BETWEEN SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF MEMORY
Discovering minority linguistic heritages, a workshop for schools
December 4th, 2024
Acquaviva Collecroce and Montecilfone (province of Campobasso, Molise, IT)
On December 4, 2024, two classes from the Lycée de Sciences Humaines “G. Milli” of Teramo visited two allophone villages in the Molise region, Croatian-speaking Acquaviva Collecroce and Albanian-speaking Montecilfone. The visit took place as part of the promotion, dissemination and diffusion of the Tramontana project, thanks to LEM-Italia’s collaboration with the Teramo school. The LEM-Italia association, which has always worked to safeguard, promote and enhance the linguistic heritage of Italy’s minority language communities, keeps its research grounds in Molise, where it works closely with local communities, the Rivista Kamastra association and Sportelli Linguistici.
During the visit, the students interacted with a number of representatives, including local elected officials, from two Albanian and Croatian-speaking communities, asking them questions they had previously prepared in class with their teachers. The aim of the questionnaires was to find out about the social representations of local identity and culture held by the two communities, and the actions taken by local administrations and cultural associations to safeguard this intangible heritage and ensure it is passed on to younger generations. The aims of these activities were to promote awareness of cultural and linguistic pluralism, by enhancing the value of Italy’s historical intangible cultural heritage; to develop skills of active citizenship, intercultural empathy and dialogue with others; to integrate theoretical knowledge of school subjects with concrete, stimulating experiences, through interaction with particularly relevant historical and cultural realities.
