La cultura dell'accoglienza. L'accoglienza della cultura.
"The culture of hospitality. The welcome of culture "allowed the young recipients - high school students and unaccompanied foreign minors - to rediscover their common Mediterranean roots through moments of intercultural confrontation and approaching the Agrigento heritage.
In a journey through music, dance, communication, art and literature, the participants acquired new awareness and perspectives by developing a cognitive and emotional link with the heritage and the different artistic and cultural expressions. Not a simple journey of knowledge but a moment of active and shared reflection on cultural identity and the values that unite the Mediterranean peoples.
Participants and activities
In the 2018 and 2019 editions, the protagonists of the initiative were the students of the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Agrigento and some peers, guests of the Sprar of the territory: together they participated in a cycle of visits to the Archaeological Museum Pietro Griffo and to the Valle dei Temples sharing emotions and impressions.
Through the mediation of expert archaeologists, the children were led to recognize the cultural roots common to the whole Mediterranean in the objects kept by the museum. A sea discussed today, which sometimes divides nations with harshness, once the "Mare Nostrum", element / space of union and interaction between different peoples.
In addition to the Pietro Griffo Museum, the participants were able to visit the Valley of the Temples with its Hellenistic domus, the baths, the theater, the temples and the extraordinary church of Santa Maria dei Greci: a medieval Christian church - built inside a Greek temple of the fifth century. B.C. - which houses, under a Jewish fresco, Christian and Muslim burials.
The intercultural visits represented the conclusion of an educational path carried out by a team of CoopCulture educators in collaboration with experts from the La Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Palermo. Thanks to this on-the-job training, the participants were able to personally conduct guided tours, telling their peers, like true museum education experts, about all the objects kept in the museum.
The Musical of hospitality
Another result of the project was the Musical of hospitality "Mediterranean sea that unites" staged at the Palacongressi Villaggio Mosè Agrigento as part of the 74 edition of the Festival of the Almond Blossom. The musical, which was inspired by the show "White blouses", taken from the book by Ester Rizzo, included Italian melodies and African rhythms in a story of cross-migration.
Using music as a metaphor for integration and encounter beyond any linguistic, geographical and cultural barrier, the participants in the project performed in front of other schools, families and the audience of the festival.
The proceeds from the show were donated to Caritas in Agrigento.