The Eureka! project has kicked off with paths of education and active participation in community life aimed at girls and boys from Comprehensive Institutes in Milan and neighboring municipalities. Promoted by Mani Tese, Spazio Pensiero and Bipart, Eureka! aims to combat school dropout and prevent the causes of abandonment by fostering the protagonism of young preadolescents and strengthening their citizenship skills. Eureka! is a project supported by the Department for Family Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Girls “and boys” ideas transform schools

“The Eureka! Project is part of a strong commitment by Mani Tese to combat educational poverty. Educational poverty represents one of the most serious and complex social challenges of our time, and we are convinced that only a preventive and integrated approach can help make a real difference,” says Elisa Lenhard, Global Citizenship Education and Advocacy Coordinator at Mani Tese.

“We believe in a model of intervention that does not simply respond to immediate needs, but aims to build a solid and lasting support system, promoting a sense of belonging and fostering the values of active citizenship among boys and girls through responsible and informed participation. At a time like the present, when the government’s decision not to renew the Fund to Fight Educational Poverty has created a further gap in resources, our work takes on even greater value. The Fund represented a concrete attempt to address one of our country’s most serious problems. According to official ISTAT data, there are 1.29 million children living in absolute poverty, an alarming figure that underscores the urgency of structured interventions. Educational poverty is closely linked to this phenomenon and risks creating a vicious circle that compromises the future of entire generations.”

School dropout, one of the most dramatic aspects of educational poverty, is a phenomenon that devastatingly affects the lives of many young people, preventing them from accessing the opportunities that a good education could provide. For this reason, the Eureka! Project does not limit itself to isolated interventions on the individual student or girl student, but strives to strengthen the link between young people and their schools and between schools and local communities, with the intention of creating an integrated support system. In this way, schools can become a place of active participation, where boys and girls can feel like protagonists and make a concrete commitment to improving their social and environmental context. Active citizenship is not an abstract concept, it is concrete actions that transform our communities!”

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