first match will begin at 9 am in Messina at IS Verona Trento, followed by Rome at 5 pm (Campo di calcio Santa Maria, via Matteo Boiardo 28) and at 6 pm Catania (IIS L. Da Vinci) and Milan (Campo Playmore, via Moscova 26). The event will be closed by the 7 pm match in Naples (Campo Mario Lenci, via Brigata Bologna 85).
The initiative is promoted by: PlayMore, Comunità di Sant’Egidio, Centro Studi e Ricerche IDOS, Associazione Italiana Arbitri (AIA), Le Danze di Piazza Vittorio, Più Culture, Matemù, IIS L. Da Vinci di Roma, IIS Croce-Aleramo di Roma, IIS Verona Trento di Messina, IIS F.S. Nitti di Napoli, IIS G. Marconi di Catania, Centro sportivo Santa Maria di Roma, Florida Portuense, Centro sportivo “Il faro”.
Radio Sapienza is the Media partner and will comment the Rome match.
