June 01, 2018 PRESS RELEASE
ANOTHER STEP ON THE JOURNEY OF THE SAN GIMIGNANO CHARTER: “INSIEME SENZA MURI” (“TOGETHER: NO WALLS”) IN MILAN
On May 26th , the European Charter of San Gimignano for Unaccompanied and Separate Children has been introduced during the final debate.
The process of the European Charter of San Gimignano is moving forward: it has started in 2015 in the city after whom the Charter is named, during the 2nd “Circomondo”, the Festival of Social Circus organized by Carrettera Central. The NGO has taken the opportunity to show up in Milan, during “Insieme senza Muri” and to put under the spotlight the rights, that are really often missing, of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors, whose fate is often uncertain and tragic. According to the Atlante minori stranieri non accompagnati 2018 issued by SAVE THE CHILDREN, in 2017, 17.337 Unaccompanied Migrant Minors have reached Italy: at their arrival they find a reception system that doesn’t protect them and, more often, leave them alone to such an extend that these young people can rely only on themselves and often go missing, joining the criminal system and rarely being able to join their families in Europe.
These are the key themes of the European Charter of San Gimignano that have found the perfect place to be highlighted in “Insieme senza Muri”, having the new partnership with AceA Onlus. The initiative, which took place from May 20th to June 23rd, according to the agenda, is an important statement to reaffirm that Milan is welcoming: the aim is to debate new models and share positive experiences.
Within this framework, on May 26th, at “Fabbrica del Vapore” in Milan, the European Charter of San Gimignano has played the lead in a conference that took place in the afternoon, opened by the preview of “Attraversamenti Luoghi Arti Culture” by Giovanna Gammarota e Sergio Di Giorgi, that Carrettera Central warmly thanks for their precious support to the Charter. A number of videos and documentary films have been screened, among them, the movie “Lost Children. 30.000 Minors Missing” by Chiara Sambuchi, who has actively contributed to the birth of the European Charter of San Gimignano. The documentary film, produced by Lavafilm Berlino, shows the journey and the stories of some Unaccompanied Migrant Minors, who have recently come to Europe. Then a debate took place: Adriano Scarpelli, Chairman of Carrettera Central, has talked about the project of the European Charter of San Gimignano, about its aims and about the journey that has reached a number of Italian cities and, twice, the European Parliament in Brussels. Scarpelli talked about rights and integration with Pier Francesco Majorino, Aldermann of Social Policies in Milan, with Anna Granata, researcher of Intercultural Pedagogy at the Turin University, with Dava Gjoka, Chairman of “Città Mondo” and with Michele Papagna, Chairman of Acea Onlus.
The initiative had a positive outcome presenting the Charter and putting under the spotlight the possibility of a communication between different actors on the issues of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors and on their fundamental rights that could lead to an increased awareness and to a legislative action to protect the right to hope for a better life for many children that every year reach Europe and Italy.
