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Final Conference of the project “LET’S believe in people’s potential”

European Parliament, Bruxelles, 31/03/2014

The conference will be held in different languages: this document is meant to let everybody better follow all the interventions. It has been written thanks to the contribution of all relators.

General introduction and presentation of the results by the italian side : Lucia Riva

I want to start this Conference saying a big thank you to the Dott.ssa Clotilde Lombardi and the Prof. Valtorta for the possibility to be here today. Not just because they organized this Conference but also because they started all of this. They made me (and therefore Brigitte) writing this project, they helped us out during the whole process and well... two years later here we are! The second big thanks goes of course to Brigitte, who immediately accepted to start this adventure together and greatly cooperate in writing the project. Too many other thanks should be said but we don't have much time so I'd rather start with the conference and leave this part to the end.

What was this project about? It was about many things, like the exchange of good practices, the implementation of new activities in the two organizations but especially it was about giving people the possibility to create something together. Give them the chance to surprise us. That's the title of our project: “LET'S believe in people’s potential”. A little trick to say both "with this project we want to give people the possibility to express their potential" and also "LETS (which is the english name for the Banca del Tempo) in general try to make people discover, develope and activate in society their knowledge and capabilities".

At the beginning I was told by somebody that even if he thought it was an interesting project he didn't want to participate because in time of crisis those money should have been used for something more relevant. I told him that I totally agreed with him, but that we were given a chance and it was now our responsibility to make that money become a valuable investment. I have to say that at moment I was also a bit skeptical about the real value of what we were about to start because besides what I could write on paper, there was a big variable I could not predict: people. I'm 28 and I had a few experiences abroad so I could imagine my attitude if involved in such a project, but while writing I had to think that the target of the project where people over 50, with different backgrounds, characters, culture and who spoke different languages. Moreover, the people in this project were not put together because the two partner's Associations had similar goals or activities, and therefore people could maybe share the same interests, but at the opposite they were put together because the two Associations have a totally different structure and goals that we wanted to integrate in order to reach new common objectives. Last but not the least, the Sint-Vincentius exists in Blankenberge since more than 20 years while the BdT was at that moment only 3 years old and had hard time to start: cope with a very strucured reality was for us a big challenge but also the boost we needed to make our BdT become the way we imagined it.

Despite all this question marks, as we'll hear later on, everything went fantastic, but especially I got to understand the reason why the EU invests in this sort of projects.

Associations are an incredible resource in the society. Especially nowadays, when the state doesn't have money. Associations are groups of people who work together in order to create something

good in society. They work for free, and they are motivated because they choose to be part of something. Associations are people, and people just need to be put in the right environment to start expressing their potential. When there are enthusiastic people, a sense of belonging, the right budget and a goal to reach together, you can be sure that results will be delivered. I don't know if I can spaek for any association but for sure I can speak for the 2 which are here now, because I saw it happening.

That's what the EU invested on when it gave us the money and that's what should be better understood by any government in any state in time of crisis: Associations can get great results out of little money. Just give them the chance to express themselves.

The second point I'd like to underline before starting speaking about the results of the project and give the word to those who made a direct experience of it, is that while writing the project we wrote "we truly believe that that’s the main potential of this project: the exchange of ideas and good practices between them will bring to the creation of something totally new in both the Association".

I'm very glad to announce that besides reaching all the goals and the expected results, we went much further. Thanks to the cooperations that we created whithin the project, new projects started. I won't speak about it now because that's not the topic of today, but the project "LET'S believe in people's potential" inspired the project "L'aiuto vien donando", which is a total new pattern of cooperation between the BdT, the Municipality, the local Associations, the people who are in a situation of need and the whole community. This project has been already funded and implemented in our town since october but it has already be taken as a model by two other BdT and the respective municipalities. Many people are gonna be helped and the BdT reached a total new role in society: all of that wouldn't be happening if the EU didn't give us this chance to express our potential at first.

As Socrates said “Let him who would move the world first move himself”. I can proudly say that everybody did his part in making this project work and create an unquantifiable added value.

But we are here now to demonstrate it. So I will now list the goals and expected results in order to check if we actually accomplished our duties. Then I'll leave the word to the people who had the experience on the field in order to let them give us a better idea of what happened and hopefully let us understand a little better what is this "added value" I was speaking about.

