In
2007, the Modena entrepreneur Fabio Galvani started a project that goes beyond
the concept of traditional sports to becoming a beacon for the inclusion of
youngsters with autistic spectrum or cognitive-relational disorders. Today, the
association works with 300 young people assisted by 40 educators and 11
volunteers and includes 24 different sports. For FARE INSIEME Charity, Lucrezia
Lanzani interviewed Fabio Galvani, founder of Ness1 Escluso
FARE
INSIEME CHARITY is the spin-off of the FARE INSIEME project dedicated to the
presentation of some onlus and non-profit associations with roots in the area
around Bologna, Ferrara and Modena and that carry out extraordinarily important
and crucial work for the entire community. Here are some of their stories
by Lucrezia Lanzani*
“Inclusion:
the ability to involve as many individuals as possible in the enjoyment of a
right, in an activity or in the execution of an action. More generally,
inclination, tendency to be welcoming and not discriminate and so countering
the intolerance produced by judgement, prejudice, racism and stereotypes”.
Modena,
2017: Fabrizio Galvani decided that the time had come to do something for other
people. He was inspired by the story of Oskar Schindler: a successful
entrepreneur who decided to use his money to help other people. That is how
“Ness1 Escluso” was born, a third-sector organization that helps people of all
ages - from 3 to 50 - with cognitive and autistic spectrum disorders.
“Cognitive disability involves a first exclusive activity, i.e. learn the
sport, followed by an inclusive activity, i.e. practice it with normotypical
athletes,” explains the founder Fabio Galvani. The objective is in fact to
improve the condition of these youngsters, providing them with the chance to
believe in something healthy like a sport.
“First of
all, we identified a group of 24 athletes, half of whom would play football and
half of them multiple sports, once a week, with two educators. Everything is
completely free, and the youngsters are assisted exclusively by professionals.”
The free
activities are made possible thanks to a network of private partners who make
it possible for the association to work with 300 youngsters led by 40 educators
and 11 volunteers, offering 24 sports activities. “Do you know
the difference between a team and a group? A group is a number of people, which
becomes a team once roles - which are often complementary - are identified. I
have a work team that creates a structure of professionals who help the
association grow.”
During the
COVID-19 epidemic, Ness1 Escluso worked on building a network of relations with
a single objective in mind: to make it possible for young people with cognitive
disorders to do sports for free. Qualified personnel is in a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio
with the youngsters: this means that every athlete is assisted personally by
one or two educators. With social distancing, however, the purpose became to
“distract” them and “detach” them from their everyday lives, to make them
understand that they were not forgotten thanks to online or open-air gymnastics
and the “#Ness1EsclusoAttivo” project that saw the athletes involved in a
photography course.
“Ness1
Escluso is a life project: we have organized a course on sexuality and intimacy
and we are preparing one on self-care. Over the next few years, we will also
focus on “After Us” and on the awareness of what they want to do. The
youngsters go from being athletes to individuals and become opportunities for
society,” concludes Galvani.
*Lucrezia
Lanzani is a student at the Steam Emilia High School. She is sixteen years old
and has always been interested in social issues. She has been volunteering for
three years in different organisations in her community.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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