The project involved not only the students of the Military School of Florence, but also the students and representatives of the Provincial Student Councils of Novara, Bolzano Italian, Bolzano Ladin, Udine and the Regional Council of the Valle d’Aosta. The project arose from the need to raise students’ awareness of the values of civil coexistence, mutual respect and tolerance between people and nations, as well as of democratic participation in social life, through a process of learning about the foundations of civil life as they are expressed in the Constitutions of the Peoples, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. The initiative was actively participated in by the students and representatives of the Provincial Student Councils of Novara, Bolzano Italian, Bolzano Ladin, Udine and the Regional Council of the Valle d’Aosta.
In the first phase, the local situation was analyzed through the processing of data obtained from a questionnaire administered to approximately 1,500 students regarding a sense of belonging and identity with one’s territory, and prejudices that influence individual and collective perceptions of the 'Other.”.
The work carried out at the School saw the respective delegations collaborating with the students of “Douhet” in the drafting of the final document, consisting of the definition of a “Charter of Civil Coexistence”, which can also be shared at the European and extra-European level, directly derived from the focus groups held in the respective study groups.
In addition to the high levels of ethical and social content that inspired the entire two-year project, this initiative provided a unique opportunity for mutual knowledge and in-depth understanding for both the students of the Military School and their colleagues from the corresponding secondary schools in northern Italy, who had the opportunity to participate in a joint project of significant educational value. Finally, it was also a valuable opportunity for the representatives of the Consultations with whom the cultural process and the operational procedures of the initiative were shared.
At the conclusion of the two-day work, the students symbolically planted a tree in the park of the Institute of Military Aeronautics Science in the image of Peace and Coexistence among Peoples.
