BOLZANO. The Region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol was awarded the prestigious premio europeo Myfer (Most Youth-Friendly European Region) of the Assembly of European Regions (ARE) for the European project of education for active citizenship “Schools Beyond Regions and Borders”which the Region has been supporting since 2021 in agreement with the Department of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Trento, under the scientific supervision of Prof. Michele Nicoletti.
The Myfer Award is a recognition that Are (the largest independent network of regions in the wider Europe, consisting of over 270 regions from 33 different countries and 16 interregional organisations) awards every two years to regions that stand out for their initiatives in favour of young people. The project “Schools Beyond Regions and Borders” won this year’s award ex aequo with a project submitted by the Croatian County of Krapina and Zagorje.
Il progetto “Schools Beyond Regions and Borders”, coordinated by Prof. Giuseppe Zorzi together with Prof. Daniela Ferrari of the “Leonardo da Vinci” scientific high school in Trentoaims to promote meeting and mutual understanding between students and teachers of European secondary schools through the exchange of knowledge and good practices of citizenship education. This objective is achieved through online thematic semester cycles in English aimed at all partner schools and subsequent in-depth analysis of the same topics in class, by the respective teachers in charge. At the end of each school year, delegations of students and teachers from every country meet in our Region to present their works and experience first-hand the dream of a Europe united in diversity. Currently, the SBRB network consists of 32 secondary schools from 12 different European countries, including 10 institutes in the regional territory.
Precisely this pan-European dimension, also attentive to non-EU countries of the enlarged Europe, such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, was among the elements most appreciated by the members of the jury, composed of the Vice-President of the ARE responsible for Youth, Culture and Tourism, Mícheál Ó hÉanaigh, and representatives of the ARE Regional Youth Network and three Regions that have won previous editions of the MYFER award. Among the reasons given during the award ceremony on 15 August in Bodø (Norway), European Capital of Culture 2024, the jury also highlighted the attention given to the participatory and educational dimension, the sharing of knowledge and good practices, the mobility of students and teachers, the multilingual and intercultural dimension, the gender balance among participants, the age group of the beneficiaries of the initiative, the inclusion of minorities and, finally, the opportunity for internationalization also given to young people from decentralized territories or difficult contexts.
The President of the Region, Arno Kompatscher, expressed his pride in receiving the award, stating: “It is a project in which we have firmly believed for years. This recognition testifies to the commitment of our Region to promoting European values through education, training and cultural exchanges”. The Regional Councillor for European Integration Angelo Gennaccaro also underlined the importance of such projects in building a shared European identity: “We are thrilled to see our efforts to promote active citizenship and cross-border cooperation recognized at this level”. “This award is absolutely not a given”, adds Prof. Zorzi, “is the result of an extraordinary team effort between the Region, the University and all the educational institutions involved in the project, united in the desire to invest in the new generations to help train active, aware and supportive European citizens”.
The hope for all is that the initiative can continue, with the expansion to other nations and the consolidation of new pedagogical-didactic and cultural experiments on the Euro-regional as well as European axis.
(photo by the Region’s press office)
2024-08-18 13:20:03