CESIE

CESIE is a European Centre for Studies and Initiatives based in Palermo, Sicily. It is a non-profit, apolitical, and non-governmental organisation. It was established in 2001, inspired by the work and theories of the pacifist Danilo Dolci (1924-1997). CESIE links local, national and international contexts and is committed to stimulating development and change in educational, cultural and economic spheres through the creation and use of innovative tools and methods. Our objectives: • Enhancing active citizenship, training, education and mobility of young people • Upgrading lifelong learning in adult education, boosting innovative practices and developing key competences for adults • Improving quality and efficiency in school education • Developing effective and inclusive approaches for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants • Fostering progress, sustainable and responsible research and innovation in higher education and research systems • Promoting equality, protecting the rights of people, preventing and developing responses to violence and discrimination. CESIE’s main mission is to promote educational innovation, participation and growth. CESIE is active in different fields in order to achieve this aim, including: • Developing innovative educational methodologies to prevent ESL and to improve the educational attainment of disadvantaged young people • Fostering the inclusion of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the hosting societies by implementing different educational and recreational activities • Promoting the use of intercultural exchanges as a mean to foster the social inclusion of disadvantaged target groups • Developing VET programmes and the competences of VET teachers as well as favouring the transition of VET students from education to employment • Developing innovative approaches and tools to promote the inclusion of people with both mental and physical disabilities • Promoting sustainable consumption patterns and raising awareness on climate change and environmental issues among different target groups • Developing and implementing training activities to promote employability skills and foster entrepreneurial spirit among different target groups as well as supporting entrepreneurs and SMEs in increasing their entrepreneurship capacities • Developing and implementing non formal and alternative educational approaches to prevent Early School Leaving and fostering the inclusion of each learner in the educational path The organization is divided into six Units which work together and manage activities in their specific fields: Youth, Adult, School, Migration, Higher Education and Research, Rights and Justice. The head office can be found in the city centre of Palermo with other offices in India, Nepal and Senegal. CESIE coordinates the CESIE Network which is composed of over 200 organizations throughout the world who share our mission and collaborate with us. CESIE staff is composed of 60 people at the coordinating office, located in Palermo, and a staff person for each international seat. The team has an international character being composed not only by Italians, but also from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Serbia, Lithuania, etc. CESIE is therefore considered to be a very concrete and positive example of European values. Moreover, the staff is characterized by a great diversity of profiles, skills and qualifications but united by a deep sharing of ideals that lead our activities. At the same time, CESIE relies on about fifty external experts that collaborate for specific activities in our offices: three in Sicily and three abroad. Equally important is the contribution from the dozens of interns and volunteers engaged in internships at our organization.