The general and specific objectives of the project:

The general objective was to exchange good practices and therefore improve the potential of both the Associations in dealing with social issues trying to involve on one side new volunteers from the respective communities and on the other to involve the vulnerable groups not just as beneficiaries of actions but as potential actors in society.

The specific objectives were:

In both context:

to create a sustainable model of involvement of senior people in the current activities of both the associations demonstrating the great value that they can bring in society if their

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potential is well channelled

to invest in the volunteers’ potential giving them the chance to: improve their communication skills, their capability to cope with different cultures and contexts, and increase their sense of usefulness.

to improve the capability of both association to intervene in favour of vulnerable groups and those facing the greatest risk of social exclusion.

to give the chance to the volunteers to create good relationships between them and create the right instrument to keep in touch in order to continue with the partnership and with new possible activities also once the project is ended.

In Italy:

Involve the Belgian volunteers in different activities run by the Banca del tempo in order to make them experience the mechanism of the exchange of time and be able to reproduce and promote them once back

Train the guest volunteers on the specific tools used by the Banca del Tempo in order to be able to use them autonomously once back

Implement the new activities learnt in Belgium trough the mechanism of the Banca del Tempo with the help of the Belgian volunteers themselves.

In Belgium:

To introduce a new approach on the theme of reciprocity in order to involve the vulnerable groups not just as beneficiaries of some actions but as potential actors who can give something back in society

To involve new people from the society trough the implementation of the mechanism of the Banca del Tempo

Make the volunteers from Italy learn how the Belgian association organises and runs some of its activities in order to try to implement them once back to Italy

As I said, we accomplished all the objectives we had and we went even further, so I can conclude my intervention saying that the Italian side of the project is very happy with the achieved results and very positive about the future development of what we started together.

Thanks to everybody and enjoy the rest of the conference.

General introduction and presentation of the results by the belgian side : Brigitte Monbaliu

Welcome to all,

On behalf of the board of the Vincent association I would like to thank Mrs Clotilde Lombardi for inviting us to this conference. This meeting gives us the opportunity to not only present and evaluate our project but also to underline the importance of it.

Let me shortly introduce our association. The target of our organization consists of multiple vulnerable groups in our society.

Our association contains 4 different activities:

Food collection and food delivery;

Afterschool activities for children;

Collection and redistribution of second-hand clothing;

Collective breakfast for the local poor people on Fridays.

Our association is completely run by volunteers. Our volunteers are mainly retired people who are willing to spend their time and offer their knowledge in the charity sector.

How did the project start?

It started out of several meetings and conversations with Lucia Riva.

She pointed out that we shouldn't see people living in poverty as just needy people, but that these people represent as well opportunities and are able to do something in return.

She convinced me of the principle of the 'Banca del Tempo' where people share competencies and skills, each one according to his own ability.

People living in poverty can and want to become involved. Those people are able to do a lot if they only get the chance to show us... It is up to us to believe in them.

So we decided to develop a project together. Our dossier was submitted in March 2012 to the Flemish agency EPOS which translates as: European Programme for Education, Training and Cooperation.

Our request was accepted and funded with thanks to Mrs. Renilde Reynders who is also present here today.

Why to choose for this project?

A first reason:

The project is very valuable because it involves people who work in the social assistance sector.

We try to make people stronger, to release them from their isolation and to make them believe in themselves. Through this process they may even be able to find a regular job .

The project forced us, volunteers of the Vincent association, to look at the 'vulnerable' people in a different way: not only as people in need but also as potential actors in society. As a result, mutual trust grows and the quality of social relations improves.

This requires a new way of dealing with people: discovering their talents and abilities and believe in their potential. The project is future-oriented and extremely valuable, it brings a social benefit in the broad sense of the word.

A second reason:

The project was submitted in 2012, the European Year of Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations. The aim was to convince the public about the importance of the contribution of senior people to our society.

Active aging means that we stay longer healthy being a full member of the society and that we continue to find satisfaction in our work, minimizing the dependency on others for everyday life. Even when we get older we can continue to be part of the community and enjoy life.

Which results were achieved by now?

We screened all participants for their potential and asked them if they wanted to cooperate with the "Banca del Tempo". Plenty of them answered in a positive way. However, the start-up is rather hard.

There is contact with the LETS group of Ostend which has profound experience with the mechanism of the Banca del Tempo. The implementation requires some more time.

The mums of the children who participate to the Jolletje have been integrated in the activities of the Sint Vincentius by making cakes in the afternoon and wash the dishes.

