Approach to education

CESIE was founded in 2001 inspired by the work of Danilo Dolci. The work of the sociologist, educator and poet -who arrived in Sicily in the early 1950s - was characterized by the use of nonviolent methods (“reverse” strikes, collective fasts, peace marches) and by working together with local people in the conception, development and organisation of every single activity. He also worked closely with teachers and university professors, as well as students and parents, in the grass roots transformation of the educational process/system using an approach that focused on the needs and motivation of the individual.

CESIE has transferred many key aspects of Danilo Dolci’s work into its own educational activities including the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach (a popular dialectic methodology of research and self-analysis) created and tested by Dolci for many years.

Approaches and Methods

We base our work on:

• The research on social needs and challenges
• The use of innovative learning approaches to answer to these needs

In this way, CESIE actively connects research with action through the use of formal and non-formal learning methodologies, that include:

• the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach defined by Danilo Dolci as “collective exploration process that considers individuals’ experience and intuition as a reference point”
• Creative thinking techniques that stimulate idea generation, problem-solving and the capacity of thinking out of the box individually and in group

We do believe that education nourishes economic growth. Therefore, education promotes individual wellbeing as well as economic development of societies by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship.

[su_note note_color="#eee" radius="10"]

Learn more:

• Centro Sviluppo Creativo Danilo Dolci - Official Website
• Danilo Dolci in Sicily: A nonviolent revolution
• Draft of Manifesto
• BORGO DI DIO revives

[/su_note]