"Italy shines - Constellations 2023" is the title of the project promoted by "Il Cielo Itinerante", a non-profit association that has been operating since 2021 to familiarize young people with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines through projects dedicated to promoting scientific citizenship, reducing cultural gaps and building a future with equal opportunities, regardless of one’s socio-economic level of origin.
This initiative travels through all of Italy’s regions to highlight and teach the wonders of science to girls and boys between the ages of 10 and 14 through workshops and guided observations of the sky through professional telescopes.
During 2023, Leonardo chose to collaborate in three moments of this touring project, which is included in the Corporate Sustainability Plan and is in line with the Company’s commitment to promoting scientific citizenship and supporting the principles of diversity and inclusion. This trip was, therefore, an opportunity to talk to young people about the centrality of space technologies and the importance of cultivating passion and skills to build one's future.
From April to June, the workshops held in Rome, Brindisi and Naples were conducted by the association's science communicators, in collaboration with Leonardo’s and Telespazio’s Sustainability Coordinators, the Group's employees with their families, and local organizations dedicated to social empowerment projects.
Detail of a workshop that took place in Naples at the Casa dei Cristallini association
At each stage, the participants were involved in educational workshops, including: Astrokids - Astronauts for a day, to find out how to become astronauts and how to live on the International Space Station; Earth in a bubble, to introduce the potential of satellites in understanding how our Planet is changing from Space, and how they are useful for understanding global warming; Space launchers, which illustrated how a satellite is launched into orbit and how the VEGA launcher, used by the European Space Agency, works.
A participant during the workshop organised in Rome at the ‘TorPiù Bella’ Association
In line with Leonardo's commitment to promoting scientific citizenship and supporting the principles of diversity and inclusion, the Group employees’ participation and testimonials made it possible to illustrate the Aerospace sector’s various training paths and professions; to learn about the impacts of technical-scientific skills on the local level; and to highlight the importance of space technologies for protecting communities, the Planet and its ecosystem.
A participant at the workshop in Brindisi, at the Amani social cooperative, has just received the ‘Apprentice Astronaut’ diploma
Learning and direct involvement were the key elements that allowed the 114 participants to approach the scientific world with greater awareness and curiosity. For some of them, the journey towards understanding Space has just begun.