Italy: The bell rings out crossculture

Not long to go before the start of an educational cross-culture project, launched by the Cariplo Foundation in cooperation with Ismu, a regional education office, and the Italian Institute for Social Research.

On the 15th of October the project will begin in 30 schools, chosen by the Cariplo Foundation, in Milan, Brescia and Mantua as these are Lombardy?s most multi-ethnic areas.

?The objective – explained Maria Pia Chiappiniello, who is in charge of the project – is to help schools create and implement new integration initiatives, and to improve existing ones?.

The Foundation aims at long term interventions involving schools and headmasters, as well as families. Bout 40 thousand euros will be set aside for each project by the Foundation, but the Foundation expects each school to contribute to financing the initiative.

?On the 15th of October we will meet with representatives from the schools, Ismu and the research institute who should be then have defined the project guidelines? said Chiappiniello.

Some of these initiatives may well become models, such as a language school for foreign parents. By March the projects should be in full swing and will continue until June 2009. ?Then we will evaluate the results to see whether it is worth extending the project to other regions? concluded Chiappiniello.

More info:
www.istruzione.lombardia.it