On 7 September 2024 in Viganella, a hamlet of Borgomezzavalle (VCO), during the afternoon meeting the Conti family tells about its “journey of roots”, the “World in a Suitcase” contest open to primary and secondary schools was presented.

In the presence of Senator Enrico Borghi and with the video greeting of the regional undersecretary Alberto Preioni, the president of the Giovan Pietro Vanni Cultural Association, Pier Franco Midali, formally launched the contest created in collaboration with “Italea Piemonte“.

The 14 students of the second class A, thanks to the help of Professor Vanessa Sirtori, distinguished themselves in addressing the complex issue of Italian historical emigration using new media. With great sensitivity they told family stories related to the work in the mines in Belgium and the tragic story of Marcinelle with a touching graphic novel where the grandfather who left for Belgium experiences the work in the coal mines, the terrible explosion, the fear of family members and the escape from danger. Also interesting is the look of the young people with respect to the period of colonialism with family stories between Eritrea, when it was an Italian colony, and Congo, then Belgian Congo, told through a podcast episode.

The students received a small personal prize for their work and the school library received the book by Paolo Crosa Lenz “Legends of the Alps – The fantastic world of Ossola” where the Alps are not a border or an obstacle but areas of sharing problems and solutions at the center of Europe.

It is interesting to note that the contest created mainly for schools and Italian individuals, in order to “feed” interest in the rediscovery of a part of Italian history, has also met with strong interest in the communities of Italians abroad who, perfect “sounding boards”, have facilitated the arrival of texts and works from overseas.

The initiative was sponsored by the Regional Equal Opportunities Commission, and we thank in particular the president Maria Rosa Porta and the councilor Caterina Agus who did their utmost to promote the initiative.

Below is the graphic novel: Grandpa (s) lucky

 

And the episode of the podcast, also made by the boys, entitled “The World in a suitcase“