Purpose: The main goal is the engagement of young anti-rumours activists for the implementation of awareness-raising actions at local level.
Stimulus/Rationale: A welcoming city is a place where people have a space for self-representation. A place where people can show themselves, as they really are without any judgement, where all the differences can be a collective wealth. The concept developed wants to underline that cities are a space for visibility, pride to belong and joy to show ourselves. Cities are a space for intersections, where identity is a melting pot of different, fluid, changing elements. The main concept/slogan of the project NET-IDEA Awareness-Raising was: BE Everything BElong!
Process: A photovoice workshop was carried out in the city of Torino on the 3 December 2023: individual perceptions of young people were explored with inspiring questions:
- take a picture of something that makes you feel at home in your city
- take a picture of something that does not make you feel at home or accepted for who you are
- take a photo of something special you love where you live (it can be a real object, a space, a place or simply a feeling, a symbol or a person
On 1 March 2024, a meeting was held to organise a community-based exhibition, developing a reconnection workshop organised by a youth worker, checking the backgrounds of each photo and planning the local exhibition. The Community-Based Exhibition BE Everything BElong took place on 22 March 2024. The Porta Palazzo Market Square around the Intercultural Concierge Office of the Municipality of Torino hosted the exhibition. The process was shared with the group of young people, who created a playlist for the event, brought drinks and snacks, tables with chairs provided by the Community Concierge Office. The location was defined by the City of Turin. Portraits were installed by the youngsters as a community-based action. A session of greetings was organised with the presence of the Councillor of Youth Policies, followed by interventions by some of the young people involved in the project. The opening ended with a community activity with involvement of participants, in the form of a "World Cafe" on three conversation inputs:
- City of Turin: spaces for young people
- City of Turin: inclusive and welcoming spaces
- City of Turin: proposals for living the city better together
Impact: The exhibition had a significant impact in promoting youth engagement and awareness raising, sharing with citizens the growing role of a generation of young people engaged in anti-rumours actions within their communities.
Key reference documents: https://icei.it/BE-EVERYTHING-BELONG/#cities-flexbox
