Italia Brilla: Bringing Science to Vulnerable Communities

Giving vulnerable communities access to science. This is the objective of the STEM project "Italia brilla – Costellazione 2022", a countrywide itinerant science project touring places that science rarely reaches. Promoted by Associazione Il Cielo Itinerante, the project is enjoying its second year of support from the Bracco Foundation.
“Italia Brilla - Costellazione 2022" is a six-month project for 50 municipalities up and down the country that aims to bring science into disadvantaged and difficult contexts. Even before the pandemic, Italian children of both sexes in situations of socio-economic difficulty were underperforming in maths and science. The last two years have only exacerbated the imbalance, which is why the Il Cielo Itinerante tour bus will stop over in places where investment in education is most badly needed, so that children there might look forward to a brighter future.

The educative experience includes a substantial hands-on component that immerses participants in STEM activities. One of the planned workshops is "Astrokids - Astronauts for a day,” which will show children the selection process for becoming an astronaut, and teach about living on the International Space Station. Other events include stargazing using professional telescopes with the support of astronomers from the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF).

The 50 tour stops will feature tie-ins with various different partners and sponsors to create enriching experiences. For instance, among the Milan events enjoying the patronage of the city government, the Bracco Foundation will partner up for the second year running with Associazione Il Cielo Itinerante. The partnership is one instance of the Foundation’s longstanding commitment to combating educational poverty and fostering scientific vocations, particularly among girls. The goal is to ensure equal access by both sexes to STEM subjects and to promote inclusiveness and the equality of representation of women in the scientific professions.

The project runs for six day in two separate deprived areas of Milan: the first, a multifunctional space called “InOltre” in the city of Baranzate (21-22 April, 12 May), a multi-ethnic municipality that, with support from the Bracco Foundation, has turned the venue into a place of culture and social amenity for the local community; the second, the Parish Church of the Beata Vergine Addolorata in San Siro        (10 May, 20 May, 30 September).

UNICEF Italia is the main partner of the project which is sponsored by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and forms part of the joint educational programme of the European Space Agency and ASI. It has been timed to coincide with astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's return to orbit.