The first Apprendi Festival [1], a festival on lifelong learning in the province of Verona, was held on June 10, 2023. The event, conceived by Virginia Nocca, a 23-year-old masterstudent in Education from Padua University, together with her father Gino, was held in the village of Fumane (in the Verona province), surrounded by the Valpolicella hills famous for the production of Amarone wine.
The one-day festival had the experimental goal of engaging the local community and was inspired by the principles of Learning Cities. The main themes of the festival were "Imagine, Develop and Enjoy," which sought to engage people of different ages in learning experiences offered by local associations.
The Mayor of Fumane supported the initiative from the beginning, allowing networking with local associations and realities. The Apprendifestival represents a clear manifestation of the city's desire to become a learning city, involving the different stakeholders in the area and all citizens.
A talk was held during the festival with expert speakers sharing their perspectives with the audience. Participating for the PASCAL Observatory was Roberta Piazza, who focused on the need for public administration involvement in LC development. Numerous workshops and activities suitable for all ages were organized in the afternoon, divided into the three main areas: imagine, develop and have fun.
The Apprendi Festival intends to strive to promote lifelong learning in the territory of the province of Verona, in line with national and local policies, so as to create a synergy between the different projects activated in the territory and the promotion of learning cities.
The organisers have posted some great information and photos of the event on Instagram here [2].
A few select photographs follow [click to enlarge]:
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