Conference Program

Space plays a key role in shaping individual life trajectories at least at two distinct levels: as an endowment of resources (structural, institutional, and in terms of social capital), and as a context that generates aspirations, worldviews, and specific modes of action. Addressing the role of space in relation to educational careers raises a further challenge, situated at the intersection between emancipation from one’s place of origin—primarily an individual process—and the transformation of those places, which instead has a collective dimension. Establishing a hierarchy between these two levels is implicitly moralizing.

The BELLA! project appropriately seeks to engage with all these dimensions—not out of strategic ambiguity, but precisely because it seems impossible to commit to the improvement of neighbourhoods without simultaneously enabling young residents to test themselves beyond their immediate contexts. Likewise, it seems impossible to foster innovation within local communities without at the same time strengthening their cohesion.

The guiding theme of this roundtable discussion builds on this intuition in order to reflect on public policy. What enabling policies can foster change in complex contexts? How can we manage the complexity of acting on multiple fronts, where coordination and synergy across different sectors are required?

More specifically:

• Marco Rossi-Doria, currently President of Con i Bambini, formerly a “street teacher” and a pioneer of various “second-chance school” initiatives, will be invited to reflect on how schools must change structurally in order to fulfil their mandate of removing obstacles to equality, and on how territorial contexts can contribute to—rather than hinder—this transformation.
• Giuseppina Jose Mangione (INDIRE), researcher and head of units on organizational models, methodologies, and curriculum, as well as coordinator of innovation networks (Avanguardie Educative, Small Schools), will be asked to address the role of the school as a civic hub radiating educational opportunities at the local level, and to consider which other public policies are required to support such a role.
• Katia Scannavini, Co–Secretary General of ActionAid Italia will be invited to speak on the role of the third sector in relation to public policies.
• Fabrizio Barca, economist and former Minister for Territorial Cohesion, currently co-coordinator of the Forum for Inequalities and Diversity (ForumDD), will be prompted to reflect on the “politics of place” and on how to weave together different policy domains in an integrated approach.