Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Certificates of completion were awarded to two students of the Università 21 aps association

The final ceremony of the three-year university programme of two young students, Chiara Gubertini and Francesco Benedetti, followed by the Università 21 aps association, the first organisation in Italy that offers young people with intellectual disabilities, who do not have a diploma, the opportunity to experience university life, was held today at the Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies of Unimore.

Chiara Gubertini wrote a final paper on ‘Fashion and society: the historical evolution, revolutionary icons and the cultural impact among young people’, followed by Professor Elisa Rossi as lecturer. Chiara started from her great interest in fashion, showing how it is closely connected to our culture and how they influence each other, focusing in particular on western fashion.

Francesco Benedetti wrote a final paper, entitled ‘The history of the automobile and the Ferrari of Maranello’, followed by Professor Matteo Al Kalak as lecturer. Cars are a great passion for Francesco, who decided to trace the history of the automobile, from its invention to the birth of the great car manufacturers.

‘Thanks to an agreement with Unimore, the Università 21 aps association is present in Reggio Emilia and Modena, collaborating with two Reggio Emilia departments, Education and Human Sciences and Economics and Communication, and with a Modena department, Linguistic and Cultural Studies, to support students with intellectual disabilities. These young people are in fact supported by graduate educators who experience the everyday life of the university with them and follow them in preparing for examinations and acquiring new autonomy,' commented Università 21 APS President Loretta Melli.

‘The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia has always been particularly sensitive to the educational needs of people with disabilities, including those without a secondary school diploma. Such students, in fact, at the end of school are often marginalised and do not have many opportunities to meet their peers. Thanks to the Universita21 project and the collaboration of Unimore, today these young people can attend some university lectures on a regular basis and live the university experience, thus fostering awareness of the culture of inclusion. Our university students benefit greatly from their presence. Our hope is that Unimore can increasingly become a welcoming environment and make diversity a resource,’ commented Dr Giacomo Guaraldi, the Rector's delegate for Disability and Specific Learning Disorders DSA.

Università 21 was founded in 2015, following the direct experience of President Loretta Melli and her son Jacopo. Jacopo's experience prompted Loretta to shape a project that would offer the same possibility to other young people.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng