Naples. “Twenty years after my daughter was killed, many young people continue to lose their lives every day in Naples. It is necessary to stop this violence and do even more! Young people need to be followed and supported through culture and work to choose the path of legality.
We asked the Region and the Municipality to finance the Library to continue our commitment, but to date no one has responded. For this reason we ask for the support of civil society.
This is the appeal of Giannino During, father of Annalisa, which marks the start of the crowdfunding campaign “+ Books, no weapons”. The goal is to create a patrimonial fund dedicated to the activities of the Forcella Social Library, to strengthen the action against educational poverty and prevent deviance and violence among minors.
“The library Annalisa Durante it cannot be a temporary structure,” declared the association's president, Giuseppe Perna, during a press conference. “The institutions must abandon the logic of calls for tenders and move to co-programming with Third Sector Entities, to guarantee stable interventions in the most marginal and at-risk areas of the city.
In the absence of public funding, we launched this campaign to raise funds and integrate the projects already underway. If it is not sufficient, we will consider subscribing to annual fees.”
Perna stressed the importance of establishing the Forcella 0-6 Network, a support system for families from early childhood to adulthood. “Through activities such as reading, creative writing, theater, art, cinema, sports, music, active citizenship, psychological support and career guidance, we can take kids off the streets and intervene effectively in their family contexts.”
Perna's proposals were supported by the Italian Library Association, the Polis Foundation and the Libera – Names, Numbers and Associations Against the Mafia Association association. The initiative follows the appeal launched on October 21, in the presence of the prefect Michele Di Bari, which has so far collected 600 signatures, including those of Don Luigi Ciotti, Paolo Siani and Maurizio De Giovanni.
Note from Palazzo San Giacomo: “The library has never been abandoned”
“The municipal administration has never abandoned the Forcella municipal space dedicated and its library dedicated to Annalisa Durante”. This is a note from Palazzo San Giacomo regarding the appeal launched by Giannino Durante.
Following a recent resolution approved by the City Council, the note continues, "we are working to ensure that the structure can be further enhanced with activities dedicated to young people," explains the Councilor for Youth Policies Chiara Marciani. A decision aimed precisely at responding to the appeal launched by the same associations that asked to intervene with projects to support young people.
In fact, a roundtable is planned with all the local entities (more than 20 have been booked) to jointly build the activities and programming of the youth center that will soon enrich the Forcella space. “This does not mean penalizing the library, on the contrary, but it represents a further opportunity to find additional funding aimed at making the space increasingly at the service of the territory and fighting school dropout and youth distress together”, concludes Marciani.
Article published on 3 December 2024 - 20:48
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It is a real shame that the youth of Naples continues to suffer from violence. The library could be an important place for young people, but it needs more support. I hope that the institutions listen to Giannino Durante's appeal.