Peace Games day in Genoa
The EIP Lab training on Peace Games continues! On 24 January 2026, the EIP Lab facilitated training sessions on Peace Games at the Nautical Institute of Genoa, commissioned by the Barbiana School Network. For several years, one of our core missions has been to promote creative game design and game-based learning in both formal and non-formal educational settings, with the aim of developing citizenship, democratic, and social competences.
The sessions began with an introduction to the importance of play and to how essential skills and knowledge can be acquired through gaming. Participants were then divided into groups and, in rotation, were invited to experience three different Peace Games, allowing them to firsthand explore what it means to develop competences such as respect, listening to others, self-awareness, intercultural understanding, and exchange through play.
This was followed by a more hands-on workshop phase. Participants were asked to write on post-it notes what came to mind when hearing the word “game”. The ideas were then collected, and participants were divided into groups to design their own Peace Games. These games were subsequently developed and presented to the rest of the group.
Teacher training is fundamental to preparing children and young people for respectful and collaborative participation in society. This approach helps to expand the school’s educational focus on citizenship through gaming and provides teachers with new pedagogical tools. The impact of this training day, which involved already different schools in our territory, is significant, as it will have a cascading effect on many students and begin to plant the seeds for more active and democratic participation. If your school or institute is interested in joining our training or learning more about Peace Games, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
From ideas to action: Sanremo gets to work for peace
Sanremo is continuing to build its vision as a City of Peace!
In January, the Sanremo City of Peace Group met at Villa Ormond, bringing together local associations and organizations to develop concrete initiatives related to peace, citizenship, and democracy. This meeting was of fundamental importance, as it concluded with a list of ideas to be developed into concrete projects.
In the first part of the meeting, the discussion focused on the importance of finding a permanent headquarters for the group, and we warmly thank the Vice Mayor for attending and discussing this topic with us.
The central part of the meeting, as planned, took the form of a Policy Lab, building on a need analysis conducted in a previous session and gathering everyone’s ideas on collective initiatives that could be organized to give coherence, impact, and visibility to the concept of Sanremo as a City of Peace. The Policy Lab format, which draws on Design Thinking, follows a confidentiality rule during proposal and discussion sessions, applying the Chatham House principle (the content and outcomes of the discussion are public, but individual positions are not publicized).
The meeting concluded by organizing the proposals into a “generative core” and four thematic areas, each corresponding to a working group, leaving the core for reflection and collective development. Sanremo is therefore actively shaping a culture of peace.
Molassana Lab: Where Peace Meets Participation
On a lively January day in Genoa’s Molassana district, educators, citizens, and community leaders came together to turn local challenges into collaborative solutions through the De.Ci.Tel (Democratic Citizenship Teaching and Learning) Policy Lab.
The EIP Lab facilitated the Policy Lab, a participatory workshop format in which participants are actively involved in the process. The methodology is structured into four alternating phases of divergence and convergence: an exploration phase (in which ideas and needs are expressed), a selection phase (where ideas are collected and mapped), a design phase (participants are divided into working groups), and finally a testing phase (where small pilot projects are implemented). The Policy Lab in fact draws on the Design Thinking approach and applies a confidentiality rule during proposal and discussion sessions, in line with the Chatham House Rule (the content and outcomes of the discussion are public, while individual positions are not attributed).
This activity is part of the actions envisaged under Work Package 5 of the project, entitled “Local Learning Ecosystems”, which focuses on extending Citizenship Education beyond schools by engaging civil society, local administrations, and local communities in participatory activities that foster citizenship competences among teachers, students, and citizens.
In Genoa, the first two phases were carried out: participants from heterogeneous backgrounds, all committed to the needs and challenges of the local area, were brought together, a wide range of ideas was collected and working groups were formed. The groundwork was therefore laid for moving forward with the design and experimentation phases. You can also watch part of the workshop clicking here.
2nd Transnational Project Meeting of the project GOTALK
On April 23-24, 2024, the second international project meeting of the CERV project GOTALK took place in Reggio Emilia. The IIHL and the other partners shared pilot experiences and discussed inclusiveness, sustainability, and policy impact in children’s activity on participation. They focused on re-planning and re-contextualizing methods for the second year to prepare for cross-border piloting. Currently, partners are analyzing first-year data to refine methods and re-plan. This aims to develop a structured plan for transferring experiences to partners and interested actors, supported by focus groups and interviews with territorial actors. The involvement of local and international stakeholders remains crucial for needs assessment, activity evaluation, and future planning.
Save the date: Policy Workshop in Grenoble on June 5th, 2024!
The workshop, hosted by the Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole, foresees a day of stimulating discussions centered around the theme of “Co-designing Local Integration Policies as an Experiment of Participatory Democracy“.
Throughout the day, participants will have the opportunity to actively engage in a series of thought-provoking sessions designed to foster dialogue, share insights, and co-create innovative solutions. From the introductory sessions to participatory policy-making and peer learning moments dedicated to local elected representatives, the workshop will encourage active participation and interaction among all attendees.
