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Pierluigi Ramorino is a grandfather like any other. Almost. Six grandchildren, many friends, and a formidable spirit of initiative that prompted him to realize what until then (April 4, 2014, the date of the foundation of the Nonni 2.0 association) had been a simple topic of discussion between grandparents. «We often found ourselves talking about our grandchildren: I take them to school, I keep them for the holidays... The tendency was to generalize by describing ourselves as privileged 'guardians' of our children. But something wasn't right. Were we really mere service providers? The idea began to blossom that it was time to move beyond the concept of the 'luxury' grandpa babysitter. The whole of society should have realized that."
Today more than ever…
«Certainly: there are more and more families who suffer from difficult situations, including separations and divorces. It is the very concept of the family understood as a crumbling pedestal. As it happens, the only fixed point remains the grandparents, both in solid situations and in cases where the family no longer exists. Grandparents who maintain their educational and training role ».
Having made this reflection, how did you start moving?
«We founded the Nonni 2.0 association to be promoters of cultural activities: we organize meetings on the theme of the family, on educational change, we have created a listening desk for grandparents (in Milan, in collaboration with the Catholic University, NDR). Think of issues such as bullying: from our research we have found that 90% of grandparents are considered the best advisers to teenagers. And when he receives a request for help, a grandfather must be able to respond to his grandchildren».
So, also try to analyze the world around you.
«Of course: last year we launched the second edition of a school competition entitled 'Me and my grandparents'. With the 2500 essays received from schools throughout Italy, we have built an incredible photograph of the 'voice of the grandchildren'. It has helped us to better understand the reality with which we interact on a daily basis and I must say that there is something exceptional about the favor received. The second edition, entitled 'The grandparents tell us', was recently presented. I'm curious about the results ».
And then, you turned to the world of politics...
«Another front on which we are committed concerns the will to launch the appeal also outside the family: we would like the importance of the figure of grandparents to be recognized also from an economic point of view. Let's think of the contribution that the grandfather provides to families in contemporary society: the tuition for school, the swimming pool, the English course... Two years ago we managed to obtain approval, on the agenda in the Senate, precisely on the proposal of the tax recognition on these contributions. To date, however, unfortunately everything is still, but we do not give up ».
The association currently has 300 members and 1500 supporters. What are the problems you encounter most, you who have to do every day with grandparents?
«A very painful issue is the separation of parents: even in these cases, Grandparents 2.0 tries to support the grandparents/grandchildren and grandparents/children relationship, thanks for example to the listening desk I mentioned earlier. And then, the process of adaptation and acceptance that grandparents must complete with respect to educational evolution. At the end of October we organized a conference on the problem of new technologies: grandparents must know how to behave in this regard, but, to do so, they must also learn to use the various devices in order to be able to manage them in the best possible way».
In a 4.0 society, Grandparents 2.0 don't neglect memory...
"Ever and never. We represent that past that the grandchildren have often forgotten by now; not out of ill will, but rather because they don't realize the importance of memory. And yet, if each generation has the task of rewriting history with its own accents, it cannot do so without starting from its origins, then innovating them and transforming the heritage that has been handed over to it. This is also the task of grandparents: to rediscover in order to face the future. But just look at those little mouths wide open in astonishment at the story of a grandfather (or a grandmother), to understand that there is still room for memory».
www.nonniduepuntozero.eu
Taken from Born Mom | by Laura Sciolla
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