Through26: summer camps for service, training and sharing with migrants
Summer camps for training, service and sharing in migratory and intercultural contexts
There are journeys that are not measured in miles, but in stories, glances and invisible boundaries, and the goal is not to reach a place, but to let the journey transform us.
This is where we start: from a common desire to meet. Young people from all over Italy and Europe come together in complex, living places where migration is not a theme, but people, relationships, everyday life.
Together we enter these realities with respect and curiosity, standing alongside those working in the field and allowing ourselves to be changed by the experience. We move between geographical and inner boundaries, between stories that ask to be heard and realities that question us.
Between listening, acting and sharing, we build bonds that continue beyond the journey.
It is not just participating. It is really being there.
Instead, each volunteer will have to make his or her own arrangements for travel to the camp site and for departure.
The meeting on the first day of each camp will take place in the morning at 10 a.m.: there will be an opportunity to arrive and stay overnight as early as the previous day.
The camp will end in the early afternoon of the last day.
More precise logistical information will arrive after registration from the email [email protected] (add it to your address book so you don’t miss any communication).
PRE-CAMP AND POST-CAMP MEETINGSIn order to be ready to participate in each camp Through, there is an online meeting with the whole group to get to know each other, answer any questions and make travel arrangements. The meeting will be in the evening hours; you can see the date within each camp’s tab.
The camp also does not end on the last day, but at the post-camp meeting: a time for all camp participants to get together, a further step together of formation, deepening and a bridge between the Through experience and our ordinary days, with special guests and testimonies.
The post-camp meeting will be in Rome on Sept. 26-27: we will be guests at Casa Scalabrini 634, an ASCS shelter project on Via Casilina 634 in Rome.
The proposals are aimed at young people aged 18 to 35. Some camps will also have a specific focus for an age group: see the fact sheets of each proposal for details.
The camps are single participation: there is no option to register as an already formed group (e.g. parish youth group, scout clan etc.). However, if you are two or three friends and want to attend together, no problem.
Designing and implementing Attraverso26 is ASCS – Scalabrinian Agency for Development Cooperation, with a staff of young people from various parts of Italy.
Each proposal is built together with various local, national and European partners.
Categories
Frontiers
They are not just lines on maps. They are spaces that change face depending on who crosses them: smooth passages for some, complex and often hostile paths for others.
In these places we stop, we observe, we listen. We enter into a relationship with those who live on the border every day-people on the move, workers and volunteers-and we allow ourselves to be questioned by what happens there, where rules take concrete form in people’s lives.
Between field presence and in-depth moments, we try to read what lies behind the systems that regulate displacement: policy decisions, procedures, balances that directly affect the possibilities of moving, staying, leaving.
Borders thus becomes a space for encounter and awareness, where getting involved also means learning to look with new eyes at what we often take for granted.
- WHEN? August 3 – 9 (with the possibility of arrival on the 2nd evening)
- TARGET: open to all
- PRE-CAMPO: Monday, July 20, 9 p.m. online
- POST-CAMPO: September 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? Como-Chiasso, Italian-Swiss border, beaten and crossed not only by Italian border crossers going to work in Switzerland, but also by people on the move trying to reach northern European countries. People who arrive in Trieste, from the Balkan Route and transit to Milan and then continue north. Border not well known but with important passive readmission numbers from Switzerland to Italy. Border full of contradictions that on the one hand gives great visibility to affluent tourism but makes invisible crossings for people on the move.
- WHAT? We will live an intense week on the border: knowledge, service and sharing in contact with the migratory reality of the arrival of the Balkan Routes and directed towards the countries of Northern Europe. A cross-border experience that gives the opportunity to meet and dialogue with realities operating on both sides of the border, with fronting with two different legislative and operational systems that manage to find each other despite these differences.
