Roundtables (Organized by Junior Achievement Italia)
First Roundtable – May 2025
First roundtable organized by JAI at the Palazzo of the Lombardy Region attended by the speakers of various associations including LILT – Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer, Fondazione Maria Letizia Verga ETS, Fondazione IRCCS National Cancer Institute, Fondazione Ronald McDonald with the aim of opening a collaborative and constructive dialogue on innovative and unconventional methodologies for the inclusion of hospitalized children.
Second Roundtable – September 2025
Second roundtable organized by JAI at “BASE Milano” attended by the speakers of various associations including CSB Onlus – Center for the Health of Girls and Boys, Erika ODV Association, Bimbo Tu Association, Dear Onlus with the aim of fostering a collaborative and constructive dialogue on methodologies to support hospitalized children in developing a future-oriented outlook.
Third & Fourth Roundtables – October 2025
Third and fourth roundtables organized by JAI at “The Social Hub Rome” attended by the speakers of various associations including EDI Social Cooperative Onlus, Magicaburla Clown Therapy Association ETS, Association for Children in Hospital (ABIO) Rome, Peter Pan ODV, Contact Point CERV Italy, Italian Committee for UNICEF – Together for Breastfeeding Program, Il Nuovo Fantarca, AVES Association – European Solidarity Volunteering Association, Comici Camici, A.G.O.P. Onlus – Association of Parents in Pediatric Oncology, with the aim of exploring in depth the needs and appropriate strategies to promote the participation and inclusion of hospitalized minors.
During the roundtable on October 21, 2025, Manuela Marzano, Head of the National Contact Point for the CERV Programme, outlined the institutional and value-based framework in which Empowering Young Patients operates.
The CERV Programme (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) is currently the European Union’s main instrument for promoting and protecting fundamental rights, democracy, gender equality, and civic participation.
The roundtable highlighted how the EYP project fully embodies the programme’s mission, particularly within the “CHILD – Rights of the Child” strand, which supports initiatives aimed at ensuring that all children can grow, learn, and participate in safe, inclusive, and respectful environments.
The project was therefore recognized as a concrete example of applying CERV principles in healthcare and educational contexts, as it:
- Promotes the direct participation of minors in decision-making processes
- Encourages co-design with families and local communities
- Integrates a child-rights perspective into hospital environments, often excluded from traditional channels of active citizenship
During the roundtable, the four main pillars of the CERV Programme were also presented:
- Union Values, focused on strengthening European cohesion and solidarity
- Equality, Rights and Gender Equality, promoting equal opportunities and non-discrimination
- Citizens’ Engagement, supporting democratic participation initiatives and twinning between European communities
- Daphne, targeting the prevention and combating of violence against women, children, and young people
Within this framework, EYP is positioned as an initiative of cultural and social prevention, aiming to counter exclusion, loneliness, and loss of self-esteem among hospitalized children, while offering opportunities for active learning and meaningful relationships.
Another key topic addressed was the Child Protection Policy (CPP), which is mandatory for all CERV-funded projects.
Beyond safeguarding minors from all forms of abuse or violence, this policy serves as a tool for organizational development and shared responsibility.
In the case of Empowering Young Patients, the CPP ensures that every activity—from workshops to training sessions—is designed and implemented in a way that protects children, respecting their timing, emotions, and freedom of expression.
The intervention also emphasized the need to create genuine—not merely symbolic—spaces for listening to children, integrating their voices into policy-making processes at both local and national levels.
Marzano highlighted that children’s participation should not be limited to the educational sphere, but should become a cross-cutting principle in all public policies—from healthcare to culture, from urban planning to digital innovation—in line with the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (2021–2027).
Workshops and Innovation & Creativity Camp (Organized by Junior Achievement Italia)
Online Workshop – Care & Creativity: Humanizing Spaces, Building Connections (March 5, 2026)
Students participated in an online workshop focused on the relationship between care and creativity, exploring how to humanize hospital environments and foster meaningful connections. Around 150 students joined the session, engaging with professionals from different fields, including Federica Bianchini (Dynamo Camp), Rosa Ferro (Il Nuovo Fantarca – Cinema in Hospital project), and Elga Romano (clown doctor and trainer in gelotology). The workshop aimed to encourage reflection on the emotional and relational dimensions of care, highlighting creative practices as tools to support well-being in hospital settings.
Workshop #1 – Professions in Hospital: Roles, Skills, and Care Pathways (IIS Via Carlo Emery – IPS “Stendhal”, March 9, 2026)
Students took part in an in-person workshop aimed at exploring professional roles within hospital settings and promoting awareness of careers in healthcare and care services. Around 50 students engaged with experts, including Antonella Guido (Psychologist and Psychotherapist, Pediatric Oncology Unit, Policlinico Gemelli) and Dario Talloa (Pediatric Oncologist, Policlinico Gemelli). The workshop provided insights into multidisciplinary teamwork in hospitals and helped students understand the skills and responsibilities involved in supporting pediatric patients.
Workshop #2 – Lifestyles, Nutrition, Prevention, and Integrated Well-being (IIS Via Carlo Emery – IPS “Stendhal”, March 9, 2026)
Students participated in a second in-person workshop focused on healthy lifestyles, nutrition, prevention, and holistic well-being. Around 50 students engaged in discussions and interactive activities led by Elisa Vellani and Michele Cavicchioli (EDI Social Cooperative Onlus), together with Mirko Tassin (Tasso Culinario, food content creator). The workshop highlighted the importance of preventive care, healthy habits, and integrated approaches to well-being, encouraging students to reflect on their role in promoting health within their communities.
ICC – Liceo Carlo Emery, Rome (March 2026)
Students took part in the Innovation and Creativity Camp organized by JAI in March 2026, with the support of organizations and associations involved as mentors, including AVES – European Solidarity Volunteering Association, and with the participation of volunteers, former patients, or patients off therapy from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The goal was to design a solution or initiative to foster the well-being, as well as the educational, social, and civic participation of children and adolescents in hospital, both during their treatment and upon their return to everyday life.
ICC – Liceo Seneca, Rome (March 2026)
Students took part in the Innovation and Creativity Camp organized by JAI in March 2026, with the support of organizations and associations involved as mentors, including Ronald Mcdonald Foundation, EY, and with the participation of volunteers, former patients, or patients off therapy from the Gemelli Hospital in Rome. The goal was to design a solution or initiative to foster the well-being, as well as the educational, social, and civic participation of children and adolescents in hospital, both during their treatment and upon their return to everyday life.
Workshops, Trainings (Organized by Officine Buone)
#DonaIlTuoTalento Workshops | 18 & 21 September 2025
Two workshops organized by Officine Buone in Milan brought together artists, educators, and healthcare professionals to co-design inclusive activities for children and adolescents in hospital. The sessions encouraged interdisciplinary exchange and highlighted the role of artistic expression in supporting participation, emotional well-being, and quality of care.
Training at Policlinico Gemelli | 28 February 2026
This in-person training session, organized by Officine Buone at the Policlinico Gemelli in Rome, involved volunteers and professionals working in pediatric oncology. The program included expert contributions and a theatre-based workshop designed to strengthen relational, listening, and expressive skills in interactions with young patients.
Officine Buone Academy | 16 February 2026
Officine Buone launched the Officine Buone Academy, an online training platform providing free learning modules developed by professionals from healthcare, education, and the arts. The initiative aims to strengthen the skills of volunteers and practitioners, promoting the use of personal talents as tools for participation and inclusion in pediatric hospital environments.
Open Days
Officine Buone – EYP Open Day | 14 November 2025
Students participated in a second in-person workshop focused on healthy lifestyles, nutrition, prevention, and holistic well-being. Around 50 students engaged in discussions and interactive activities led by Elisa Vellani and Michele Cavicchioli (EDI Social Cooperative Onlus), together with Mirko Tassin (Tasso Culinario, food content creator). The workshop highlighted the importance of preventive care, healthy habits, and integrated approaches to well-being, encouraging students to reflect on their role in promoting health within their communities.
Project School – Community Awareness Event | 28 February 2026
On February 28th, 2026, the Family Community Event took place in Lecce, in the Oratorio Salesiani, to promote the EYP project and to create awareness on children’s rights in hospitals. Partners of the event were: Scuola in Ospedale (of the elementary school Alighieri-Diaz), Nuovo Fantarca with the project Cinema in Ospedale, the local health department ASL Lecce, and the volunteer organization “Cuore e Mani Aperte”, and a representative of the Lecce Municipality (Comune di Lecce). The first half of the event consisted of short presentations of what the event partner organizations do in hospitals to enhance children’s wellbeing and rights. In the second part, Nuovo Fantarca showed a short movie for children, part of the Cinema in Ospedale project, and invited participating children to join slow-motion workshops that followed the event. The event lasted two hours; a total of 40 people attended.