Conference Program

The project “Gentle Fairy Tales” is conceived as an educational initiative currently under development, inspired by the memory of Matteo Losa, journalist, writer, and photographer who passed away in 2020 after fourteen years of oncological illness. His personal experience and literary production fostered a profound reflection on the pedagogical value of storytelling and, in particular, on the fairy tale as a symbolic narrative device capable of making complex experiences accessible through the language of emotions. This perspective also echoes the long pedagogical tradition that has attributed a formative and symbolic value to storytelling in educational processes. Within the broader tradition of the history of pedagogy, narrative and fairy tales have long been recognized as formative tools capable of mediating the understanding of human experiences and emotional development.

In the book Piccole fiabe per grandi guerrieri, published by Mondadori, Losa presents fairy tales as a narrative space for exploring and recognizing emotions related to fear, fragility, change, and illness. Within this perspective, storytelling emerges as a tool for awareness and emotional re-elaboration, potentially supporting both children and adults in situations of vulnerability. This view aligns with pedagogical reflections on the formative function of narrative, widely developed within the tradition of the history of pedagogy, and provides the theoretical foundation for the project.

The initiative aims to develop, in the future, creative reading workshops within pediatric hospital wards, configuring itself as an educational intervention in non-formal contexts closely connected to processes of growth and learning. The project intends to introduce reading aloud and narrative reworking as practices capable of fostering emotional, linguistic, and relational competences, while also contributing to psychological well-being during the experience of care.

The project design envisages the involvement of children, parents, and caregivers in structured activities integrating shared reading, creative writing, and expressive sensori-motor practices. In this framework, reading is conceived as a shared space for meaning-making, in which symbolic elaboration can support the recognition and verbalization of complex experiences. Reading would therefore be promoted as an emotional, relational, and embodied experience, encouraging active listening, dialogic interaction, and creative expression, potentially culminating in the creation of a collective narrative product.

The project is situated within the framework of expanded school education, understood as an integrated system of formal and non-formal contexts contributing to the holistic development of the person. From this perspective, narrative assumes a transversal function, connecting emotional literacy, linguistic competences, and active citizenship, in coherence with the person-centered care guidelines promoted by the World Health Organization.

Although not yet implemented, the project is envisioned as a replicable educational model capable of integrating cultural and care dimensions, while enhancing Matteo Losa’s narrative and pedagogical legacy. In this light, the forthcoming film adaptation of Un altro giorno insieme, Losa’s second book, may further amplify the cultural impact of the initiative, strengthening the dialogue between education, health, and community and consolidating storytelling as a shared practice of care. In this perspective, the project also invites further pedagogical reflection on the educational potential of narrative practices in contexts of care and vulnerability.