“The Festival of young knowledge”

a possible practice to integrate formal, informal and non formal lifelong learning experiences?

PREZENT Conference- Bucharest, 7-8 December 2011

Mariarosa Di Nubila

San Marino was founded in 301 BC by Marino from Croatia. He created a Christian but lay community.

In 1243 the first law about the small democratic community was drawn up, inspired on the first and unchanged credence of Marino: NEMINI TENERI = San Marino people don’t have to depend on any kind of power, because they are free.

Since 1253 the main documents have (or should have) inspired the new social reformers until now.

San Marino is considered the most ancient and the smallest Republic in the world with its 61 Km2 of border and 33,000 citizens. It is also called “the land of liberty”.

The

MIS

SION o

f

SMIA

F

PROJECT

To bridge the gap between tradition

and innovation thanks to the

valorization and the integration of any kind of knowledge and experiences,

either those of young citizens or

those of adult ones.

In 2007 the SMIAF Project was created as the main action of the San Marino Youth Policy Ministry in order to put in practice the first law of Youth Citizenship Rights. (2007)

This idea was created by Mariarosa Di Nubila who was in charge as consultant for the Youth Policy Ministry on behalf of San Marino Government. In August 2008 the first “SMIAFestival of young knowledge” was held.

In September 2008 the Government in charge changed. The new minister of Youth Policy didn’t take care of any actions towards young people.

In order to make the SMIAF Project a sustainable project aside from any political support, the adopted method was that to organize and carry out any activities involving the young people, cultural and social associations, foundations and private sponsors as main actors and organizers. The idea was to give power to citizens.

After the first edition, Mariarosa took out the SMIAF from the Ministry activities plans in order to avoid the risk of a political affiliation and she selected some colleagues from different associations in order to manage all details and new ideas to carry out the next editions of the festival.

Since then, the SMIAF managers (M. Di Nubila, T. Rossini, M.

Cenerini) have voluntarily kept on organizing the SMIAF project and the festival with the same approach because of its successful results in terms of participation and involved people.

At moment every kind of political parties and Government support the SMIAF project and its main action as “the Festival of young knowledge”.

After two years of collaboration with the San Marino Government

(2007-2008) the SMIAF Project with its organizers and participants have decided to be independent and work with all people and citizens, organisations, foundations, private and public sponsors interested in SMIAF aims and objectives. SMIAF has adopted the PPP system (Public, Private, Participation).

After three years the SMIAF project has become a multiplex project with different actions: 1° the Festival of young knowledge (and not youth knowledge), 2° the InformaDesk for Youth in collaboration with the San Marino Trade Unions, 3° SMIAFormazione (=Training), 4° International network of exchanges.

The aims and the objectives of SMIAF project and Festival

1. To create new and innovative knowledge starting from the promotion of the youth of San Marino, their talents, knowledge, experiences in order to support them to use these personal resources as social and professional key for their improvements at “glocal” level.

2. To offer real opportunities to young and adult people to use their knowledge and experience for their community, taking part in a common project useful for own country: In this sense, SMIAF is a social, cultural, touristic and economical project for improving San Marino, starting to use its human capital and any innovation from it.

3. To transformer San Marino into an international laboratory to experiment new practice of social inclusion, democracy and learning experiences.

4. To promote the intergenerational dialogue to create new and young knowledge in order to face the present and the future with the respect of its strong identity.

5.To implement and establish a shared practice to integrate of formal, informal and non formal learning experiences and knowledge in order to use them as San Marino immaterial social capital.

Il network

:Youth Associations,

Social and cultural Associations of San Marino, Singles citizens (children, adults, youth),

Artistic Companies and Groups at local levelYoung Entrepreneurs

Local Radio and TVs

San Marino Government and Ministries

Foundation and Banks, Enterprises

Social Categories associations

At local level (San Marino and Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy)

At international level

San Marino Citizens Community abroad.

Youth Associations, Social and cultural

Associations of Europe,

Singles citizens (children, adults,

youth)

European Festivals Network

Artistic Companies and Groups at international level

International web radio and Newspapers

SMIAF Project Network

It has been possible thanks to the “glocal” network

The expected results towards which we are still working

Greater awareness and appreciation of young people

as citizens bearing of knowledge,

innovation and experiences to

develop the country and themselves.

Greater autonomy, awareness and responsibility among citizens.Increased awareness of the opportunities of the territory

Greater collaboration among institutions, associations and citizens. PPP SYSTEM as standard practice.Increased exchanges among adults, youth, children.

Greater openness and promotion of San Marino and its human capital for a more sustainable economic, cultural, tourist and social development.

