Without education, the best laws are useless
People with disabilities should be able to have their say, to contribute in shaping the civil society and to participate in decisions that affect the political, public and social life, in order to improve the conditions e principles of solidarity.
I think the tool to achieve the goal is the School, which is a good teacher of life at every levels. It is therefore important that integration started from it.
All children, in particular those with disabilities, should have the opportunity to attend the School. This not only because it would be of support to parents, but also with a view to integration between able-bodied children and children with disabilities.
Only by means of a real integration a child with disability will have the opportunity to participate in social life and to develop and improve – to the extent of its disability – a autonomy.
The result would be revolutionary: allowing children to better understand each other and to learn from each other playing together.
At school you learn not only how to read and write, but also to socialize, to make friends, to take care of yourself !
In this regard, I witnessed a concrete example last week in Sardinia, at the event “Sport da A-Mare”, organized by the ACSI together with ESA Worldwide and the Navy League of Porto San Paolo, during an exciting encounter I had at the “Istituto Comprensivo di Loiri Porto San Paolo”. For all this I express my gratitude to the principal and teachers for making me meet their lovely students, ready to listen and to share a message of democracy.
Disability is not an anomaly, but only one of the many variants of the human being. The variety of human beings becomes a winning factor when the capabilities and potential of each one are used appropriately and effectively – also and especially to build a social life.
Gratefully,
Salvatore Cimmino