Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

A story of knowledge, aspirations and needs from which to start to discover new urban geographies

Milan, 21 April 2020 - The Knowledge Portal, a digital platform created by the Italian Network of Popular Culture, arrives in Milan as part of Lacittàintorno, the Cariplo Foundation program which, in the peripheral contexts of Milan, involves the inhabitants in the reactivation and re-signification of spaces to improve the quality of life and stimulate "new geographies" of the city.

Il Knowledge portal represents an innovative tool - already tested by the Italian Network of Popular Culture in other territories - capable of bringing out the experiential and cognitive capital of the local community through video interviews and stories, of enhancing and sharing the knowledge, needs and aspirations of the inhabitants, transforming them into a lever for the birth of new and more effective relationships between people, associations, production entities, public and private bodies.

With this project, Fondazione Cariplo extends its collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, sanctioned by a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016 and already active with the Department of Labor Policies, Productive Activities, Commerce and Human Resources and with the Department of Participation , Active citizenship and Open data. The Knowledge Portal now offers the opportunity to involve the Mazzini District Laboratory, promoted by the Department of Social and Housing Policies, and the connected Corvetto Network, an informal reality in which associationism and active local citizenship are recognised. Over time, the objective is for the Portal to remain in the area, also in collaboration with Municipality 4, becoming a useful tool for all those entities that already work on different levels of cultural, sporting socialization and active labor policies. A moving look at community life. 
The objective is to promote a culture of solidarity and cohesion: a popular novel - a shared narrative of the before - as a starting point from which to start to rethink the after.

From April 21st, on a weekly basis, the social channels of the Italian Network of Popular Culture, of Lacittàintorno and of Made in Corvetto, the community point inaugurated in February, will present the "chapters" of this popular novel. From the stories of solidarity of Domenico and Andrea of ​​the Polo Ferrara Polyfunctional Center (#ceraunavoltailcorvetto), to the stories of food and inclusion of the young Sara and Silvana of My Comfort Food (#lecucinedelcorvetto), passing through the passions that took shape at Corvetto creating moments of cultural exchange with Mattia and Francesca from the Punta alla Luna bookshop and the Casa di Giacomo (#libriacorvetto). And also experiments in urban agriculture and solidarity with Maddalena from Associazione Nocetum and Alessandro from CasciNet (#corvettometteradici), and stories of those who have chosen Corvetto as their professional headquarters, such as Alessandro from CVing and Carola from Leave la Scia (#direzionecorvetto). Stories of families and ancient professions like that of Edoardo di Bonvini 1909 (#imestieridicorvetto), but also of young people - like Thomas, Jennifer, Soukeye, Dina - looking for the right opportunity to test themselves. And many more.

This "popular novel" is the mirror of a Corvetto who, thanks to a strong sense of self, resists and reacts to adversity. Individual stories whose value depends on the diversity of experiences and knowledge they tell (age, gender, culture of origin, professions, personality). We can start again from these stories, making them a shared heritage, a common good to be valorised, a necessary resource to rediscover one's dimension and identity in a community that looks to the future.