The preliminary talks are underway for a new initiative "Sportello cafe". The volunteers will tell you soon more about this initiative.

The second group returned from Italy on March 21. Their findings and experiences will be discussed in the coming months and hence be integrated in the project.

Did we meet the expectations set for the project?

The exchange between the two countries was very successful. It was a wonderful experience for the volunteers who have participated in this.

Right from the beginning there were a dozen volunteers who have contributed in a positive way to this project. We learned the Italian language together, at least we attempted to learn it. We learned to use Skype, to share a blog... The idea of 'Lifelong learning' was certainly alive.

Our Italian friends did all their best to create the optimal conditions in order to make our stay in Italy remarkable.

The location was excellent, the logistical support was very good as well. We gained lots of new experiences in the various projects. We enjoyed the Italian culture, the Italian cuisine and the Italian temperament ... The volunteers will explain you about their visit into more detail.

What brings the future?

The contacts with Italy will remain. A real friendship has developed. Also in the context of the further implementation of the various activities the contact with our Italian partner will continue. This project is not finished yet, it requires further follow-up.

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Possibly we will also start up the Banca del Tempo initiative between the volunteers themselves. In this way they can internalize the operational principle in a better way.

The exchange program encourages us to further commit. It has given us an impetus for a broader thinking about social assistance.

The respect and the appreciation of the Italian volunteers for our work means a lot to us. Our enthusiasm and our motivation are encouraged.

A fresh wind blows through our organization.

Gruppo 1: Giancarlo Zulato, Lucia Poletti, Sergio Pea – Italian version (for the English version look below)

Periodo del soggiorno a Blankenberge dal 28 feb. al 28 marzo 2013Il progetto Let’s believe in people’s potential ,già nella sua definizione, lascia intravedere la possibilità, da parte delle persone che hanno superato una certa età, dopo i 50 anni, di continuare ad operare, utilizzando le competenze maturate nell’ambito della propria attività di lavoro, indirizzandosi verso una finalità sociale.

Riteniamo che le esigenze della società attuale non sempre riescono ad essere soddisfatte dalla organizzazione dei servizi pubblici; questa carenza può essere colmata dall’intervento del volontariato che abbia non solo esperienza e competenza, ma maggiore sensibilità nell’affrontare problemi che richiedono un contatto diretto con le persone disagiate o con situazioni ambientali di particolare difficoltà.

Visto il contenuto e le finalità del progetto, ci siamo posti nella condizione di recepire al meglio la possibilità di confrontare dei modelli di volontariato che svolgono attività collaterali in due paesi diversi, ma collocati nello stesso ambito geopolitico: Italia e Belgio.

Altre finalità che ci ponevamo riguardano lo scambio culturale e linguistico con componenti di altre nazioni, l’opportunità di allargare il raggio di conoscenze e quindi la possibilità di allacciare nuove amicizie che favoriscono una migliore integrazione e comprensione con persone di cultura diversa.

La nostra permanenza a Blankenberge, protrattasi per l’intero mese di marzo, ci ha permesso di conoscere l’organizzazione della Sint Vincentius, le persone che vi lavorano, i programmi che vi si svolgono, partecipando attivamente e in concreto allo svolgimento dei compiti assegnatici. Siamo stati accolti come membri effettivi del loro gruppo, senza alcuna riserva, e abbiamo potuto inserirci nell’ambito delle loro attività. Abbiamo verificato la validità delle loro iniziative in relazione dei singoli bisogni e, quindi, abbiamo valutato la possibilità di replicare sul nostro territorio le soluzioni che hanno avuto un buon successo in Belgio. La stessa cosa si è verificata nella analisi da parte degli amici belgi per cui si sta realizzando uno scambio, con reciproco vantaggio, nell’applicare le diverse esperienze delle due organizzazioni.

Non abbiamo incontrato punti critici effettivi nella realizzazione degli obiettivi indicati nel progetto; mentre abbiamo potuto beneficiare di una grande disponibilità, da parte delle persone che ci hanno ospitato, ad accompagnarci nella visita dei luoghi e nella conoscenza della realtà

locale. Anche lo scambio, per esempio, delle ricette di cucina e la realizzazione delle cene e degli incontri conviviali hanno creato una atmosfera di vera amicizia e di reciproco apprezzamento. Tutto questo ha favorito una intesa di carattere culturale e di relazioni personali dirette che si sono approfondite nei successivi incontri, facilitando l’attività programmata nelle sessioni di lavoro a Blankenberge e a Carnate.

