Education is prevention

On October 11 and 12, the Bertinoro Days for Civil Economy were held, promoted by the AICCON Research Center as a laboratory for study and discussion on the evolution of the Third Sector and Civil Economy in Italy. Today, we meet Paolo Venturi, director of AICCON, to talk about education and culture as integral parts of global healthWhat is the definition of health proposed by the WHO in 1948... More.

Interview with Paolo Venturi

From the ISTAT report presented on the occasion of the Bertinoro Days, it emerges that last year 70.5% of children and young people between 3 and 19 years old had never been to a library. What is the impact and risk of educational povertyGuaranteeing access to quality education, regardless of geog... More on the global health of the community?

The risk is very high, and we are already seeing its effects. Education is different from instruction or training. Etymologically, “educare” comes from the Latin educěre, meaning “to bring out.” The library is therefore not a place where one merely receives instruction, but where one discovers oneself or the other. Every book is potentially an encounter that enriches life. This richness is increasingly available to fewer people. Often, the “lottery of life” places young people in families or contexts that do not allow them to value this kind of experience.

Educational poverty has a significant impact, visible in people’s choices, behaviors, participation mechanisms, and especially in the impoverishment of hope and the construction of the self and one’s happinessHappiness represents an emotional state characterized by pos... More, with repercussions on the economy, innovation, social capital, and democracy. There is a lot of work to be done on educational poverty, which is linked to wealth redistribution and the creation of opportunities, because culture is the greatest experience and training ground we can provide to develop the person.

According to new ISTAT data, 16.8% of children and young people between 6 and 19 years old in 2023 had never been to the cinema, theater, museums, exhibitions, archaeological sites, monuments, or concerts. Are there possible solutions—political, urban planning, communicative—that can enhance cultural offerings, including free access to libraries and historical or exhibition spaces?

These numbers indicate a desertification of cultural experience and the relational dimension within cultural contexts, not intended as mere entertainment but as a process that empowers and educates. We need to change our perspective on these places and on culture. Historically, this has been what allowed people to discover reality. Libraries should not be spaces for an elite; they should become community hubs: spaces to move through freely, integrating multiple functions. Clearly, the way libraries were used in the past cannot apply today. Books were once the only source of information; today, mobile phones and technology provide a flood of knowledge that we cannot even discern.

Libraries need regeneration, not just renovation. In England, many libraries are reopened to regenerate suburbs, offering spaces that can become opportunities for community meetings and projects, even hosting other functions. In some cases, pubs are included in these library systems because culture is a great platform for inclusion. The educational dimension is fundamentally an inclusive process, and today, inclusion requires spaces. More than financial resources, we need new spaces that users themselves can redesign, animate, and turn into mechanisms for regeneration. Today, suburbs, historic centers, internal areas, and many youth innovation hubs are regenerated spaces that were abandoned or dormant, now revived with functions that almost always place culture at the center. It’s like yeast in dough: a little is enough, but it changes the consistency of everything.

If I had to propose a law today for cultural enhancement, I would base it on spaces and places, particularly those with a cultural dimension, giving users a central role in defining their functions and activities. The growing disconnect with young people comes from the design of proposals aimed at them. We must move beyond simply mapping needs, where someone from the outside provides answers. We must make young people co-creators of solutions for them to work.

The Bertinoro Days emphasize the urgency of integral development and revising current socio-economic rules. What role does culture play in this transformation? What is the social function of education? Can we talk about education as prevention and part of a healthy lifestyle?

Absolutely. Education is a mechanism that builds the self, forming the basis of choices and decisions. Etymologically, to decide means “to cut.” To choose what is good, one must be educated not only to know things but to relate to them. Education is fundamental—it is everything. The educational dimension allows a person to value who they are, not just what they know.

Education requires a method, a maieutic approach, a proposal, an environment, a context, experiential stimuli, teachers, adults, friends, and something beyond oneself. Education requires relationships. Education becomes the greatest preventive investment we can make for people’s health. Economist Deaton wrote a book called Deaths of Despair, describing the impact of lifestyle-related pathologies in a society that constantly promotes performance and production, where meaning and experience are stripped from life. Deaths of Despair shows that the true mortality factor is not only war or poverty but also the anorexia of hope and meaning, often linked to low investment in education.

 

 

How can institutions become moral spaces, rather than neutral, valuing the uniqueness and irreplaceability of each individual? What is the role of the Third Sector?

Recently, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson, three American economists who argue that theories of wealth and poverty can be better understood by observing the nature of institutions. The difference between a fully developed state and one that fails to develop is not in resources but in the nature and type of institutions—the rules of the game. They argue that society needs positive activism to not only exist but to take root, flourish, and become institutionalized. This ensures that future generations benefit from good practices.

Institutions shape the course of history. When Basaglia transformed psychiatry, he didn’t stop at good practice; he created cooperatives for work inclusion, integrating patients and collaborators directly. Medicine began with Hippocrates, but hospitals are needed for the oath to serve everyone. Good actions today must become institutionalized solutions or organized projects. This is a particular call to the Third Sector, nonprofits, and social organizations: the urgency is not only addressing problems and needs but turning projects into institutions, new social infrastructures, organizations, and associative models that enrich not only the diversity of participants but also the quality of solutions.

We face a combination of social, environmental, and welfare challenges. How can we respond to this polycrisis in an integrated way?

In biology, there are three types of relationships. First, parasitism: to survive, I exploit you. Second, commensalism: I benefit from you without harming you. Third, mutualism: my existence depends on my relationship with you. Today’s complexity requires mutualism, interdependence, cooperationThe silent force that holds human groups together Cooperatio... More, and social bonds.

Vulnerability is no longer limited to a few—it affects everyone. Today, complexity requires resisting isolation and fragmentation. Faced with uncertainty, one can either isolate and fear (and fear inhibits cooperation) or embrace complexity as an opportunity to rediscover interdependence and community. Otherwise, approaching complexity individually or without socialization increases inequalities, eventually affecting even those at the top. Complexity presents an opportunity to reframe everything: it can enhance uncertainty or highlight the need for social connection.

The Commitment of the Patrizio Paoletti Foundation

The Patrizio Paoletti Foundation invests in neuro-psycho-pedagogical educational projects across the lifespan, from childhood to old age, promoting education and self-education, valuing personal uniqueness and responsibility in guiding society toward a sustainable and prosperous future. From the enriched curriculum at Assisi International School to the Prefigurare il Futuro project in Italian schools, from teacher training with innovative methodologies to inclusive cultural welfare initiatives like AIDA, the foundation promotes culture as inclusion and global health.