Centro per lo Sviluppo
Creativo “Danilo Dolci”
Palermo and Partinico, Italy
i.
ii.
iii.
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v.
vi.
Who was Danilo Dolci?
The history of the organisation
Aims
Activities
Structure
Methodology: Reciprocal Maieutic
Approach
i. Who was
Danilo
Dolci?
Sociologist, pacifist and educator that arrived in Sicily in
the 50’ and there developed a nonviolent fight against
mafia and for community development.
ii. The history of the organisation

Centro Studi ed Iniziative (1958)
(when Dolci and his collaborators started their work)

Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo (1985)
(after the work of the organisation became more connected with
nonviolent education, crativity and development)

Centro per lo Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo
Dolci” (1998)
(after Dolci’s death)
iii. Aims

Disseminate the life and work of Danilo Dolci and awaring
for the actuality of his writings;

Promote the reciprocal maieutic approach in the school
context and at international level;

Promote innovative processes in the civil society and public
schools, through maieutic workshops and seminars;

Develop educational courses about the maieutic structure
that can boost the grow of “new” educators and trainers;

Educate for peace and nonviolence as a tool for cultural,
social and civic promotion;

Promote active citizenship and participative democracy.
iv. Activities

Organise maieutic workshops in schools, universities, organisations and
institutions;

Organise cultural and educational activities that promote the life and work
of Danilo Dolci;

Make that the books Danilo wrote during his life are published again and
organise new anthologies that gather his most important writings;

Organise European projects that involve youth from diverse countries,
about the themes of nonviolence, peace, active participation and reciprocal
maieutic;

Organise European projects in the sphere of adult education using as
privileged method the reciprocal maieutic approach.
Maieutic workshops in Roccella
Ionica (Italy)
Reciprocal maieutic
workshops with teachers of
secondary schools and
students
 About the classical themes of
a maieutic workshop
(educate-teach, communicatetransmit)
 Increased communication,
better relationships, increased
creative processes, actiate
participation processes, etc…

EDDILI – To educate is to make
possible the discovery of life
Grundtvig multilateral – LLP
(24 months+international
partnership)
 Training for trainers and
action-research about the
impact of RMA in the field of
training and education
delivered to adult learning
staff.
 Make RMA become one
recognised approach in the
field.

Local and international activities
v. Structure
President
Direction
International
activities
Dissemination
of Dolci’s
writings
Local activities
National
network
Archive and
publications
Maieutic
workshops
vi. Methodology: RMA
“…process of collective exploration that takes as a departure point
the experience and the intuition of individuals.” (Dolci, 1996)
Learner centred approach
 Uses cooperative learning
 Uses the circle as priveliged phisical disposition
 All participants have the occasion to express the own
thoughts and opinions


RMA is intended to create a safe context for people to
express themselves, to listen each other, to discover, to be
creative, to learn relational and communicational
competencies, to feel valued as a human being.
The main principles behind the approach are:

Listening - expression

Communication

Confrontation

Individual and social responsibility

Active participation of all

Cooperation

Nonviolence

Building complex images of reality (with the point of view and contribution of all)

Value/emphasis in the individual and group experience

Creative process

Sharing of power (in contraposition to domination and concentration of power)

Awareness/self awareness

Ask questions and analyse problems instead of impose solutions – ask the good questions
The impact observed n participants is:

learn to share points of view with other people

learn to communicate

learn to confront with other people in a nonviolent way

develop listening and verbal communication skills

learn to value and respect others

learn to respect difference

learn to value the group and to cooperate

develop active participation awareness and skills

strengthen democratic competences

facilitate and reinforce the integration between people from different backgrounds
Contacts
Amico Dolci – President
[email protected]
[email protected]
Address: Via Goriza 22 –
90133 Palermo, Italy
Tel.: +390916164224
Fax: +390916230849
www.danilodolci.it
Nonviolent demonstration (Dolci with the local people)