- WHEN? Aug. 9-16
- TARGET: open to all
- PRECAMPO: date coming soon
- POSTCAMPO: Sept. 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? Calais, a small French town overlooking the English Channel: across the Channel, which is only 33 kilometers wide here, the white cliffs of Dover and the English coast can be glimpsed. Since the 1990s, Calais and the surrounding region have been ploughed by thousands of migrants. While these used to be relegated to the huge informal encampment on the edge of the city known as the “Great Jungle,” from 2016 to the present, the administration’s goal is instead to prevent the creation of any form of settlement: the hundreds of small “jungles” dotting the surroundings of Calais are cleared daily by the police, while those who inhabit them continue to attempt to board small boats or trucks to cross the last border separating them from the United Kingdom. The large ecosystem of associations and collectives is responding to the decades-long humanitarian crisis caused by the rejectionist and hostile policies implemented by the local administration thanks to British investment.
- WHAT? We will go to learn firsthand about the situation of people who are stuck in a forced stop before the Channel crossing, and we will plow through the tourist beaches that become a place of departure every night. We will be able to learn about the solidarity realities and the many associations that support people on the move every day and fight for the recognition of their rights. During the camp we will serve for and with migrant people and we will also share part of our days with Maison Effatà, the Scalabrinian missionaries’ shelter run by ASCS volunteers.
- WHEN? August 16-22 (with the possibility of arrival on the 15th evening)
- TARGET: intended mainly for young people aged 18 to 25 years old
- PRECAMPO: Monday, August 3, 9 p.m. online
- POSTCAMPO: Sept. 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? Trieste, gateway to Europe, is the terminus of a long, exhausting and hopeful journey. Every day, dozens of people pass through this city, after walking for weeks in the woods of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, overcoming a thousand obstacles, risks and difficulties. They are men, women, children, who have come from places like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and many other Near Eastern countries. Trieste is more than a city of passage. It is where their stories intertwine with ours, where the journey does not end, but continues. Here the border is not just a geographic line, but the symbol of a journey that brings with it hope, challenges, and incredible resilience. This city is a witness and arrival point of stories that cross Europe, but also a place of encounter, exchange and change.
- WHAT? We will gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of human mobility affecting Trieste by accompanying organizations such as Linea d’ombra, Caritas, ICS—Consorzio di Solidarietà, and the Comunità di San Martino al Campo in their daily efforts to support people on the move arriving in Trieste. We will hear testimonies from local actors whose daily actions serve as a political testament to a radically alternative vision of what a border is. We will then meet with people passing through Trieste and passing by Piazza della Libertà, listen to their stories, and help serve them a hot meal. Finally, we will reflect on the meaning of borders in a city like Trieste—a crossroads of diverse stories and cultures—and on European and national policies regarding migration and reception. We will travel, for a few kilometers, the stretch of border that people on the move cross before arriving in Italy.
- WHEN? Aug. 30-Sept. 5 (with the possibility of arrival on the 29th evening)
- TARGET: open to all
- PRECAMPO: Monday, August 17, 9 p.m. online
- POSTCAMPO: Sept. 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? In the heart of the upper Susa Valley, Oulx is a small mountain town that, in recent years, has become a key point for those traveling the Alpine route. From here, many people traveling from Africa and the Near East set out for France, facing cold, fatigue and uncertainty. The border here is tangible: a sharp line between the Italian valleys and the French mountains, between two worlds separated by snowy paths and rough passages. Every day, women, men, minors and families cross it, braving the frost and altitude with one direction in mind: moving forward. Oulx is a crossroads of stories, encounters and hopes, a place that tells the story of the border not only as a geographic limit, but as a passage to new possibilities.
- WHAT? The shelter system in Oulx is undergoing a period of great change and fragility; since March 2026, the Massi fraternity shelter has been open only in the late afternoon and at night, while during the closed hours the network of voluntar* is reorganizing to fill the void. During the camp we will support the voluntar*s in daytime garrison activities and meet the people arriving in Oulx, listen to their stories, help provide them with a hot meal and the necessities to continue their journey. We will delve into the phenomenon of human mobility along the Alpine route, thanks to meetings with testimon*, formator* and those who support people in transit on a daily basis. We will set out, crossing the long mountain paths to experience firsthand the difficulties of transit. We will reflect on the meaning of borders, European choices on migration, and take a close look at the great transformation that the reception system in Oulx is undergoing.