Anche all’interno del nostro gruppo della BDT si è verificato un reciproco apprezzamento fra le persone che lo compongono, si migliorano i rapporti interpersonali, si favorisce una consapevolezza più approfondita del nostro potenziale sviluppando la speranza di un maggiore coinvolgimento nella futura attività del gruppo.

Una sempre migliore conoscenza del nostro territorio e delle associazioni di volontariato qui esistenti, che sono emerse in questo importante periodo di scambio, ci porta a consolidare le attività in corso e a progettare miglioramenti e nuove iniziative.

Abbiamo potuto constatare che una apertura verso l’esterno e verso le altre realtà locali sta sviluppando una mentalità più disponibile a recepire esperienze e proposte che si possono confrontare fra loro e trovare soluzioni di ottima realizzazione, coinvolgendo e stimolando anche le istituzioni preposte come il Comune e la Parrocchia. Il progetto “l’aiuto vien donando” è un significativo esempio di questo orientamento.

La speranza è che tutto ciò faccia da volano ad un sempre più importante sviluppo delle iniziative sociali.

Gruppo 3: Giancarlo Zulato, Lucia Poletti, Sergio Pea – English version

The project "LET'S believe in people 's potential", already in its definition, suggests the possibility for people who have passed a certain age, to continue having a role in society by using the skills developed in their whole life, for activities which have a social purpose.

We believe that the needs of today's society can't always be met by the State and the social services. This gap can be filled by the intervention of volunteers who have not only experience and expertise, but greater sensitivity in dealing with problems that require direct contact with disadvantaged people or critical environmental situations.

Given the contents and objectives of the project, we made our best to seize the the opportunity to compare patterns of volunteering activities that take place in two different countries, but still located in the same geopolitical context: Italy and Belgium.

An important purpose for us, was the exchange of cultural and linguistic skills with people coming from other nations, and therefore the opportunity to create new friendships that could lead to a better understanding of people who belong to a different cultural background than ours.

Our stay in Blankenberge , which lasted for the whole month of march, has allowed us to learn about the organization of Sint Vincentius , to know the people who work there and the activities that they organize. We participated actively and concretely to accomplish the tasks assigned to us. We were welcomed as actual members of their group, unreservedly, and we were fully integrated

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in their reality from the very beginning. We verified the value of their actions towards the people in need and then we thought of the best way to replicate the most successful initiatives within the context of the Banca del Tempo once back. The same occurred when our Belgian friends visited us. The exchange of good practices between the two Associations generated immediately a mutual benefit.

We did not face any critical issue in the actual achievement of the objectives stated in the project. At the opposite we could benefit from a great hospitality offered by the people who hosted us, who organized a lot of excursions to let us discover a bit the culture and the history of Belgium. Moreover, the dinners they cooked for us, the exchange of recipes and all the convivial moments created an atmosphere of true friendship and mutual appreciation. All this has led to a good understanding of one another cultures and let us build up real relations which got deeper and deeper the more we went further with the project, facilitating the achievement of the activities planned during the exchange periods in Blankenberge and Carnate .

Also the cohesion within the members of the BdT itself could benefit from this experience: the mutual appreciation among individuals who compose it grew considerably, the interpersonal relationships have improved, and we got more aware of our potential. All of this is fostering us to a greater involvement in future activities of the group.

During this two valuable years, we got to know better our territory and the Associations which operate on it. This new awareness leads us to consolidate and improve the current activities and makes us willing to plan new initiatives.

We have seen that the synergies born in the last months with other realities on the territory are driving to a positive change in mentality. Local organizations are now more willing to open up to new joint ventures and work together in order to find concrete solutions of high achievements, involving and stimulating also relevant institutions such as the local Administration and the Parish .

The project “L’aiuto vien donando" is a significant example of this new pattern.

The hope is that this will be just the beginning of an increasingly important development of social initiatives.

Gruppo 3: Maurizio, Olga e Monique – Italian version (for the French version look below)

Buongiorno a tutti i presenti. Come hanno già fatto i miei colleghi vi leggerò la sintesi della esperienza effettuata da Monique Podevin , Olga Koultchitskaia e Maurizio Riva , durante lo scorso settembre a Blankenberge.

