Conference Program

The present moment is characterized by increasingly rapid and unpredictable change. The world is dominated by the extreme, the unknown, and the highly improbable (according to current human knowledge); this unpredictability will continue to grow despite the expansion of knowledge, as both scientists and non-scientists are led to observe details rather than the "big picture" and the dynamism of processes (Morin, 1999; Taleb, 2008).

In this context, the individual lives a "Liquid Life" (Bauman, 2008)—a precarious existence lived under conditions of continuous uncertainty, marked by a sense of powerlessness in the face of dizzying changes. Insecurity thus becomes a permanent condition in which "anything may happen, but nothing can be done—or almost nothing [...]" (Bauman, 2017, p. 127). This instability is fueled by permanent conflict and the growth of global violence. Clashes are often reduced to identity simplifications that flatten human complexity into a single affiliation, fueling a violence that denies the plurality of individual stories (Sen, 2006).

Today, neoliberalism has transformed governance into a legitimization of war, surveillance, and terror; a spirit of revenge and a "culture of cruelty" permeate daily life. To design a more just and equitable horizon for government and the economy, one must consider a simultaneous transformation of culture, consciousness, social identities, and values (Giroux, 2014).

This research presents a reflection on the workshop "The Autobiographical Diary for Peace and Nonviolence" organized by the CRED (Educational and Didactic Resource Center) for teachers and educators operating within the "0-6 integrated system" and in schools of all levels in the Valdera area. The workshop, consisting of two meetings attended by over 50 people, was proposed as a response to transform the social situation described above. Its core was the autobiographical device, a practice with transformative and educational potential that allows for the creation of reflective spaces for self-care (Demetrio, 1996).

Autobiography, indeed, offers participants the opportunity to increase self-awareness of their own needs and engage in deep listening—to themselves and others—to recognize and interpret different points of view (Benelli & Tozza, 2024). In line with this description, the workshop utilized autobiography—focused on themes of peace and nonviolence—to allow individuals to reclaim their own history and reflect on the complexity of their existence.

Through the analysis of feedback questionnaires, it emerged how working on one's own memory and biographical events allowed for the identification of different forms of violence (The Community for Human Development, 2010) and the dismantling of the "logic of the enemy" inherent in this society. The ultimate goal is to contribute to the development of theoretical frameworks and pedagogical tools that support a systemic transformation consistent with a universalist (Silo, 2000) and planetary humanism (Morin, 2001). Replacing the logic of confrontation with the practice of listening and self-narration means laying the foundation for a consciousness and a culture where the resolution of differences occurs not through the destruction of the other, but through reconciliation and the recognition of common vulnerability and human dignity.