Aurora Maria La Commare: reflections from a young active citizen

Within the framework of the Futurama project and its dedicated path exploring civic technologies for active citizenship, students from Erice (TP) and Palma di Montechiaro (AG) engaged with trainers from the University of Turin and the Community Foundation of Agrigento and Trapani . They intercepted some significant testimonials, including that of Aurora Maria La Commare (Grade 11, IISS Sciascia e Bufalino, Erice), who offers a personal reflection on her city, shaped by her experiences abroad. This highlights the value of young people's perspectives on their own territory. It's crucial to provide them with tools that stimulate critical thinking and nurture imagination, as demonstrated by the Futurama project, selected by Con i Bambini under the Poverty Reduction Fund for Child Education, co-financed by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Foundation.

Our Home

During a meeting with the cultural association OUT - Officina Urbana Trapani, organized through the educational path of FirstLife at the Beehive premises, a social enterprise and coworking space in the historic center of Trapani, I had the opportunity to reflect deeply on my city. OUT focuses on urban regeneration, and interviewing its President and a member motivated me to express and focus on my viewpoint regarding urban improvement.

Being determined has always been a strong point of my character and, to date, I exploit this aspect of my character to contribute and be an active citizen, interested in improving my city, which I consider to be our home for everyone who lives there, not only because of nature, such as the sea or nature reserves. I am convinced that today the city provides only what nature offers, and that no one has ever bothered to think about how to create and offer other services or how to improve and make existing ones more effective.

I am a 17-year-old girl who, like many of her peers, dreams of a city that knows how to entertain us and that can give us reasons to stay, in addition to those of family ties, tied to the potential of the city, which, at the moment, I do not see even though I believe it is and could be improved with the construction of:

• Parks
• Meeting places
• Places for study

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A World Compared

This need to renew my city comes from my recent travels that have allowed me to explore other places and compare them with Trapani, noticing the shortcomings but also gathering inspiration to fill them.

Recently, for a cultural exchange, I had the chance to visit France, specifically Orange, a city similar to Trapani, near Marseille. In addition to being a wonderful experience, it helped me open up to new realities and understand what fascinated me about Orange and what was missing in Trapani. For example, there were huge restaurants with posters showing really strange and special dishes, but inviting, which made me want to go in. But more than anything else, I remember the day when, returning to the family that hosted me, together with friends, I saw a huge park where children played, where people had picnics on the lawn and adults worked out with equipment provided. I almost begged my friends to enter, the idea of being able to eat on the lawn just like in the movies excited me, I had never had the opportunity in Trapani. They satisfied me and we entered, they could not understand why I was so happy, it was just a park for them, it was normal, but for me it was extraordinary. That's what I would like from Trapani to offer me spaces where I can be outdoors with my group of friends, where I can eat lying on the lawn, where I can socialize while enjoying the beauties of the city, naturally, as if it were "a normal thing."

Autrice: Aurora Maria La Commare

If you want to continue following the activities of the Futurama project, you can check the project sheet (here's the link), visit the project blog (here's the link), and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To participate or get more information, contact Daniela Avanzato at d.avanzato@fcagrigentotrapani.it.

The Futurama project has been selected by Con i Bambini as part of the Fund for combating educational poverty among minors and co-financed by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Foundation. The Fund was created through an agreement between banking foundations represented by Acri, the National Forum of the Third Sector, and the Government. It supports interventions aimed at removing economic, social, and cultural barriers that prevent minors from fully benefiting from educational processes. To implement the Fund's programs, the social enterprise Con i Bambini was established in June 2016, a non-profit organization wholly owned by the CON IL SUD Foundation. www.conibambini.org

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