The main aim was to describe the social commitment of these people and highlight how they transformed their passion and involvement into a profession which allows them to advocate and actively try to change things. An additional goal was allowing participants to understand how these themes are tackled in different Countries: which organisations exist, what kind of activities they do, how people experience the effects of good or lacking social inclusion, which policies are applied, how society reacts to these issues, and so on.
This activity was a two day event organized within the SID (Social Inclusion Days) of the I semester in collaboration with ESN Greece & ESN Spain. It was an extraordinary occasion in which personalities engaged in the social field were invited to give their testimony, in particular:
On Saturday 17 April
- 1 volunteer from a Greek association that provides assistance to the homeless, Michalis Samolis, who was primarily a homeless person helped by this same organisation;
- 1 visually impaired volunteer, Francesca Sbianchi, who is engaged both at national and international level. She is Chair of the Council of the Italian Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted (UICI) and she works in the field of European planning on inclusive mobility issues;
- 1 volunteer who works in the field of LGBTQ+ protection as well as in local voluntary service in Siena through Arcigay (an organisation promotingLGBTQIA+ rights), Roberta Parigiani.
On Sunday 18 April
- Nikos Dedes, founder and president of Positive Voice the Association of HIV-positive at Greece, general secretary of the Patients' Union at Greece, member of the Board of the European Network for clinical trials for HIV and member of the team responsible for the content information regarding the HIV infection of European AIDS Clinical Society;
- 1 Volunteer from Arcigay Giovani, an organisation founded in 1980, which brings together LGBTQIA+ groups from all over Italy and advocates for their rights;
- 1 Volunteer from Italian Red Cross Youth (Giovani della Croce Rossa Italiana), a non-profit Association and acts in compliance with The Fundamental Principles of the International Movement of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent
