First meeting: Monday 21st July 2014 at 5 p.m.
Looks that change the world
Children, cities
XXX Incontro internazionale degli educatori Freinet – RIDEF)
Giancarlo Cavinato
MCE
EDUCATION AND POLICIES
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ENTIRETY
PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING OF THE CULTURE OF CHILDHOOD
AUTONOMY
RESILIENCE
COOPERATION
RESPONSIBILITY
PARTICIPATION
ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
GROWING CITIES
21 cities have more than 10 million inhabitants and they are growing
A milliard human beings (aged 0-18) live in cities
A DIFFERENT WORLD IS POSSIBLE
ONLY EDUCATION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD (Margherita Zoebeli)
STARTING FROM PEACE EDUCATION AND FROM EDUCATION FOR
THE CREATIVE SOLUTION OF CONFLICTS
A FAIRER CITY TO REACH THE OUTCASTS
The city of little boys and little girls is the city of all men and women
More and more children live in slums
We stop them from developing their potentialities and we deprive
society of the benefits due to a healthy, educated urban population
MAKE PUBLIC POLICIES FOCUS ON CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
(wellness, education, protection from violence and abuse,
participation…)
THE CITY IS A COMPLEX SYSTEM
cities of the rich - cities of the poor
centres and outskirts
cities of the north and cities of the south of the world
URBAN SUFFERING
experience of exclusion
• poverty and vulnerability of families
• decaying suburbs
• loneliness and fear
• passive subjects who receive fragmentary care intervention by
institutions
• division of urban population into categories that are not integrated
POSSIBLE ANSWERS (besides education)
Nobody can make it on one's own
• creation of solidarity networks (institutions, organizations, citizens,.)
• change from the logic of assistance to the logic of responsibility
• workshops to mix social and political education
• finding creative solutions for difficult questions
THE CITY OF THE FUTURE:
FROM THE CITY OF EXCLUSION TO THE CITY OF INCLUSION
• URBAN PLANNING
- ‘MENDING’ OUTSKIRTS
(Renzo Piano: small changes to embellish without dismantling)
- CONNECTION OF SPACES
- ACCESS TO SERVICES
- CARE FOR "WEAK" USERS OF THE CITY
• SEARCH FOR BEAUTY
• BUILDING PLACES OF MEETINGS (not separation)
• Place of opportunities, of communication
CARE OF PUBLIC PLACES
the square, the school, the social centre, the library, the park,..
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY AND OF THE RYTHM OF LIFE CAN
ENHANCE/ DENY PLAYING GAMES
art. 31 Right to Play Convention
Public places intended for playing games
WHAT HELPS?
• proper public spaces
• autonomous mobility
• meeting opportunities
• sustainable and not frantic rhythm of family life
• traffic reduction
LIMITS TO COGNITIVE, SOCIAL, PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
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no games
children banned from public spaces
domestic spaces that are hyper-structured and intended for solitary tuition
social life inside the house
the school seen as a place of mind/body separation and sectorial, abstract
learning
CONSEQUENCES
• lack of autonomy and of the ability to choose ( mobility, socializing,
playing, problem solving)
• no development of creativity
• linguistic and cultural poverty
• limited development of spacetime and causal concepts
• no development of prediction abilities and of understanding consequences
• limited assumption of responsibilities
• limited and fragmentary knowledge of the urban and environmental
reality
CHILDREN AS PARAMETERS OF URBAN QUALITY
LITTLE BOYS AND GIRLS HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR
OPINIONS AND THEIR OPINIONS MUST BE TAKEN INTO
CONSIDERATION (art. 12)
Little boys' and girls' point of view can contribute to modify adults'
behavior - this is our program
THE HIGHEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN must be considered first in every
choice
AN AGREEMENT FOR THE CITY among:
ADMINISTRATORS, PARENTS, EDUCATORS, CITIZENS, HEALTHCARE
AND SOCIO-CULTURAL WORKERS, URBAN PLANNERS, ARCHITECTS,
TRAFFIC WARDENS, SHOPKEEPERS.
THE CITY AS A PLACE OF PERSONAL AND SOCIAL GROWING,
SUSTAINABILITY, LEARNING.
‘I'd like to send you, architects, a message in a bottle. Consider your
job as the creation of future places for children. Cities and landscape
will create their world of images and desire…..you mustn't only design
buildings but you must create spaces of freedom so that
superabundance does not make the surrounding world invisible’
(Wim Wenders)
UNICEF'S RECOMMENDATIONS TO BUILD FRIENDLY CITY FOR LITTLE
BOYS AND GIRLS
• PROMOTING PARTICIPATION AND TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION
LITTLE BOYS' AND GIRLS' PROPOSALS EXPRESSED THROUGH
REPRESENTATIVE BODIES
• ENCOURAGING INSTITUTIONS AT ALL LEVELS IN ORDER TO GET A
PROPER LEGISLATION
• INVESTING RESOURCES IN THESE OBJECTIVES
• MONITORING CHILDHOOD'S CONDITIONS
• SPREADING AND PROMOTING THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE RESPECT
FOR RIGHTS
PARTICULAR FOCUS ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES - LITTLE GIRLS'
RIGHTS
(EDUCATION, HOUSEWORK, EARLY MARRIAGE, VIOLENCE,
DISCRIMINATION IN FAMILIES, AT SCHOOL,..)
THE SCHOOL
• EDUCATION FOR REALITY( TAMED IMAGE)
• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TO CREATE A DIFFERENT CULTURE
• RIGHT KNOWLEDGE AND CLAIM
• BUILDING UP IDENTITIES THANKS TO SHARED NARRATION
• WORLDWIDE CITIZENSHIP ( E. MORIN)
A CITY EDUCATES IF IT NARRATES AND ONE NARRATES THANKS TO
THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE