Sylff News

On April 9, 2024, the Institute of Political Education “Pedro Arrupe” held an online orientation meeting with members of the Sylff Association secretariat. The meeting was attended by six Sylff fellows selected in academic years 2023 and 2024.

Participants included Sylff Steering Committee Chair Massimo Massaro (middle row, left); Sylff fellows Enza Maria Macaluso (top row, right), Flavia Monfrini (middle row, center), Francesca Barbino (middle row, right), Ugo Giarratano, Vincenzo Buffa, Alberto Piacentini (bottom row, left to right); and Sylff Association secretariat members Executive Director Mari Suzuki (top row, center, left in frame), Director Keita Sugai (top row, left), and Program Officer Konatsu Furuya (top row, center, right in frame).

The Sylff program at the institute is called the Idea-Action Research Program and is a framework for young researchers to engage in scientific research geared toward making concrete social contributions, particularly in Sicily, where the institute is located.

The orientation meeting began with opening remarks from Massimo Massaro, chairperson of the Sylff program at the institute, and Mari Suzuki, executive director of the Tokyo Foundation, who both touched upon the value of the program in developing socially engaged leaders. The six fellows then introduced their respective research topics.

Ugo Giarratano explained that he is exploring the panorama of social exclusion and urban marginality in contemporary society; Flavia Monfrini said she seeks to identity narrative processes in the inland areas of Sicily; and Alberto Piacentini described his studies into the nature, evolution, and legal protections from domestic abuse and gender-based violence.

Vincenzo Buffa, meanwhile, presented his analysis of the governance models of community foundations in the territory of Palermo; Enza Maria Macaluso said she is developing practical and theoretical models of participation in Sicily’s inland communities, starting with an experimental, participatory path based on the Philosophy for Communities (P4C) method; and Francesca Barbino noted she is exploring how children may participate in co-designing public policies on comprehensive sexuality education.

The orientation meeting was a great opportunity to get to know the new “Pedro Arrupe” fellows and to hear directly from them about their research topics, which were inspired by their desire to contribute to the well-being of the people and communities of Sicily. We are very happy to welcome the six fellows into the Sylff community and wish them great success in advancing their research and social engagement initiatives.