Improving the lives of young people in the Zisa neighborhood of Palermo, in particular in the Cipressi-Ingastone-Danisinni areas, by offering shelter and support for families: this is the goal of the Tau Center, created in 1988 thanks to volunteers and some young Franciscans from the parish of Santa Maria della Pace in the Sicilian capital. In 1990, an initiative by the volunteers at the Tau Center saw the creation of the association “Inventare Insieme” (Inventing Together) which aims to foster the social rebirth of Zisa by promoting a culture of legality, thereby helping to prevent various forms of violence and aggression. For more than 30 years, the Tau Center has been providing various educational initiatives, social assistance and cultural development as well as vocational training and local development activities specifically targeting at-risk children and teenagers. These include initiatives aimed at countering the phenomena of bullying and cyberbullying, promoting inclusion and social solidarity. Since its inception, the Tau Center has helped more than 700 families and 1,800 children and young people, 73% of whom spent time at the center for consecutive years, and brought in their families and friends. Today the center is run by a team of 70 people, including paid staff, collaborators and volunteers, who work in a space measuring around 400 square meters divided into 9 training and development workshops and 12 work areas; the space is also equipped with 5 toilets and other service areas. We have supported the “Inventare Insieme” association with the purchase of spaces to house the Tau Center, thereby ensuring continuity to a service that has now become essential for the local community in combatting hardship and social exclusion. Moreover, inside the Tau Center, a space has been created that will be the venue for workshops on the safe use of new technologies and the risks connected to misuse of the internet and new means of communication. Since 2014, the Tau Center has been part of the Save the Children Italia’s Punti Luce initiative, a network of 26 educational spaces serving disadvantaged areas of cities. Details Location: Palermo Association: Inventare Insieme onlus Beneficiaries: children and young people in the Zisa neighborhood Contribution: 100,000 euros Year: 2017
