NEON - Not Excluded from Our Neighbourhood

https://www-new.volontariatotorino.it/neon/

NEON project (2020-2021) was designed to improve some critical issues in the territory of a Turin suburb, the so called "District 5".
The theme of "light" is the leitmotif of NEON: its ambitious goal is to "shed light on the shadow areas" of the territory, i.e. the abandoned public spaces and the phenomena of intolerance, in order to "enlighten consciences" and fight the ignorance that produces hatred towards those who belong to different nations and cultures.
Beneficiaries are students or young workers in the neighborhood, their families, their networks of friends and potentially all the residents of the District 5.
This project is funded as a Solidarity Project within the European Solidarity Corps programme and is carried out by a group of 5 young boys and girls between 18 and 30 y.o. (helped by 7 high school students).

The main aims and objectives of NEON project are:
- Mapping places where hateful, racist or xenophobic messages are present in the form of graffiti;
- Design of creative responses to counter these hateful messages through the use of several artistic languages (e.g. street art, photography, film-making, drawing, painting);
- Organization of a final event in which the creative responses will be presented to the public.

The expected impacts on local community are:
1) Increasing the level of integration and the opportunities of aggregation. Young people and local organisations should play a key role in this challenge, by increasing the social cohesion of the neighborhood as well as the sense of community by promoting social commitment;
2) Increasing social inclusion of young people (and not only young people) with fewer opportunities, especially those who live in a disadvantaged condition due to low schooling, economic obstacles, constant risk of marginalization or discrimination (in the case of migrants);
3) Fighting against inequalities, promoting equal opportunities and the opposition to any kind of racist behaviors;
4) Supporting the transition to the new technologies, increasing digitalization and decreasing the digital divide of those who are disadvantaged;
5) The most desired impact in the medium-long term is the change in the attitude of the residents towards migrants and foreigners, as well as a change of attitude towards the common spaces, which should become subject to a greater care. Finally it is desirable to get a renewed desire to enhance the neighborhood thanks to new initiatives addressed to boost people in remaining as residents in the area.

80%

Volunteer involved: "With this project I feel I can give my little, but I hope important contribution, to make my neighborhood a better place".

integration, inclusion, migration, youth, empowerment, citizenship, participation, community, neighborhood, suburbs, volunteering, school, art, culture, non-discrimination

I declare that my project meets all the quality requirements here listed

• There are clear, planned outcomes for the local community based on identified needs.
• Volunteers bring added value to the project and don’t replace paid staff.
• Volunteers are recruited, trained and managed according to the quality volunteer management cycle.
• The conditions of the opportunity are inline with the relevant legal framework in the country/ region concerned. Eg regarding insurance, expenses payments, agreements/contracts etc.
• The volunteers are celebrated and thanked for their time and commitment.

Yes

• The organization providing the volunteer opportunity demonstrates an inclusive approach. Volunteers from all backgrounds and situations are welcome.

Yes

• There is the opportunity for the learning acquired through volunteering to be validated, if the volunteer desires it.

Yes