Siamo partiti dall'Italia avendo sentito il racconto di chi ci aveva preceduto ( Sergio, Lucia e Giancarlo) con addosso il peso della responsabilità di dover rendere concreti dei possibili modelli di intervento in ambito sociale che potessero sintetizzare il meglio delle esperienze fatte in Italia ed in Belgio partendo dalle realtà di Blankenberge e Carnate.

Si trattava non solo di renderci concretamente utili , cosa che ci ha spinto ad aderire al progetto, ma di individuare da una attenta analisi delle esperienze che vivevamo giorno per giorno, delle

forme , delle linee di intervento nel sociale nuove valide per entrambi i Paesi.

Abbiamo lavorato fianco a fianco di quelli che sono diventati per noi veri amici: i colleghi Belgi di Sint Vincentius partecipando alle attività di distribuzione dei viveri e del vestiario ai bisognosi, alle attività di doposcuola organizzate per i bambini di famiglie disagiate, (quasi sempre extracomunitari e con l'urgenza di integrarsi, insieme ai genitori , nella società Fiamminga ) migliorando l'apprendimento della lingua locale insieme ad altre attività socio assistenziali ( la colazione dei bisognosi).

Abbiamo avuto modo di approfondire l'uso di almeno una lingua viaria: il Francese e per Maurizio anche l'Olandese , così come le radici culturali e sociali dei nostri Ospiti Belgi, che sono riusciti a farci sentire parte della loro vita.

Sotto l'aspetto della conoscenza e della integrazione linguistica e culturale quindi, il progetto ha risposto molto bene alle nostre aspettative.

Dal punto di vista del miglioramento delle esperienze nel sociale e della individuazione di nuovi modelli di intervento abbiamo intrapreso un percorso che a nostro avviso deve assolutamente continuare nel prossimo futuro e che si basa su alcune considerazioni valide sia per il Belgio che per l'Italia.

Ci siamo resi conto che nei modelli di intervento sociale vanno introdotti i concetti di RECIPROCITA' e di SALVAGUARDIA DELLA DIGNITA' di chi chiede aiuto.

Abbiamo così pensato di unire l'esperienza della Banca del Tempo fatta a Carnate con l'attività di sostegno ai bisognosi di Sint-Vincentius attraverso la richiesta a chi riceve aiuti alimentari di offrire ore di lavoro ( Banca del Tempo) gratuitamente per le attività di Sint- Vincentius salvaguardando la dignità di chi chiede con l'invito a svolgere lavori socialmente utili.

Abbiamo partecipato con interesse ad un incontro con la Banca del Tempo di Ostenda, già attiva da diversi anni che potrebbe , dopo un periodo di adeguato rodaggio, assistere la Sint- Vincentius di Blankenberge nella realizzazione del progetto.

Allo stesso modo, tornati in Italia stiamo tentando di introdurre la modalità di distribuzione dei generi di prima necessità vista a Blankenberge , organizzata in forma di “supermercato” anche con i gruppi Caritas ( simili a Sint-Vincentius) presenti a Carnate e nei paesi vicini; questo perchè tale modalità rispetta la dignità delle persone a cui non viene consegnato un “pacco alimentare” ma a cui viene data la possibilità di “fare la spesa”, anche se in modo gratuito, indirizzando anche ad un corretta alimentazione.

Frutto della esperienza maturata in Belgio è stata , a Carnate , la nascita del progetto “ L'aiuto viene donando” che vorremmo porre all'attenzione di tutti.

In estrema sintesi si tratta di un intervento economico a favore di bisognosi “non cronici” ( persone che hanno perso momentaneamente il lavoro....) rimborsabile dai beneficiari in piccole rate mensili nel corso di un anno , per il 50% e per il restante con ore di lavoro secondo le modalità della Banca del tempo, da erogare a favore della Comunità ( Comune , Associazioni Volontari) o , in mancanza , a favore dei soci della Banca del Tempo di Carnate; i mezzi finanziari vengono forniti da Comune, Chiesa, Privati cittadini e da una Fondazione di Monza.

Per il futuro ci faremo il possibile per rendere questi modelli sempre più applicabili, una volta

perfezionati, alle realtà dei due paesi e chiediamo alla Comunità Europea di sostenerci ulteriormente dal punto di vista organizzativo ed economico, in questo lavoro così impegnativo e comunque cogliamo l'occasione per ringraziare vivamente tutti coloro che hanno lavorato al lancio di questo progetto e che ci hanno dato la possibilità di vivere una esperienza unica sotto il profilo umano e professionale e , speriamo, utile a tutta la Comunità Europea.

