Comunicatio Manifesta
Awareness campaign against gender-based violence using artistic languages and new technologies
About this Giving Opportunity
Based in Rome, Italy, BEAWARENOW is a non-profit organization that uses participatory art as a tool to raise awareness about the social issues affecting national and international communities, including topics such as gender-based violence and human trafficking.
The Comunicatio Manifesta project works together with high school students in four regions across Italy (Lazio, Lombardy, Piedmont and Calabria) to build a public awareness campaign around gender-based violence, with the goal of changing social and cultural attitudes and igniting positive social change. Building on BEAWARENOW’s expertise in the fields of artistic production and communications, the project uses different languages, artistic disciplines and new technologies and tailors activities to each region as a way to leverage local and regional skills.
As part of the project, BEAWARENOW has facilitated workshops at each participating high school including:
- A legal workshop for teachers and students on the themes of the Istanbul Convention and gender equality, conducted by experienced teachers from various Italian universities
- A sociocultural workshop for teachers and students with experts, witnesses and survivors of violence and trafficking
- Participative and performance art workshops (dance, theater, music, street art, etc.) aimed at offering cognitive tools to stimulate creativity and spark positive messages against discrimination and gender-based violence
- Social communication workshops led by communications experts around the foundational elements of a communications campaign
Since March 2021, BEAWARENOW has been working with these local high schools, students and teachers, with the support of project experts, to create communications campaigns and digital platforms centered on raising awareness of gender-based violence. In the coming months, BEAWARENOW will launch a national awareness campaign, supported by media partners, that will engage high school students and include press office activities.
Through this project, BEAWARENOW aims at the following outcomes:
- For younger generations, a real understanding and decoding of what gender violence means and how it represents a serious violation of a person’s fundamental rights
- For teachers, a shared understanding of the need for activating young people to be attentive, responsible and committed citizens in the fight against gender-based violence
- For families, supporting their children’s emotional, social and cultural understanding through education and building youth as agents of change
- For women survivors of violence or trafficking, an opportunity to uplift and elevate their stories and use communicative tools to demand concrete action
BEAWARENOW aims to involve the largest number of Italian cities and schools, with a particular focus on southern Italy and the islands. The final event of the project will take place on November 25, 2022.
