New Cinema of Human Rights New Cinema of Human Rights

Presentation of

The Communal Consultation of the Young The Communal Consultation of the Young and and Palazzo Adriano Palermo --Italy Palazzo Adriano Palermo Italy

Project funded with the financial support of the European Youth Foundation, Council of Europe www.coe.int

The Communal Consultation of the Young The Communal Consultation of the Young
The creation of the youth communal Consultation as a symbol of a new awakening
In September 2008, after the numerous adhesions of the young aged between 16 and 32 years old, the Communal Consultation of the Young was set up. It is meant as a space of permanent encounter among the young, the youth aggregations and the Communal Administration. The values to which it is inspired are: respect of the individual, the promotion of a civic consciousness inspired to the principles of legality and solidarity, the common will to set forth the instances of people from Palazzo Adriano.
(Art. 1 of the Regulation of the Communal Consultation of the Young)

Logo of The Communal Consultation of the Young

The Consultation of the Young is charged of the important duty of representing the young's problems by the administrative institutions, along with their opinions and proposals. It is an unbiased body, which does not have any political affiliation, and whose main aim is to create adequate conditions for which the young people could best fulfill their inalienable right to have fun (meant as that biological need of being in a group, being together and realise something with somebody) and to culture. The indispensable condition for intellectual growth, formulation of pro-positive ideas, as well as actuation and promotion of socio-cultural initiatives is exactly that state of mental wellness that only being in a group can guarantee. A real cataclysm that is in place at the moment is striking the youngsters of Palazzo Adriano, who were actually never really dormant, but lacking of that something extra that could make them more active and engaged in their town's life. All of that can be compared to the great revolution that cracked the path traced by the conformists, by the limitations and schemes that were imposed by the conformist society of the second postwar period, that is the Beat movement.

The Beat Generation, tired, weary, convinced of not having any hope of leaving something to the contemporary world actually managed to emerge, radically changing the life, and even the way of making poetry and enhancing a greater reflection on human values and collective consciousness. Something was therefore happening, something unusual, uncertain, alarming, but at the same time alive, capable of destroying any scheme and sharp geometry of everyday. That same something that brought to the creation of the Communal Consultation of the Young, that is exactly one of the most striking manifestations of their awakening, that, aside from involving the same components, has caused a more attentive interest from the Communal Administration towards the juvenile realm of the country. The comparison between the Beat Generation and the youth reality of Palazzo Adriano could be daring or exaggerated, but I don't really think it is, because even us, in our little sphere, can be authors of a revolution that can dissect everything enclosed in the mind. Now that it's the turn of us young, we have too good a chance to let it go away, and we therefore need to make our voices heard and get involved in all that concerns us so closely to be protagonists of our ideas and of our choices, letting our enormous potentialities emerge for a continuous development of our country.

Pictures taken from the event The street of Artist organized by The Communal Consultation of the Young

Palazzo Adriano Palermo --Italy Palazzo Adriano Palermo Italy

Palazzo Adriano is an Italian town in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, and it counts about 2.267 inhabitants. Located at 695 meters above sea level, its the typical town of the Sicilian hinterland. It only takes to examine its geographical location to note its main problems in little time. Situated at the centre of Sicily, its completely surrounded by mountains and this implies numerous problems of viability that make movements difficult and tiresome. Contact with neighbouring towns is difficult, and its even harder that with the main cities. These are surely the main causes of its seclusion. A seclusion that has lasted for many years and that seems to be worsening, especially after the definitive closure of its hospital, sole in its territory and that used to put it in contact with the neighbouring towns . If we then concentrate on the socio-economic context, we immediately notice that intellectual narrowness is growing exponentially. A relation with any other social reality is basically inexistent, especially if we consider that the one in the town is a rural one through and through, whose majority of the population has just completed the basic level of study.

A relation with any other social A relation with any other social reality is basically inexistent reality is basically inexistent

Theres a funny curiosity towards whos not part of the community, for instance when theres presence of tourists. The wages are mostly low, therefore people cannot usually afford movements or travels so that they can never get in touch with different cultures. There are no leisure centres nor activities that could develop creativity or be stimulating. The kids dont know how to enjoy their age anymore and it feels like they want to grow up quickly.

A phenomenon typical of these days is the inappropriate use of the new media: people only know social networks and none of the other important opportunities that Internet has to offer. The main feature of Palazzo Adriano is the cohabitation of two ethnic-religious groups, that therefore follow two different rituals: the Latin and the Greek-Albanian, who follow correspondingly the roman and the byzantine rite.

There are no leisure There are no leisure centres nor centres nor activities that could activities that could develop creativity develop creativity or be stimulating or be stimulating

Both groups keep their uses, costumes and traditions, and their attachment to their own rite sometimes leads to controversies and claims over historical and cultural facts that involved a great part of the town, albeit the fact that this phenomenon should be considered a motive of cultural richness. The reason that mostly opposes the two groups is that concerning the various hypothesis on the origins of Palazzo Adriano. This is the most tangible example of how much people tend to linger on idle thoughts and how reflection on important themes or on the latest news is not encouraged, also because of the lack of associations that could act in that direction.