Participants will be able to enjoy further exchanges during the buffet lunch and a social dinner in the evening. In the mean time, you can check the travel and stay advice document, where you will find a series of suggestions for your time in Grenoble
Please note that the venue will be communicated to registered participants via email closer to the event date. If interested, you are kindly invited to register by May 20, 2024.
Arguing at SchooL: Multiplier Event in Lyon on March 13, 2024
On March 13, the Multiplier Event “Children acting for wellbeing in an open-school” took place in Venissieux, France. During the Multiplier Event, several speakers from Romania, Croatia, Slovenia, France and Malta took the floor to share their experiences on conflict transformation in educational contexts. The ME also included a World Cafè Session which included tables:
“1) how to open the collaboration between schools and parents? 2) how to open the school to the city and bring back the city into school?”. The session allowed for new insights and inputs for the project and for its future developments.
Arguing at SchooL: Transnational Project Meeting in Lyon on March 12-13, 2024
The Litigare a Scuola partnership gathered in Lyon on March 12-13 for the 5th Transnational Project Meeting of the project. During the meeting, partners discussed the finalisation of the Guidelines for a Whole School Approach to Pupils Quarrelling and the next steps of the Policy Labs, which will take place in Italy, Romania, Croatia and Malta. Partners who already conducted the policy labs updated the others on their development.
Throughout the meeting, the final preparation of the Multiplier Event, which took place the day after the TPM, was also discussed.
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LICEAL: The 4th Transnational Meeting of the Project gathered in Istanbul
The LICEAL partners gathered in Istanbul on 21st and 22nd of March for the 4th Transnational Meeting of the project. The meeting served to further implement the project activities, especially for what concerns the production of the document “Empowering adults: life, career path, and active citizen – practice-oriented guidance for educators” and of the document “Support toolkit for Integrated (Citizenship and Employability) Learning”, which will be publicly available in the next months. The meeting also served to lay the foundations for the policy labs sessions, which will take place in Italy, France, Turkey, Spain and Austria at the end of 2024.
LaS: IL SECONDO POLICY LAB A MILANO
Riportare la scuola alla sua vocazione di emancipazione e inclusione è possibile, con un lavoro paziente e intelligente.
Sabato 27 gennaio si è tenuto a Milano il secondo Policy Lab italiano, che ha accolto un gruppo di insegnanti, dirigenti scolastici, educatori, giornalisti.
Solo una lettura collettiva della realtà scolastica può permettere di acquisire una sana consapevolezza: cambiare la scuola non è impossibile, non dobbiamo cambiare tutto, non dobbiamo rimuovere tutte le crepe del sistema, possiamo riempire le crepe con l’oro – come la pratica del Kintsugi, 
una tecnica di restauro ideata alla fine del 1400 dai vasai giapponesi.
Cosa resta davvero del nostro laboratorio politico?
La sensazione di non essere soli.
PERFECT: European School-based Cultural Production Festival
The European School-based Cultural Production Festival achieved remarkable success on Thursday 29th February 2024. The multicultural and youth-centered event took place in Sanremo at the Cinema Teatro Centrale Tabarin from 3.00 pm to 6.30 pm.
The multiplier event was organised by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo, Italy) in the framework of the ERASMUS+ project PERFECT – “PERForming and Sharing of Local Histories ProjECT”. The project (2021 – 2024) represents a unique opportunity for the students of the school involved and for local communities to explore and share their own stories and cultural heritage. The main objective of the project is the promotion of an innovative approach to multiculturalism in the context of secondary education, pursued by proposing an approach based on collaborative cultural production and intercultural exchange among young people. The final goal is therefore the development of key transversal skills such as awareness and interculturality, active citizenship, multilingualism, digital skills, entrepreneurship and sociality. During the initiative, the five european schools partner of the project, coming from four European countries (Austria, Malta, Romania, Italy) staged original artistic performances including theatrical, dance and musical performances. The creation of these cultural products included several phases of research in the fields of history, literature, art history, music, performing arts and digital skills, all conducted by students in their respective countries.
Each of the representations focused on the story of one or more key historical figures for the cultural development of his/her society, in a context of sharing, learning and enhancement of existing cultural diversity. Meeting on stage all together was a memorable and sharing moment for all participants, including the students who performed. During the event, students coming from different European countries had the opportunity to connect, which allowed them to get insights on other cultures, identifying differences and similarities.
The PERFECT project is coordinated by the Istituto Comprensivo G. Lucatelli of Tolentino (Italy) in collaboration with the nearby IIS F. Filelfo (Italy), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law of Sanremo, the non-governmental organization Innovate4Future (Romania), the Centrul pentru Solutii Educationale Avansate – Colegiul National Sfantul Sava (Romania), the Stichting International Parents Alliance – IPA (Netherlands), the Organising Bureau of European School Student Union (Belgium), the Ministry of Education of Malta, the Borg Dreierschützengasse of Graz (Austria) and the Fondation des Régions Européennes pour la Recherche, l’Education, et la Formation, a network of European regions based in Lyon.
