«Imagine a better school, in a more just country and in a world that chooses peace and dialogue, without losing contact with the concreteness of daily life». Elena Giannini, national secretary of the Catholic Action Student Movement (MSAC) thus presents the objective of the Training School for Students promoted by the movement from 13 to 15 March in Montesilvano in the province of Pescara. «Because change does not come from above, but arises from everyday gestures and choices, from the responsibilities that everyone is willing to take on».
Participating in the ninth edition, entitled High Hopes, will be around two thousand high school students from all the dioceses of Italy. The initiative was born from the desire to promote an education capable of responding to the challenges of the present and anticipating those of the future. At the center, the idea of a school that recognizes students as protagonists of their own learning, enhancing skills, relationships and responsibilities. «The title chosen for this edition encapsulates the horizon of the event: dreaming big, but with your feet firmly planted in reality», says Giannini again.
The 2026 edition aims to experiment with a real educational ecosystem in which students and teachers can recognize themselves as co-builders of a more open, inclusive and capable of innovating school. During the three days of meetings and workshops, some skills considered crucial for the training of new generations will be developed: from financial awareness to active citizenship, from emotional intelligence to critical thinking, from social awareness to digital skills and the conscious use of artificial intelligence. Among the guests will be Federica Marinucci and Giulia Trivellone from Libera; Benedetta di Muzio, Chiara Napoleone and Alberto Pompili of ASCS-Scalabrinian Agency for Development Cooperation; Simone Grigoletto, professor of moral philosophy at the University of Padua; Maria Grazia Vergari, psychologist and teacher at the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences “Auxilium”; Martina Monticone, nutritional biologist, and the Eugenio group in Via Di Gioia.
«The training school does not want to offer pre-packaged formulas or simple solutions», concludes Giannini. «The objective is rather to generate questions, open spaces for discussion and restore students’ awareness of their role in society. Because school is not just a place for testing or transmitting content, but a community of people who learn to live together, think critically and take responsibility.”