Gruppo 3: Maurizio, Olga e Monique – French version

Bonjour à toutes les personnes ici présentes.

Comme l’ont déjà fait nos amis, je vais vous lire la synthèse de l'expérience vécue en septembre dernier à Blankenberge par Madame Olga Koultchitskaia, Madame Monique Podevin et Monsieur Maurizio Riva.

Les bénévoles qui nous avaient précédés à Blankenberge nous avaient raconté leur expérience du mois de mars et nous avons quitté l'Italie conscients de la grande responsabilité que nous avions de rendre concrets des modèles “possibles” d'intervention dans le domaine social; modèles qui pourraient synthétiser au mieux les expériences réalisées en Italie et en Belgique en partant de la réalité de Blankenberge et de Carnate. Il s'agissait non seulement de nous rendre concrètement utiles et c'est ce qui nous a poussés à adhérer à ce projet, mais aussi d'individualiser, par une analyse attentive des expériences vécues jour par jour, les formes et les lignes d'intervention nouvelles et efficaces dans le domaine social et valables pour les deux pays.

Nous avons travaillé côte a côte avec des personnes qui sont devenues de vrais amis. Nous avons participé avec les bénévoles de Saint Vincentius aux activités de distribution d'aliments et de vestiaire aux personnes défavorisées, aux activités d'étude organisées pour les enfants des familles en majorité qui n'appartiennent pas à l'Union européenne et qui ont un besoin urgent de s'intégrer à la société flamande en améliorant l'étude de la langue locale avec d'autres activités sociales (comme le petit déjeuner pour les “pauvres”).

Nous avons eu la possibilité d'approfondir notre connaissance du français et pour Maurizio du hollandais mais aussi de nous approcher aux racines culturelles et sociales de nos amis belges qui ont réussi à nous faire sentir faire partie de leur vie. En ce qui concerne la connaissance et l'intégration linguistique et culturelle, le projet a donc bien répondu à nos attentes.

Du point de vue de l'amélioration des expériences dans le social et dans l'individualisation de nouveaux modèles d'intervention, nous avons entrepris un parcours qui, à notre avis, doit absolument continuer et qui se base sur plusieures considérations valables soit pour la Belgique que pour l'Italie. Nous nous sommes rendus compte que les concepts de réciprocité et de sauvegarde de la dignité de la personne doivent être introduits dans les modèles d'interventions sociales.

Ainsi nous avons pensé unir l'expérience de la Banque du Temps de Carnate (BDT) à l'activité de soutien aux personnes défavorisées de Saint Vincentius: les personnes qui reçoivent des aides alimentaires pourraient offrir leur temps gratuitement pour les activités de Saint Vincentius permettant de sauvegarder leur dignité de personne en faisant des travaux socialement utiles.

Nous avons participé avec intérêt à une rencontre avec la Banque du Temps de Oostende qui est déjà active depuis quelques années et qui pourrait assister la Sint Vincentius de Blankenberge,

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après une période d'essai, dans la réalisation du projet.

De la même façon depuis que nous sommes rentrés en Italie nous sommes en train d'essayer d'introduire la modalité de distribution des produits de première nécessité comme nous avons vu faire à Blankenberge, organisé sous forme de supermarché avec les groupes de la Caritas (similaire à Sint Vincentius) présents à Carnate et dans les communes voisines. En effet, cette modalité respecte la dignité de personnes qui ne reçoivent pas un paquet alimentaire mais à qui on donne la possibilité de faire des courses de façon gratuite en les conduisant vers une alimentation plus correcte possible.

En outre, l'expérience faite en Belgique a permis de faire mûrir de nouvelles idées et a donné naissance à Carnate au projet “L'aiuto viene donando” que nous aimerions porter à votre attention.

En bref, il s'agit d'une intervention économique envers des personnes qui se trouvent momentanément dans le besoin, par exemple des personnes qui ont perdu leur travail à cause de la crise économique. Les bénéficiaires reçoivent un soutien financier immédiat (on leur paye les factures). Ils doivent rendre seulement la moitié de la somme reçue en argent en un an et ils doivent donner le restant à travers des heures de travail données à la communauté (Mairie, Associations bénévoles) selon les modalités de la Banque du Temps. Les moyens financiers ont été fournis par la mairie, la paroisse, des citoyens privés et par une Fondation de Monza.

