There was a great turnout for the presentation of “Taking a stroll with our fingers – the words of solidarity” (“A spasso con le dita – le parole della solidarietà” in Italian) an exhibition on tactile books by the Federazione Nazionale delle Istituzioni Pro Ciechi (National Federation of Institutions for the Blind) in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Belgium and the Comitato Scolastico Italiano (Coscit, the Italian School Committee), which promotes Italian culture in the country. In attendance at the event were the Director of the Lombardy Region Delegation Giuseppe Costa; the President of Coscit; the Italian Embassy’s Diplomatic Advisor Andrea Della Nebbia; the Vice-president of the European Parliament Fabio Massimo Castaldo; and the Vice President of the Federazione Nazionale Pro Ciechi Hubert Perfler.
Speakers highlighted a strong message of inclusivity and interconnection with the principles enshrined in the European Charter on the Rights of the Child, as well as the importance of training for teachers and staff on the specific learning needs of visually impaired students.
This initiative brought the exhibition – created in 2010 thanks to the well-established collaboration between the Federation and Enel Cuore, the Enel Group’s non-profit charitable organization – to Brussels, as the beginning of a broader European journey.
“For Enel Cuore, the “A spasso con le dita” (Strolling with our fingers) project is an important contribution in promoting inclusion for children who are blind and visually impaired through tactile publishing,” declared Filippo Rodriguez, Enel Cuore’s Managing Director. “This is a crucial tool to introduce young children to reading, to stimulate their curiosity and develop their perceptive exploration, as well as to promote dialogue between children and parents, and to strengthen inclusivity between visually impaired and sighted children: a founding principle in the educational growth of new generations.”
The exhibition is part of the events held in Brussels during the Week of Italian Language and Culture in the World, which is coordinated in Belgium by the country’s Italian Cultural Institute and its Director, Paolo Sabbatini.