English 
The CRC Report “Adolescents and infants rights in Italy - Regional data for 2021” highlights very negative data on educational poverty and inequality in Calabria, which are felt from the earliest age: only 3% of children in fact use crèches or supplementary services for children financed by the municipalities (against a national average of 14.7%), and the average per inhabitant budget of the municipalities is 149 euro each, the lowest figure among all Italian regions. Growing with age, but still analysing a young audience, the figures remain below the national average even for full-time primary schools, with the province of Reggio Calabria at 14%, Vibo Valentia at 17% and Cosenza at 25%, against a national standard of 36.3%.
It was precisely in Cosenza, to contain the problems caused by educational poverty, that the Cooperativa Sociale Don Bosco was founded in 2003, giving birth to solidarity initiatives in the educational, sporting and rehabilitation fields, with particular attention to the world of youth discomfort and social marginality.
With the same goals in mind, a socio-educational centre for minors, young people and the elderly was the site of the project we support: Talent Hub, a pedagogical hub where children and young people from all social, economic or cultural backgrounds can cultivate their talents, developing ideas through innovative learning and training methods.
Activities follow 4 different themes named “hubs”:
- Blue HUB - Arts and literature: through books (classical or interactive) and other forms of written and oral communication, animation, socialising, creative and playful activities we will promote reading, contributing to the education and literacy process of the young participants;
- Red HUB - Physical education: motor and sporting activities have very wide-ranging benefits: physical and mental, and they also educate from an early stage to get out of the logic of bad competition. By promoting these activities we will also encourage very important values to be passed on, especially to young people such as loyalty, cooperation, self-control and emotional management or the importance of having healthy habits;
- Yellow HUB - Communication and multimedia: this activity aims to make young people more aware of the new media through various awareness-raising and information activities, with the aim of making them understand how to interpret the messages they receive, may it be a website or a television commercial or whatever, in order to create a relationship between young people and the media that is active, critical and creative;
- White HUB - Good practices and nutrition education: through games, exchanges of ideas, dialogues and reflections, we will focus on the importance that every single foodstuff has in our diet, what the macro-nutrients are, and also focus on the Mediterranean Dietary Model, touching on the risks linked to a bad diet (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, etc.) and also on how food waste can be 'recycled' by making compost.
In addition to these thematic hubs, the project also wants to psychologically support young people: that is why we have opened a Free Entry where - through a psychological desk - minors will receive counselling and, for families, parenting support.
Details
City: Cosenza (Calabria)
Association: Don Bosco Social Cooperative
Beneficiaries: almost 100 young people and 50 families in conditions of socio-economic fragility
Contribution: up to € 90.000,00
Duration: September 2022 - August 2023