Nous ferons tout notre possible pour perfectionner et rendre ces modèles toujours plus applicables à la réalité de nos deux pays et nous demandons à la Communauté Européenne de nous soutenir encore du point de vue organisatif et économique dans ce travail important.

Nous profitons de cette occasion pour remercier vivement tous ceux qui ont travaillé à ce projet et qui nous ont donné la possibilité de vivre une expérience unique du point de vue humain et professionnel et, nous espérons, utile à toute la Communauté Européenne.

Merci pour votre attention.

Gruppo 4: Frieda Derdeyn – Rose-Anne Verrewaere – Geert Van Hulle – Dirk Dhont

Remarque : dernier groupe de Blankenberge ( Vincentius ) à Carnate ( Italie )

Schiscetta-party :

Une initiative que nous les Belges ne connaissaient pas, mais qui s’est avérée une plus-value durant notre séjour à Carnate.

Le principe est très simple: toutes les personnes invitées à la party apportent quelque chose à manger, ainsi que les hôtes ( pizza-potage-vin-dessert etc. )

Nous les Belges, nous avions apporté du chocolat, des biscuits faits maison et de la mousse au chocolat.

La party a eu lieu le lendemain de notre arrivée. Ainsi nous avons très vite eu l’occasion de faire la connaissance des gens sur place.

Le dernier soir, à la veille de notre départ, il y a eu une deuxième party, à l’occasion de laquelle nous avons pu prendre congé de nos amis italiens. Nous avons fait un petit speech

pour les remercier. Ils ont apprécié.

Chez Vincentius un tel accueil est certes négociable et pourrait également se réaliser, le groupe de travail est pour.

Banca del tempo: programme d’échanges

Site :

1. www.bdtcarnate.com – un seul webmaster Lucia – un deuxième accès pour Luisa avec un code

2. Associazionecarnate qui fait partie du site, présente un calendrier avec leurs activités, photos, recettes, etc.

A Carnate le Bdt est au premier plan. Chaque volontaire qui participe à une activité enregistre son emploi du temps sur le site. Le programme est facile et bien présenté. Chaque membre peut vérifier les heures qui lui restent, soit un solde positif ou négatif.

Beaucoup de communes ont une page facebook concernant le Bdt. Moi-même ( Dirk Dhont ) je suis en contact avec plusieurs Banco del tempo en Italie via facebook. A Blankenberge le Banco del tempo est encore dans une première phase précoce. En septembre 2013, durant leur visite à Blankenberge, les gens de Carnate ont pu évaluer le système Let à Ostende. Ce système est efficace et si possible nous aimerions nous adhérer. Comme à Blankenberge il s’agit d’une première période d’essai, il est souhaitable que nous commençons sur une petite échelle.

( Réf. www.letsoostende.vsbnet.be) Vincentius Blankenberge n’a pas encore développé son propre programme et voudrait si possible utiliser le programme off-line de Let Oostende. Il y aurait néanmoins quelques frais à faire.

Sportello Café :

Le principe: c’est un endroit où les étrangers se rencontrent et passent quelques heures agréables ensemble. A ce sujet nous vous renvoyons au rapport de Vincentius sur la période 05.06.2013 au 03.07.2013. A Carnate cette initiative connait beaucoup de succès. Nous avons pu observer une dizaine de dames marocaines accompagnées de leurs enfants qui venaient au Sportello Café pour coudre ensemble et parler avec les volontaires italiennes. Un point négatif : il y a peu de surveillance des enfants pendant que les mamans sont occupées. Il suffit de faire quelques adaptations, et cette initiative peut très bien fonctionner. Un seul inconvénient: les femmes marocaines n’obtiennent pas toujours la permission de leur mari ou leur père pour participer au Sportello Café.

Il est important que les étrangers apprennent à parler l’italien.

A Blankenberge cette initiative a déjà été examinée, mais par manque d’information elle n’a pas encore pu se réaliser. Il serait peut-être intéressant de poursuivre cette piste.

Il faut souligner qu’à Carnate le Sportello Café travaille uniquement avec des personnes de nationalité marocaine ou africaine. Il n’y a pas d’autres nationalités. A Blankenberge ce serait beaucoup plus difficile, car nous avons des étrangers de plusieurs nationalités différentes.

