A.P.E. Onlus

We believe that education is a resource to turn the critical issues of youth into growth and change. A.P.E. Onlus, in order to overcome the complexity of contemporary society - which puts in discussion the construction of the personal and cultural identity of young people - offers to children and their families a service that varies from the school field, to the educational area, to the recreational one. 1996: within the parish church Beata Vergine Immacolata was born the "Association For Youth Education - A.P.E. Onlus". It aims to disseminate the opportunities for educational growth with initiatives of different kinds, in terms of prevention of marginality and disadvantage, with the offer of new didactic and formative occasions to support the growth of the younger generations. 1998: A.P.E. Onlus reintroduces the experience of an after-school in a completely voluntary way, with the launch of an official educational project, open to children aged between 11 and 14 years residents prevalently in the Reno District (Borgo Panigale). Our specialized educators offer their services to more than 60 secondary school children from families at high risk of marginalization. Educators follow them in their growth path, offering them and their families a welcoming place where they can have lunch, play, do homework, grow up and socialize. In the school year , the after-school also opened the doors to children attending high school. This is an important goal for the association and a great opportunity for the territory that does not offer educational and training alternatives for this age group. In recent years the association has also set up collaborative relationships with several non-profit organizations operating in the community (e.g., Centro Anni Verde Barca, Cooperativa Sociale “La Carovana”, Ass. Culturale “Panicarte”, Fondazione Golinelli), producing positive results in terms of socio-educational impact on minors involved. Thanks to these collaborations, artistic, musical and sports activities have been proposed to minors in order to increase their softskills, improve social cohesion and tackle attitudes and phenomena related to exclusion, violence/aggressiveness and discrimination. COVID-19 EMERGENCY A.P.E. Onlus has immediately activated a remote/on-line study support, a precious opportunity to give didactic continuity during the closing weeks of the schools. In this way it is possible to guarantee the monitoring of fragility, a psychological support, online workshops and a newsletter to help minors not to isolate themselves during the lockdown period.