Active Citizenship and Participation Through "Dialogue in the Square"

The chapter Active Citizenship and Participation through 'Dialogues in the Square' outlines a project started in 2017, involving students in improving Piazza Annibaliano in Rome. By analyzing qualitative data, including interviews and artefacts, the research examines the role of dialogue in education and its impact on fostering critical thinking. The study demonstrates how a dialogical approach and real-world civic engagement can support active citizenship within educational systems, despite external challenges such as bureaucratic hurdles and the COVID-19 pandemic. Grounded in a theoretical framework of dialogic education, the project has ppromoted active citizenship by encouraging students to critically engage with the degradation of public spaces.