Increased production of culture, art and information and training at local level

What does “young knowledge” mean? Which social and pedagogical approach we have adopted to carry out the Festival as a practise and a method to

made learners (young and adult) active citizens and updated professionals?We have adopted the following approaches of :

- Egdar Morin (French Sociologist ) “ Unitas Multiplex” to define learners and the contexts where they learn, live, grow and carry out their talents, competences

and inspirations as a whole.- Paulo Freire (Brazilian Pedagogist)

“ Education as practise of liberty” to design “knowledge plus experiences” as social competences for improving personal and

community life.

Mixing the pedagogy of Edgar Morin and Paulo Freire we can summary the SMIA approach thanks to the definition of the Libyan writer, Amin Malouf:

“If I will be trained to be able to express all my identities (social, economical, sexual, natural, religious, professional,..),

then, I will be able to see any possibilities as empowerment chances for my growth and for a whole fulfilment/achievement;

and I will be able to select people with whom I could share my experiences and therefore to learn from new situations, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, ..”

…in this sense the SMIAF Project and in particular its Festival are:

1) the chance to carry out this intention, i.e. to offer opportunities to express this variety of knowledge and experiences in which each one can learn and teach at the same time and thus create new knowledge which has never existed before sharing and meeting different people and experiences.

2) a sort of human social network which works as a web 2.0 based social network, sharing videos, words, pictures, and any other abilities ..

..behind these ideas there is the true pedagogical work to integrate the different knowledge and experiences in order to achieve a common right to learn and be valorised in different ways.

Youth are the main protagonists of this project in order to give them some

chances to be able to express themselves and

match different opportunities to create new knowledge to be included into the social community

life and the local and international job market.

1) Ability to entropathy: to support adult citizens, institutions and also leaders/educators to suspend the prejudices towards young people to know their vision of the world (reasons, causes, actions, beliefs ..).

This way (prejudices suspension) allows to get in tune with youth, without coinciding with them, in order to maintain a critical distance that allows the educator/leader/policy makers (all people involved in the society) to know the intentions of them, their manners and techniques for the assignment of meaning to the world. The distance provides the opportunity for educators to evaluate the existence of a "possible".

2) Deconstruction and reconstruction of the psycho-physical needs:

These are the first steps to get a feeling for understanding the relationships and communication dynamic the people have:

3) Dilatation of the experiential field: to experiment with the people the organization of events, workshops, new ideas and situations never experienced, starting from the valorisation and the consideration of their interests, abilities and passions.

IRON Case

4) Construction of a new world view: the leader guides the learners to an awareness of her/his practices and supporting them in what he/she has observed related to new experiences in order to allow them to approach and achieve changes as own intent. The educator accompanies the young people to listen to themselves with the aim to keep this awareness all lifelong.

The relation between lived situations/practices +

reflective thinking process

(often with the help of the educator and the carried out activities)

=Experience

The experience allows to arise the self-confidence to put in practise own knowledge, to extend it towards new situations and therefore to keep learning at any time and anywhere in

order to be updated and well trained to face any kind of opportunities.

In this way, any assistance policies (social, labour, youth, education..) need to be transformed in

policies of opportunities for citizens at any age.

All policies are not for citizens, they are of them because their knowledge, their values , their

experiences represent the resources to implement sustainable strategies effectives and

efficient for the community to be of step with times.

In this sense PARTICIPATION IS TO BE PART OF

..it means that own resources are fundamental for the community and for the job market

you have to CO-CREATE.

otherwise, the big risk is to be out or to suffer exclusion and then to be considered “disadvantages” or not to be equal to (or not to match up) any professional and social challenges

Any learning activity (to be interesting for learners) starts from this assumption: working with

“disadvantages or included people” means to make them feel part of the project, its objectives, to its

methodology.

The Festival organisation is a tool to carry out some real situations in which people can express themselves, put in practice their abilities, experiences and transform them into competences and extend their experimental field and world view in which formal, informal and non formal knowledge can find a common place to be used.

Every year, after SMIAF, some people of the Festival crew (young people in training, volunteers, artists, technical supporters) decide:

-> to go abroad to keep studying and getting another specialisation/qualification or simply to face an international travel for holiday.

-> to look for new training experiences (courses, internships, ..)

-> to open an associations or carry out some cultural, professional activities

- > to change work and improve own educational or professional career

Thank you for your attention

www.smiaf.org smiaf.giorvanisaperi@gmail.com

on FB “SMIAF project – Festival dei Giovani Saperi”

Directors: M. Di Nubila, T. Rossini, M. Cenerini

You and your organisations are welcome to the next edition of the Festival in San Marino (3-4-5 August 2012)