- ProSol
- Progetto Solidarietà
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- Amanecer
- Amici della Terra
- Associazione
Italia-Nicaragua
- Associazione per la Pace
- Associazione Urlo
libero-Club Altritalia
- Comitato di solidarietà La
Villetta
- Associazione Per il mondo
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- ProSol
(Progetto Solidarietà - Solidarity
Project) is a coordination of associations that have been operating in Bologna for some
years in order to implement the sensitizing and the information on the themes of
solidarity with the developing Countries, on peace and non-violent proceedings, on the
protection of the environment and on the right to citizenship.
Even maintaining their own individual features and specific
operating fields, the single Associations felt the need of creating a common
"place" for the exchange, the exploitation and the extension of the mutual
experiences and the different histories of each group from the beginning of the 90ies,
when the political associationism and the internationalist engagement clearly started
declining more and more.
The progressive loss of knowledge of what connects us not
only with policies and cultures geographically far away, but also with the nearby
"diversity"; the flattening and the manipulation of the information by the
mass-media and the marginalization of all diversities, in all possible forms, are the
typical features of the New Global Order. This has always denied any visibility and
legitimacy to those whom, like us and so many others like us, tried to lie on the table
the cards and the regulations imposed by the rulers and wanted to find a path opposing the
globalization and acknowledging the different identities. We also decided to be present at
some local events mostly connected to the right to a house, a job and the acknowledging of
the rights of the citizens without protection, both Italian and strangers, in order to
point out our will of connecting themes of far-away countries with what is happening
outside our house-doors. This is why we wanted to find a place (and this telematic review
is a part of it) to collect the mosaic of activities bound to build a thought opposing the
flattening of the dominating culture due to the media and the policies.
Who are we?
AMANECER
Cultural Association for Latin America: it finances projects
sustaining the education of children in Peru and Chile and supporting the law suits
against dictatorships, both over and existing.
Seat: Via de Nicola 44, Bologna
AMICI DELLA TERRA (Friends of the Earth)
It mostly works for the protection of the environment and of
nature, promoting both local and international projects.
Seat: Piazza Martiri della Libert` 2, Bentivoglio
(Bologna)
ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIA-NICARAGUA (Italy-Nicaragua
Association)
It carries out activities of solidarity and friendship with
the people of Nicaragua, where it organizes work camps. It also manages courses of Spanish
language and promotes different projects in Latin America.
Seat: Via Bentini 20, Bologna.
COMITATO DI SOLIDARIETÀ LA
VILLETTA
(La Villetta Solidarity Committee)
Its purpose is the solidarity with the people of Cuba. It
promotes activities of solidarity with the people of Cuba by gathering medicines, medical
equipment, toys and educational materials for children and grown-ups. It also supports the
building of a medical advisory structure for the women and children living in the province
of Matanzas, and promotes actions against the embargo of the USA.
Seat: Via Lorenzo Costa 7, Bologna.
ASSOCIAZIONE PER LA PACE
(Association for Peace)
Anti-militaristic and non-violent activities against the
civil and military nuclear power, with local and international projects. It also promotes
the local coordination with the group "Women in Black Against the War".
Seat: Via San Carlo 44/2, Bologna.
ASSOCIAZIONE PER IL MONDO
(Association for the World)
Cultural activities and information about the developing
countries, financing of micro-projects and promotion of a responsible tourism.
Seat: Via della Grada 13, Bologna.
ASSOCIAZIONE «URLO LIBERO»
CLUB dell’ALTRA ITALIA di Bologna
("Free Howl" Association) One of the "Altra
Italia" clubs
Located in Bologna. Activities for the promotion of peace
and freedom, peace missions, adoptions at a distance, solidarity with the people of former
Jugoslavia, of Kosovo and with the Kurdish people.
Seat: by the "Bertolt Brecht" Arci club, Via
Bentini 20, Bologna.
The activities of the
ProSol joint house
Apart from the typical and particular activities of
each association, ProSol has a life and an effectiveness of its own, that we will briefly
resume and that shows how this coordination works. Here is a little exhibition of the
actions arising from this "joint space".
