High School Workshops
On the 11th-12th and 16th-17th of October 2023, six workshops were implemented in the “Istituto Marconi”, a high school located in Gorgonzola (Milano). Participants were students with a heterogeneous and multi-ethnic backgrounds. The general aim of the workshops was promoting a bidirectional exchange between research findings and youth’s perceptions of inequality and identity.
Photographic Exhibition
First, a photographic exhibition introduced students to the topic of identity and inequality. Students first played archery to evoke the randomness that may determine the identity we are born with. Then, stuents were exposed to photos of migrants coming from different regions, and to statements of Italian citizens, refugees and migrants concerning how migrants are perceived or perceive themselves.
Training and Workshop
Training sessions guided by instructors and researchers represented a fruitful way to stimulate a debate about identity and its perception. In the final stage, students were involved in games and group activities, discussing how they perceive themselves and others, and debating about how identity influences individual thinking and decisions.
Workshops saw the participation of more than 80 students and several instructors. The event allowed us, as researchers, to collect insights and opinions from the youngest segment of the population. Exploring which form of identity young people identify with, and what inclusion means for them, represents both an opportunity for them to think deeply about such a crucial matter, and for us as researchers to confront with the real world perception of what identity means.