What do you really learn when you play? What is the relationship between play and sports? During the two meetings, participants will be accompanied to discover and critically reflect on the forms of play, between real and virtual and in different ages of life. Issues related to the space that creates play, the conditions and design for the outdoors, natural environments, and school grounds will then be explored. Reflecting on cities from the perspective of the right to play.

Roberto Farné. Former full professor in general education at the University of Bologna, Department of Sciences for the Quality of Life, where he founded the Center for Research and Training on Outdoor Education. He teaches Pedagogy of Play and Sport. He is president of the Free University of Play, which together with the Emilia Romagna Region edited the Italian edition of the Commentary on Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Adolescent.

Games handed down from generation to generation represent a cultural heritage that allows us to reflect on the present and look to the future. During the two scheduled meetings, popular games of different types that have spanned eras and places will be offered. Participants will share the meanings of play from personal, social, and educational perspectives. A plunge into playfulness will be made together.

Antonio Di Pietro. Playful pedagogist. Lecturer in the Specialization for Support Activities at the University of Florence. Member of the Center for Research on Active Didactics (University of Bologna). President of Cemea Toscana, collaborates with the Network of Public Schools Practicing Outdoor Education and LUnGi Free University of Play. Conducts experiential training, shadowing of educational and didactic projects, meetings with parents. Author of several publications on play, play and playful education.

Even as children we are capable of creating fantastic role-plays to the cry of “let’s make that we are” or “let’s pretend that” but then, slowly, we lose that drive to seek more and more anchorage in reality. But it is precisely through role-playing that, despite being far removed from our real experience, we are able to bring out and enhance the real us. The meetings will allow to know what a role-playing game really is; also made of dungeons and dragons, but not only! About how it is possible to train oneself to play better, let others play and design for one’s own purposes.

Matthew Boca. Telecommunications engineer by training, but game popularizer by passion. Since 2013, I produce videos on the longest running and most prolific board game-themed YouTube channel in Italy (Minute Reviews). Since then, I have been collaborating professionally with Authors and Publishers for the design and development of board games. I mix skills in education with notions of game design to create alternative educational paths, also in corporate contexts. Since 2014, I have included game activities within the Agile Management course at SUPSI in Lugano. Since 2019, I joined FILOS Formazione as a Lecturer, developing within the School, game training proposals, both for students and teachers.

Playing is an experience strongly rooted in human evolutionary history, to be rediscovered and valued not only during childhood and youth, but also in later life. In this module, starting with the use of LEGO bricks, we will delve into the role of play in everyone’s life experience. It will then be an opportunity to share some simple daily practices or developmental insights to implement in one’s personal or professional life.

Davide Boniforti. Psychologist and community mediator in recent years has worked as a consultant, facilitator, operator on behalf of private and public entities, carrying out participatory planning and training in the field of community development. He is a lecturer in the course of “Psychology of Interventions in the Community” at the Catholic University of Brescia, and of “Tools and Techniques for Participation and Community Development” at the University of Padua. He collaborates as Subject Tutor at the Chair of Community Psychology and Health and Community Psychology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

Marco Rondonotti. An associate professor at eCampus University, he teaches “Didactics and Technologies of Education” and collaborates with the Center for Research on Media Education in Technology and Innovation (CREMIT) at Catholic University. He works on media education and particularly on the construct of community technologies; he is a designer and coordinator of training activities in schools and the third sector.

Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Twitch, Discord: how to navigate the vast world of video games? Why do they like them and what skills can they develop? How to build classroom activities to discuss together the potential and risks associated with gaming? Starting from the representations that each of us has with respect to video games and starting from some theoretical reflections that investigate their mechanisms, some possible activities that can be used with children, in the classroom or in informal settings, will be experimented. The aim is to approach the world of gaming in order to make it a ground for dialogue and educational exchange.

Joseph Masengo. A trainer and media educator, she has worked at the Steadycam Center of ASL CN2 since 2007. He is involved in analysis and archiving of audiovisual materials, design and management of educational interventions in schools and training courses aimed at operators, teachers and parents on digital media and health promotion. Since 2017 he has led workshops on gaming within the Techno Display Center in Alba. Founder of the communication and media education company SteadycamOFF snc, in 2021 he collaborated with the Eclectica Research Institute on the “Gam(bl)e” project on gaming and gambling. He contributed to the volume “Social media body and relationships” by Chiara Bertone, Michele Marangi and Gianna Pasquero (Ericksson Live 2021).

Is the board game for everyone? Yes, if offered with awareness. Disability, autism, school inclusion, prison, prevention interventions, the elderly-these are just some of the issues where structured play can be successfully introduced. This series of meetings will examine the educational objectives of the game, the assessment of the skills involved, and the possibility of modifying and adapting games from an inclusive game design perspective, between customization and accessibility.

Gabriele Mari. Game designer and developer for the game production company Cobblepot Games; has published board games including Garibaldi La Trafila (Nexus Editrice, 2007), Mister X (Ravensburger, 2009), Letters from Whitechapel (Giochi Uniti, 2012), Tell Me a Story (Pendragon Game Studio, 2016), Whitehall Mystery (Giochi Uniti, 2017), La Casa De Papel – Behind The Mask (Clementoni, 2021), Dante Alighieri Comedia: Purgatorio (Top Hat Games, 2022), Rifiutopoli (Cinemovel Foundation, Legambiente, 2023), A Caccia di Conchiglie (Erickson, 2023). An educator for the social cooperative La Pieve, he has worked in the field of youth disability and autism for more than 20 years, using structured play in daily educational practice within multiple contexts: disability, school, prison, third age, disadvantaged situations. He is the creator of the Educatori Ludici project that aims to spread the use of board games as an educational tool, bringing workshops and training courses throughout Italy. In 2022, with the publishing house Homeless Book, he published the book “Tuttingioco. The structured game as an educational tool.” As a trainer, he is one of the teachers of the Erickson Game Trainer course and initiated the Play Operator courses promoted by the CSI (Italian Sports Center). He is one of the spokespersons for the Italian group of Ludic Didactics and is a member of the Game Science Research Center.