Dinners:
why should we not associate the pleasure of a
good dinner with the goals of solidarity? The recipe worked well enough. The proceeds of
the many solidarity dinners we organized in these last few years were used to support the
following activities:
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The possibility for working boys of Peru and
Chile to continue their studies: purchasing of didactic materials and so on;
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- RAE - A network of school support for complementary
education in the poorest barrios of the outskirts of Buenos Aires;
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- The press-agency "Tierra", established in
the most isolated and unreachable areas of Ecuador, in order to relate and to denounce the
violences and violations taking place in the Amazonian Forest;
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- The Valpiana Center, in a very poor barrio of San
Domingo City, operating to give the people an opportunity for professional training and
for finding a job, together with an access to education and human promotion;
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- The Mons. Romero Center in El Salvador, working to
teach the campesinos to read and write and to defend their right to land and to a job;
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- A self-managing community in Haiti for the
protection of the people of the mountain, who are victims of the repression and of the
political, social and military isolation caused by the dictatorship;
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- A support to the weakest and poorest classes of the
post-sandinista Nicaragua, especially children and youngsters, by granting scholarships
and distributing food to the most straitened ones;
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- A project of ecological exchange with the
seringueros of the Amazonian region, to obtain the acknowledging of their rights;
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- A support to Kurdish refugees living in Bologna;
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- The gathering of medicines for Cuba and for a
medical advisory structure in Matanzas.
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- As regards this "gastronomic" solidarity,
we also took part to some national and provincial Festivals of different political parties
and trade unions, in a totally independent way, with gastronomic and information booths.
The proceeds were mostly used for the financing of projects aiming at the education of
children in Latin America, of the Tamil people and of the people of the former Jugoslavia;
we also supported the Association of Kurdish Women, located in Istanbul, which inquires
into the conditions of life of the Kurdish women emigrated to Anatolia and especially into
the rapes perpetrated by the Turkish military men; besides, we helped the Zapatist
movement in Chiapas.
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oiries and parties
- The first public performance of ProSol took place in 1992,
with the organization in the Piazza Maggiore (main square) of Bologna of a
"counter-celebration" of the 500th anniversary of the "conquest" of
Latin America, with the partecipation of many leading musicians (Guccini, Modena City
Ramblers, Mau Mau and so on) and of many artists and writers of the satirical magazine
"Cuore". The happening was broadcasted as a live show by the
"VideoMusic" network.
- ProSol also started a cooperation with the
"Bertolt Brecht" Arci club, in order to manage a "non-profit" soirie
(on Friday evenings) by the disco of the club, aiming not only at getting an economic
profit, but also at offering an occasion for the spreading of a message of solidarity, and
at creating a reference and information point. We started with the "Cafi Latino"
project, proposing Latin-American music, and then enlarged our survey by including the
African music, with the "Afrolatino" project. We organized many multi-ethnical
parties, together with many ethnical communities living in Bologna, and some specific
shows, such as "The Chota Bomb" (for the evaluation of the Afro-american
cultural identity in Ecuador), "Algeria in My Heart" (for a campaign of
information and solidarity with Algeria), some projects carried on by women, and so on.
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ther activities
- The collectings of signatures seem to be a now blunted
weapon, but they always represent a good possibility of approaching any person who wants
to express an idea or a form of solidarity: they offer the possibility of focusing one's
attention on a theme that is specific and therefore easy to communicate.
There have been many collectings of signatures,
many of which promoted by Amnesty International or other international bodies, in order to
spread and to support the activities of other organizations with which we agree and which
we share, but there were also some independent collectings, concerning some specific
problems: for the human rights in Latin America; to support the Kurdish, Saharawi and
Palestinian people; for the people of the former Jugoslavia, of Kosovo, of Algeria; for
the release of Silvia Baraldini and Abu Jamal; for the trial of Pinochet; to grant Ochalan
the right of asylum, and so on.
sit-in, public actions,
photo exhibitons and debates:
all these activities were organized for supporting
some emergency situations: from Haiti to the crisis in the former Jugoslavia; from the
native population of the Amazonian region to the revolt in Chiapas; from the situation
caused by the ecological catastrophes in Latin America to the indictment of Pinochet; from
the repression of the people of Algeria, Kosovo and Palestine (and recently of the Kurdish
people in particular) to the emergency of the lack of houses for the immigrates in our
town. We also support the activities promoted by other associations or organizations, in
order to make them more visible and reliable.
[Translated by Margherita Giordano]
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