BRIDGES - Carnival - Travellers of the World
Learn about other cultures through their typical and traditional games, “travelling” among the continents with a special passport and a tour of games aiming at making new friendships among children. Everything upgraded with fun and curiosity: special recipe for the real social cohesion.
That was the secret of success of the “Games of Carnival from all over the World” Initiative, that animated Dalmazia’s Square in Florence. The Festival with Multi-cultural games and more than 400 participants was the second event organized by AICS “Associazione Italiana Cultura Sport” (www.aics.it), as part of the European project BRIDGES, which has the goal to fight xenophobia, cultural barriers and social divisions promoting the cohesion of the community.
The party with the collaboration of about twenty associations of the territory was addressed to children and their families. After registering the origins of all participants, the volunteers and operators welcomed the youngsters through a path of games among the five stands which represented the five Continents. Children had the opportunity to play the “frog game” into the stand of Continent of America, a traditional Colombian game where children had to throw a coin inside the mouth of the frog.
At the Oceania Stand children could play at the “fishes on the wire”, where couples of children had to blow into glasses to make Australian animals compete. Kids enjoyed a lot also the Giant Shanghai at the Asian Continent. At the European Continent groups of children had to guess traditional objects coming from European cities and put them into the EU Magic Box.
Every child was equipped with a special passport, representing the map of the World. After finishing the tour around the five Continents, children received the certificate “Traveller of the World” and, as a prize, the ‘BRIDGES’ branded yo-yo.
During the journey “Daniel the Wader” delivered balloons to children choosing the lucky ones that could have hit the “pentolacce”, the worldwide known game. Cristiano Balli, the President of the 5th Neighborhood, took at the beginning also part in the event together with the chancellors Eleonora Pellizzon, Fabrizio Tucci and Edoardo Trallori.
About twenty associations have set up the event as "Event Builders" together with AiCS: Cultural Association "Viva il Perù", “Confederazione Regionale della Comunità Filippina in Toscana”, “Libera Associazione dello Sri Lanka in Toscana”, “Colombia ES”, “SMS Rifredi”, “Gruppo 334 - Insieme per Brozzi”, “Laboratorio Permanente per la Pace di Rifredi”, “SMS Peretola”, “Associazione Piazza San Donato”, “Il Colle”, “Gonzaga University in Florence”, “Associazione Con lo Sguardo di Filippo”, “Il Tabernacolo”, “Associazione Zero-Zero Firenze 5 Onlus”, “Rete di Solidarietà Q5”, “Comitato Genitori I.C. Guicciardini”, “Centro per l'Età Libera via Bini” and “Daniel Il Trampoliere della Sierra Leone”.
Find information about the events in Florence on Facebook @Bridges-project-europeo-aics-accommodate-solidarity-florence and www.bridges-project.eu. For further information contact bridgesITA@aics.it.