The competition that turns the ideas of Bologna’s young people into reality
For over a year we’ve been working on the communication for Così sarà! La città che vogliamo, a participatory theatre project promoted by the Comune di Bologna, developed by Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione and funded by the European Union – European Social Fund, as part of PON Metro 2014-2020. Così sarà! is now entering its third and final phase, during which six creative projects put forward by Bologna’s under-25s will be developed.
The last few months have been dedicated to promoting an ideas competition targeted at Bologna’s young people aged 11 to 25. We asked them to send us creative ideas for the Bologna of tomorrow, for a city that is more #open, #innovative, #creative, #sustainable, #todiscover, #inclusive, #nonviolent and #intercultural.
Cultural communication during the time of Covid
The closure of schools and theatres, distance learning and the lack of meeting opportunities did not prevent communication about the competition from reaching its target. The campaign was mainly developed on Instagram @cosisaralacitta and the Facebook page Così sarà! La città che vogliamo thanks in part to local influencers (such as @dariomatassa, @ilregazdibolo, @whatsinbo and @scritteignorantiabologna). By the time the competition closed, we were very pleased to have received more than 120 ideas, including lots of suggestions from younger entrants (under 14).
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Heart-warming results
It was not only a question of lots of ideas, but also new visions, clear thinking and a capacity to come up with creative solutions. The decision-making process was therefore extremely difficult! We could only pick six ideas, two for each age bracket: 11–14 years, 14–19 years and 19–25 years.
The six winners
The winning ideas were announced on 29 January as part of Città all’orizzonte. Proiezioni per la Bologna che verrà, an online entertainment event, organised by ERT with the participation of students from across Bologna and Councillor Matteo Lepore.
Next steps
Going live! From now until May, the young people whose idea was selected will be assisted by the various organisations that form the network. Each of the six creative projects will grow thanks to mentoring from ERT, Altre Velocità, Cassero LGBTI+ Center, Kepler-452, La Baracca Testoni or Compagnia Teatro dell’Argine.
It will be a very exciting challenge to accompany these young creatives in the development of a genuine cultural and/or artistic project. We will be keeping a close eye on things so that we can tell you all about the process, following everything until the final event in May, when the projects will be presented to the city.
