Volunteering, the small daily miracles of those who do it, told in a podcast: “Active always”

ROME – There are the stories of volunteers from a solidarity emporium, those of the families who frequent it for shopping and then the stories of children with autism who, together with experts, have experimented, through specific workshops, the art, music, relationships. These are the stories at the heart of the first two episodes of the podcast Always activeborn from the homonymous project, to tell the interweaving and collaborations that allow the volunteering and social cooperation of Parma to create “small daily miracles”. To say it are the promoters of the initiative: the Social Solidarity ConsortiumCSV Emilia e Cariparma Foundation. The episodes are available on all major platforms – including Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Audible and Google Podcasts – and are dedicated to Solidarity emporiumthe market to which 1700 Parma families turn for free, and the laboratories of Is Saturdaywhich give a “normal” time to the families of many young people with autism.

The podcast, a tool now in our habits. The decision to create a podcast is not “dictated by the fashion of the moment – say the promoters – but by the fact that this is a communication tool that is becoming more and more part of our habits every day. There is a lot of potential, even for the third sector. Through a simple audio file, podcasts talk to people as they drive or cook, as they walk or look out the window of a bus. Among the leading voices are those of the experts of Cem Lira, of Artetipi, of Il courtyard, of the Center for the diagnosis, treatment and study of communication and socialization disorders of the AUSL of Parma and the young people of ANGSA. Even the original music is the result of a precious network work. They were in fact created by the students of the Marconi and Romagnosi high schools in Parma involved in the project “Music for podcasts” created by CEM LIRA thanks to the 2021 edition of Parma Siamo Squadra.

The episodes last just under twenty minutes. And they are made by Podcast Workshop and the podcast Always active was launched in Rome within the Podcast Week. According to Elena Dondi, president of CSV Emilia, “this audio product represents an important opportunity to shed light on the work of Associations and Cooperatives. What we tell are two perfect examples of how the Third sector know how to listen to the needs of the territory to build, together with the institutions and other bodies, concrete answers, capable of changing things. These are good practices that we don’t want to remain closed in drawers. The hope is that, by spreading, they can generate others”.

* Alessia Ciccotti – CSVnet Communication Office