- PARTNERS: During the week we will meet and join local entities such as the Massi Fraternity Shelter, the Sentieri Solidali Network, Diaconia Valdese, Medu – Doctors for Human Rights, Bandite Artivism and the Italian Red Cross.
Seasonal work
We will come into contact with territories where agriculture relies on the labor of people who have arrived from afar, often invisible to the eyes of many. Here, work follows the rhythms of the seasons, but does not always guarantee rights, protections or decent conditions.
Together with the realities active in the field, we will share concrete activities in support of workers, working alongside those who work every day to counter exploitation and build more just alternatives. It will be an opportunity to learn about these dynamics up close, but also to meet stories of resistance, dignity and solidarity.
Through testimonies, moments of discussion and direct presence, we will try to understand what it really means to work in these contexts and what role we can play in promoting greater awareness and change.
- WHEN? July 26 – August 1 (with the option to arrive on the evening of the 25th)
- TARGET: intended mainly for young people aged 18 to 25 years old
- PRECAMPO: Monday, July 13, 9 p.m. online
- POSTCAMPO: Sept. 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? Capitanata is the northern part of Puglia in the province of Foggia: it includes the Gargano and the fertile Tavoliere plain. It is an area of fields as far as the eye can see: wheat and tomatoes above all. The tomatoes we find on our tables almost certainly come from this territory and from the employment of thousands of foreign laborers, often subject to labor exploitation. The area has several informal settlements of seasonal workers who, mainly in the summer, settle here to work in the countryside.
- WHAT? This year we will take part in actions against marginality promoted by the social cooperatives united in the Aranea consortium, with special focus on services to support people on the move and seasonal workers. We will move among various areas of the province of Foggia and will work alongside the operators active in the services of counteracting caporalato, support for people living in ghettos and in situations of marginality. Concrete activities alongside laborers and people in marginal situations will be accompanied by educational meetings, which will help us understand the territory in which we find ourselves, between fragilities and riches.
- PARTNER: Through Foggia is a proposal designed together with the social cooperatives of the Aranea Consortium.
- WHEN? August 23 – 29 (with the possibility of arrival on the 22nd evening)
- TARGET: open to all
- PRECAMPO: Monday, August 10, 9 p.m. online
- POSTCAMPO: Sept. 26-27 in Rome
- WHERE? A field on the move in the province of Cuneo, between Saluzzo, Cuneo and Fossano, one of the most fertile areas of Piedmont, where agriculture attracts thousands of seasonal workers every year, who find themselves, in some cases, experiencing situations of housing emergency, labor exploitation and being victims of caporalato. In the midst of this territory, rich in resources but marked by strong inequalities, the Caritas Presidia of Cuneo-Fossano, Saluzzo and Alba are committed every day to supporting migrant workers, offering practical and human support. We will participate in this service camp, putting ourselves on the line to understand firsthand the dynamics of seasonal work and to come alongside those who work in difficult but often invisible conditions. Not only an opportunity for support, but also for reflection on an issue that concerns us all: how can we build a more just system, where work is not synonymous with exploitation?
- WHAT? In this camp, we will immerse ourselves in the heart of Piedmont’s agricultural territory, exploring the dynamics that mark the daily lives of those who work in these places. Our service will be in close contact with seasonal workers, supporting local entities that have been working for years to ensure rights and dignity. In particular, we will work alongside the volunteers, operators and workers from the Caritas Cuneo-Fossano, Saluzzo and Alba garrisons who work every day to offer meals, clothing and legal support to the people who flock to the area for work. But it will not just be a service experience. There will be moments of training and encounter, in which we will explore together the history of these lands, delving into the theme of labor exploitation and listening to the voices of those who have been fighting for years to make a difference. It is not only about intervening, but also about understanding, learning and acting.
- PARTNER “Across Cuneo” is organized together with: Caritas diocesan Cuneo-Fossano and Caritas diocesan Saluzzo.
Are you a large group or a smaller group of friends looking to get involved in activities along the borders and in areas affected by the exploitation of seasonal workers?
Unfortunately, spots for our camps are limited, but don’t worry: send us an email, and we’ll help you organize your own trip to build bridges in these areas!
+info: [email protected]