Bambini nel Mondo :

Par rapport à la période 05.06.2013 – 03.07.2013 nous constatons un certain progrès, bien que minimal puisque seulement deux ou trois enfants se sont présentés. Il est difficile de faire une

comparaison entre le projet de Blankenberge ( Jolletje ) et celui de Carnate.

En effet, à Blankenberge ce sont des volontaires qui s’occupent des enfants, sans participation ou concertation de l’école. Le programme scolaire n’est pas suivi, ce qui est le cas à Carnate.

A Blankenberge la méthode est la suivante: les enfants jouent d’abord, ensuite ils mangent quelque chose et font leurs devoirs sous la surveillance des volontaires. On vérifie l’agenda scolaire. Toutes les écoles sont acceptées.

A Carnate on travaille avec une seule école, et on donne des cours, le samedi matin également. Chaque année scolaire le programme est adapté. L’école met un local à leur disposition

Caritas e banco alimentare – centro alimentare ( Associazione Volontari)

Pendant notre séjour on a visité :

- Portobello à Modena

- Bernareggio

- Vimercate

- Arcore

Caritas de Arcore est une des 8 communità pastorale qui font partie du decanato di Vimercate

( Concorezzo-Arcore-Vimercate-Carnate-Bellusco-Lesmo-Bernareggio-Agrate)

Le responsable du decanato di Vimercate est Umberto.

Caritas est peu connu en Belgique. En Italie cette organisation existe déjà 30 ans.

Tous les centres ont leurs avantages et désavantages. Les points suivants ont retenu notre attention:

- Qui est propriétaire du bâtiment et à combien s’élèvent les frais généraux (eau-électricité-téléphone)

- Il y a combien de volontaires

- Quels sont les jours et les heures d’ouverture

- Comment se fait l’enregistrement ( via le service social de la commune ou directement au centre)

- Y a-t-il des formulaires d’enregistrement sur place

- Est-ce que l’information obtenue est vérifiée ( fraude/ situation familiale )

- L’aide alimentaire est prévue pour quelle durée

- Est-ce que les colis alimentaires sont préparés à l’avance

- Est-ce que l’enregistrement se fait avec un ticket ( Blankenberge )

- Est-ce qu’il y a des livraisons à domicile

- Est-ce qu’il y a des matériaux de premier secours sur place

- Est-ce qu’il y a des facilités pour les bébés ( couches-alimentation-etc.)

- Est-ce qu’il y a un vestiaire

- Quels produits sont obtenus auprès des bancs alimentaires ( riz-lait-pâtes-etc.)

- Est-ce qu’ils recoivent des dons ( soit en espèces-soit des produits), et sont-ils obtenus des commerçants ou des particuliers

Cette réunion d’information nous a permis d’avoir une vue générale sur leur manière de procéder et de faire la comparaison avec notre approche à Blankenberge, ce qui souligne l’importance de ce projet. Les deux parties ont pu comparer leur fonctionnement et échanger leurs idées. Ainsi Portobello à Medona va nous transmettre leur système d’enregistrement des personnes et des biens, et Blankenberge va partager ses photos avec Arcore pour le plus grand bien du public.

Insieme é meglio : «Mieux ensemble»

Une initiative comparable à Blankenberge sont nos petits déjeuners.

Trois fois par semaines les personnes âgées et les personnes seules se rencontrent pour faire certaines activités ensemble. Chaque semaine nous y avons partagé. A chaque fois il y avait un thème différent : la peinture, le carnaval, etc. Les gens jouaient au ballon et au bingo, ils chantaient des chansons d’autrefois. Pas de présence politique.

Corso di cucina:

Le Bdt s’applique. On apprend à connaître une cuisine différente, dans notre cas c’était la cuisine sicilienne et russe.

Sostegno:

ensemble on s’occupe à coudre par exemple, par après les pièces sont vendues pour une bonne cause. Accessible aux personnes entre 60 et 70 ans.

Expériences personnelles :

L’assistance médicale vis-à-vis de notre groupe était très bien. En Italie le médecin vient rarement à la maison. D’abord il faut contacter le médecin de garde et ensuite vous devez vous rendre sur place pour une consultation.

Le programme culturel a été apprécié de tous.

Le séjour était très soigné, la compagnie très agréable.

Les déplacements se sont faits en train, métro ou voiture.

CONCLUSION : tous les membres du groupe de travail ont trouvé ce projet très réussi. L’initiative est excellente et nous avons très bien été encadrés sur place. Tous nos remerciements à l’équipe de Carnate. Grazie Mille!