How can we change the way we look at disability, overcome prejudice and stereotypes, and build a society that is truly for everyone? From 18 to 20 September, Turin will give space to these and other questions with the fourth edition of “Insieme – Il Festival di Paideia” (“Together – The Paideia Festival”). The event is promoted by Fondazione Paideia, an organisation that has worked for over 30 years supporting children with disabilities and their families.
This year, the Festival is choosing to speak to an even wider audience, and it is doing so by taking to the public square. The beating heart of the event will be Piazza Arbarello, in the centre of Turin. For three days, the city will become a place of dialogue and exchange aimed at breaking down distances and clichés. Different languages will be used to talk about disability from new perspectives: artists, musicians, writers, journalists, experts and institutional representatives will take turns on stage to reflect on rights, relationships and opportunities. Above all, however, the Festival will give floor space to the voices of those who live with disability every day — to caregivers and families who will share, in the first person, the challenges and daily achievements that reveal all the complexity of real life.
The Festival opens on Friday 18 September with a day of workshops at the Paideia Centre, dedicated to themes ranging from life projects and school, to the role of the family in the therapeutic journey. This will be followed by a dialogue with writer and activist Fabrizio Acanfora, devoted to ableism and the narratives around disability, reflecting together on language, self-determination and representation.
The Festival really gets into full swing on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 in Piazza Arbarello.
Among the most anticipated guests is the celebrated singer-songwriter Eugenio Finardi, featured in the talk “Terrestri e ribelli” (“Earthly and rebellious”), an encounter woven from music, memory and personal experience. Also on Saturday, for the first time in Piedmont and the second time in Italy, French writer Clara Dupont-Monod will present Adattarsi (Adapting), her novel that won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens in 2021 — a powerful story of the fears, loss and transformations of a family after the birth of a child with a disability.
Arturo Brachetti, the international master of quick-change art, will headline Sunday’s grand finale with a dialogue entitled “La meraviglia di diventare altro” (“The wonder of becoming someone else”).
The Festival will also address some of the most urgent questions of the present. The legislative recognition of the role of caregivers will be at the centre of a discussion with MP Ilenia Malavasi — a dialogue between institutions and those who live the work of care every day, enriched by the testimonies of Lisa Orrico and Cecilia Sorpilli. Meanwhile, data journalist Donata Columbro will show how numbers can powerfully make inequalities and discrimination visible.
One of the most eagerly awaited encounters on Saturday is the talk “Coppia mista” (“Mixed couple”), dedicated to affection and relationships, featuring the testimonies of journalist Valentina Tomirotti and Francesco Canale together with their respective partners. It promises to be an unfiltered exchange that will challenge stereotypes and prejudice about the right to love and be loved.
Rounding out the programme will be moments of performance and entertainment open to everyone, scheduled for Sunday. With his stand-up comedy, Emanuele Tumolo will prove that disability can also be addressed through irony, drawing on his own family experience, while Casa del Teatro Ragazzi e Giovani will bring “Fiabe inarrestabili” (“Unstoppable fairy tales”) by Selene Baiano and Simone Valentino to the stage — a way of approaching the theme with young children through theatre and imagination.
Mary Cacciola, the voice of Radio Capital, will host the Festival and all the on-stage encounters.
Throughout the weekend, Piazza Arbarello will host workshops, sports activities, multisensory paths, readings, dedicated spaces for the youngest and moments of participation open to all, turning the Festival into an experience to be lived as well as listened to. Three days of celebration, aiming to change the way we look at disability.
“Insieme – Il Festival di Paideia” is held under the patronage of the City of Turin and the Piedmont Region, with the support of GSI – Gestione Servizi Integrati S.r.l. (Gold Sponsor), Gruppo Fenera and Battaglio Frutta (Silver Sponsors). Food and Beverage Partners: Galup, M** Bun, Molecola, Alberto Marchetti Gelaterie, Acqua Eva, Settimo Miglio. Friends of the Festival: Borgione, Price’s Candles. The event is organised in collaboration with Idee al lavoro and Culturabile.
The full Festival programme is still being finalised and will be unveiled in the coming weeks at festival.fondazionepaideia.it.
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