Pythagoras32, a project that sparks hope

Pythagoras32 is a project that seeks to spark hope in this city, and is part of a much larger project, an ambitious dream that we have for this city, which is called Oikos, a centre for the integral ecology of the Mediterranean and which seeks to develop five courses: one on beauty, namely, to engage young artists from all parts of the Mediterranean to give the city a new face, and then the economy, and therefore doing business from the perspective of integral ecology, then we have a programme on non-violence; then there is a course on university research, we have involved three universities: the Pontifical University of Saint Anthony of Rome, the University of Bari and the Al Azhar University of Cairo, a very large university, with 500 thousand students and 67 faculties that are ready to twin with us.

Here on the Mediterranean, because the Mediterranean is strategic, and Taranto is strategic for the Mediterranean, and here the port also has a key function because it helps the city recover the link with the sea that has been lost over the years.

The port of Taranto therefore has the fundamental function of reconnecting the city with the sea, of mending this link, and then, also in relation to a much broader, international vision, that of the Mediterranean, the port of Taranto certainly plays a fundamental role.

And here Oikos, this centre for the integral ecology of the Mediterranean, also wants to trigger processes that are local and international at the same time, because this city needs an outlook that is not only local, but also international.

And finally, a workshop on communication, creating a group of young people who can tell the story of the city, the territories and the companies, from the perspective of integral ecology, which seems to us to be the challenge of the future.

For a new narrative of the city

As part of the courses we have offered to young people, there was, for example, a video-editing course, which was held by young people who made themselves available to other young people, and so the first course started and went very well.

But what do we do with these skills?

Young people want to tell about that part of the city that no one else can describe but them, through their own eyes.

So they are getting to know the realities of the area, which are precisely those realities that speak of a rebirth, speak of integral ecology, with a view to sustainability, which is really about generativity.

One of these realities is “Ammostro”, a workshop that we have been following for a long time, run by girls who have tried to set up a business in this area through creativity, and so now young people here are experimenting with silk-screen printing techniques use the methods that these girls utilise, with sustainability in mind, particularly in terms of the inks and fabrics they use.

They are learning, but they are also getting to know these girls because they will go back to interview them.

Antonello Maglie, facilitator at Project Pythagoras32

Stimulating young people’s creativity

I am one of the facilitators for the Pythagoras32 Project and I have the task of catalysing, engaging with and enabling the young people who want Pythagoras32 to give them an opportunity to play a leading role, an opportunity to – in some way – show the city their talent, but also their desire, their willingness to get involved and prove themselves.

And so many pathways emerge, in which skills intersect and opportunities are created.

We met young creatives, but also young people who want to use digital technology to talk about the city and also make the most of the Taranto area.

Taranto is a city of the sea, and unfortunately the link with the sea for the people of Taranto has become something difficult to define.

We no longer speak in the language of the sea, so these young people, at least those we have met, perhaps need to talk about the sea and hear about it.

This link with the sea will certainly make them want to know more about it, this need is strong in young people, the search for their roots is strong.

It is a way to reconnect, and thus open their minds to new possibilities for doing business with the sea, as well as with all the realities that already operate within this ecosystem.

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