A March of sharing, dialogue and interfaith.

From Passover, to Ramadan, to Nowruz and Pesah. Different religions, one desire for prayer and closeness. For this, On Wednesday, March 20, we broke the Ramadan fast with many friends from the various communities in the Roman area. Gathered for Iftar in a time of prayer and sharing dinner, we were able to savor again the beauty of closeness and exchange. For many of the boys living at Casa Scalabrini 634 and former guests, it was nice to be able to share an important moment of their religion with everyone.

Casa Scalabrini 634, an ASCS project in Rome, is located in Torpignattara, one of the most multi-ethnic areas in Italy. Here 50,000 inhabitants from so many countries with different cultures and religions coexist: Islam, Bahai, Hindu, Catholic. On March 23, we attended the opening of the Garden of Religions at Sangalli Park in the heart of the neighborhood. The idea stems from a project of La Sapienza University of Rome with the collaboration of the different realities operating in Rome, in order to emphasize how religious and cultural diversity is absolutely an asset in terms of coexistence and relationship.

On the morning of Saturday, March 9, a meeting of the Wasi project: “Let’s take time to…: women’s workshop to celebrate Women’s Day.” It was a time to get together, listen to each other, take a break from daily commitments and share among women.

At Hostel Bello in Milan, we held two events. On Sunday, March 3, we opened the exhibition of Unbroken Humanity: travel narrative along the Balkan Route. with photographs by Barbara Beltramello; the exhibition remained on display throughout March. On March 9, on the other hand, having Altreconomia and No CPR as our speakers, we held again at Ostello Bello the March of Crossover Milano that had as its theme the CPR in Via Corelli.

On Tuesday, March 5, the first Crossover in Turin. They accompanied us Marika Tigani of Unito, who spoke to us about the situation of unaccompanied foreign minors in Italy and the fundamental role of the volunteer guardian as a guarantor of the minor’s rights and an instrument of integration; Federico Savia and Alice Arpaia of Casa Aylan who told us about the life of a family open to welcoming unaccompanied foreign minors. For the evening we were hosted at the headquarters of the Turin Archdiocese’s Migrant Pastoral Care.

In Chieri, again as part of the Crossover project on March 4, we had Asai Torino, an association that deals with interculturalism in Turin, as a speaker. Among the speeches, we were able to listen to Riccardo d’Agostino who offered reflections and also activities on the theme of integration. During the evening, some second-generation youth spoke with some testimonies derived from Asai’s webradio: the central theme was trying to understand how they feel about their identity.

Also in Chieri, the first day of Svolta, the civic training course, was held. Sixty youths enrolled in the course participated, and 20 youths were the organizers. Luca Misculin of The Post and Paolo Bovio of Will lectured on the topic of information, newspapers, and the media. Among the topics: the link between democracy and good information (an inadequately informed society is a society that is less able to choose, to vote); the role of newspapers: making clarity among the wealth of information and being reliable; understanding when a newspaper is reliable. In addition, it was possible to talk about the impact of media versus traditional media. So many issues addressed and, most importantly, so many questions and insights from the young people present. At the event, the Mayor of the City of Chieri also attended. Partners include Social Updates, Free Chieri, Social and Labor Pastoral Care of Turin, Former Slaughterhouse, Hubbuffate, City of Chieri, Chieri Community Foundation, and the municipalities of Cambiano, Santena, Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Pino Torinese, Pecetto Torinese, and Riva presso Chieri.

School on the Border. Through funding received from the Chieri City Council’s call for proposals, a class from the Vittone Institute in Chieri experienced the Boundary in Oulx. After a course of classroom workshops and a screening of the film “I Captain,” this class was also able to have a hands-on experience at the boundary of service, training and sharing.

From March 22 to 24, we were at the Ventimiglia border between Italy and France with a group of young people. During the 3 days, we joined local solidarity organizations in their daily service to people in transit on the border. There we are. immersed in the paradoxical dynamics of the border in order to observe them closely and be able to understand them better.

In Rome, the meetings of the Rai Network. In the last plenary held at Scalabrini House 634, there were many points of discussion for the work area and especially for the housing problem in view of the Forum on Housing in Bologna, in which associations will meet to propose good practices and discuss the issue in a systemic way on a national scale.

Does kindergarten still endure? This is the question that was sought to be answered at the March 22 and 23 meeting in Rome. So many national associations intervened to defend a right threatened by policies increasingly lacking in guarantees. ASCS was there to participate in the dialogue and be proactive toward an issue that closely affects the migrant people we follow every day.

In March we conducted the first 2 weekends of the ASCS volunteer training course. The group of 13 people worked on the motivations for choosing to volunteer, the peculiarities of the ASCS volunteer, the topic of human mobility, and learned more about the Scalabrinian charism.

Summer is getting closer and closer! Soon all the dates of Through24, the summer proposals for service, training and sharing in migratory and intercultural contexts. To stay updated click here.

Meanwhile, in Chieri, organizational meeting ahead of the next MOC (Maddalene Open Cinema) festival to be held in summer 2024. There will be many associations involved: Hygge, Libera Chieri, Proud Chieri, City of Chieri, FFF Chieri.

As you already know, ASCS turned 20 years old on January 30: 20 years of commitment, welcome and daily encounter in our mission to support migrants and local communities. What is the history of ASCS? What are the dreams of the people who have shared a common goal with the association since the beginning? Who are the leading men and women who have made this long journey possible? From the beginning of March, every Tuesday, many of the people who have crossed paths with ASCS over the past 20 years are telling us a little piece of this story of service, meeting and sharing their lives and ASCS. To read the testimonies click here.

Before we say goodbye, we want to remind you that in preparation for your next tax return, you can choose to support ASCS by allocating your 5×1000. The activities we have been telling you about are also carried out because of this small gesture that can really make a difference to us.

Keep following us on ascs.it to stay updated and to find out how you can support our activities. Thank you!