Two Municipalities and the network of 10 others from the Youth Space come together for the new generations.
It was born like this, from the will of the Municipalities of Cologno Monzese And Vimodrone determined to rethink cities through the gaze and needs of the new generations the first “Festival of adolescence – world in transition”.
This initiative, one of a kind, will be officially launched with an event on November 15th at the Giacomo Matteotti Auditorium in Cologno Monzese, in via Petrarca 9, at 6 pm, with a free Rap-aperitif and a talk open to the public for the presentation of the project.
«A first step towards an authentic and mutual dialogue between young people and adults» explains the Mayor of Cologno Monzese Stefano Zanelli «an important occasion that lays the foundations for an annual event in which, starting from May 2025, the gazes and reflections of experts from every field will converge, called to explain adolescence not only as a demographic phenomenon but also as a true and own transition territory that characterizes the life of each community”.
«Vimodrone is a laboratory for experimentation and innovation on youth policies: from the play district which welcomes more than 3000 young people a year, to the study rooms open 24 hours a day, to the Spazio Giovani Martesana network which unites 12 municipalities and addresses a catchment area of over 400,000 young people”, comments the Mayor of Vimodrone Dario Veneroni.
An activity of the Vimodrhouse play district
A talk with the experts, to lay the foundations
They will speak on 15 November to underline the possible difficulties and offer ideas for resolution on these aspects Massimo Silvano Gallipedagogical consultant and scientific director of the Festival’s work, Don Claudio Burgiofounder and president of the association Kayros which has managed reception communities for minors and educational services for adolescents and trainers since 2000; Mirella Granellibehavioral area trainer and consultant for the management of conflicts and intergenerational dialogues in every organization (work, school, family); and the Head of the Human Services Sector of the Municipality of Vimodrone and Community Manager Roberto Panigatti. Elisabetta Andreis, journalist, will moderate.
Presentation of the Festival poster and “Rapperitivo”
During the press conference on November 15th the image of the Adolescence Festivalby Beatrice Tassonecartoonist and designer from Cologno Monzese. Beatrice will talk about her experience with autism, with a focus on how figurative art helped her face the difficulties related to her condition.
The evening will begin with a “Rapperitivo”, an opportunity to get to know each other better and exchange informal reflections with the audience.
A space for meeting and dialogue, where you can communicate in a new way
The idea behind the project Festival of Adolescence is to create a space for discussion and dialogue in which different generations can meet, who in an increasingly fragmented and rapidly changing society now struggle to recognize and understand each other.
To encourage this comparison and dialogue there will not only be conferences with leading speakers, professionals from different sectors and personalities from the world of entertainment, but various engaging activities will also be organized for young people and adults, often with a reversal of roles that leads teenagers to “teaching” adults how to look at their world and how to enter into it with the right interpretative keys to understand its dynamics and difficulties. An example is the “Rap School for Boomers” coordinated by Mirella Granelli, in which members of Generation Zeta and Alpha will act as teachers to the so-called Boomer adults, Millennials and members of Generation meaning and ideologies of Rap.
«An ambitious project is starting» explains theCouncilor of the Municipality of Cologno Monzese Andrea Arosio. «A project that will feature networking, to bring youth policies back to the centre. This is why we have worked from day 0, starting from the establishment of the Youth Council of Cologno Monzese, which will be a fundamental player in this shared path.”
Additional activities to have fun and break down prejudices
There will be more fun moments, such as theater shows, themed evenings, dance courses and activities aimed at children. An opportunity to overcome some stereotypes linked to adolescence, to understand the real reasons and difficulties (isolation, insecurity, need for attention, etc.) that lie behind the behavior of some very young people and to break down visible walls for better intergenerational communication, profitable for everyone.
