SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.

- Aristotle -

SEMINARS

Another tailor-made edition of the “Our World in English” interactive and cross-cultural approach to second language learning was concluded in the Bussoleno School District in the Province of Turin.  Financed by the European Union’s Structural Funds, the project involved an interactive, cross-cultural and cross-subject approach to learning English while taking into account the 17 points on the UN 2030 Agenda in an age- and context-appropriate manner.

Seminars conducted include:

  • No TAV – Italian Direct Action Campaign vs. High-Speed Rail Project – a discussion on social struggles, legal implications and solidarity in a civil society organization (Ontario Public Interest Research Group, University of Toronto, 2016).
  • Around the World – an intercultural voyage through the five sense for students, which integrates music, storytelling and cuisine (Bussoleno School District, 2010).
  • Multicultural Italy: Toward Intercultural Dialogue – a series of seminars for educators and social workers, which address issues such as intercultural communication, immigration and education in a multi-ethnic environment at introductory, basic and advanced levels (Province of Turin school districts & Susa Valley Inter-communal Social Assistance Agency, 2002-2006).
  • Contract Employment “The New Work Reality” – a seminar on how to successfully juggle the growing world of contract employment and utilize today’s communications networks to business advantage (Open for Business, City of Grimbsy, 1998).

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workshops

Storytelling has been a way to collect memories, consolidate social groups and impart wisdom across cultures for millennia. The “Rooster Songs” story, selected in its original Italian version for the 2012 Lingua Madre immigrant women writing competition has become a literary fable of choice. Translated into English and French, it is now becoming an intercultural resource kit. With the contribution of talented artist, writer and illustrator Amberlea Williams, extraordinary drawings have brought the farm-animal protagonists to life. To make the reading adventure interactive and promote a creative approach, some methodological strategies will be provided with the kit, as well as a brief guide to create a puppet play that can be adapted to every reader’s cultural context.

Workshops conducted include:

  • Rooster Songs – an interactive and intercultural literary encounter (Ethos International School, Cairo, 2021 & 2022).
  • Forms of Struggle: Determination, Creativity & Effectiveness – activism with civil society members from across the European and Mediterranean space (Fourth Forum Against Unnecessary & Imposed Megaprojects, Roşia Montana, Romania, 2014).
  • Honduran Women & Employment Dreams – informal dialogues with rural women to draw out entrepreneurial ambitions (Tocoa, Honduras, 1999-2001).