"Often, our young people wear t-shirts that convey messages of cynicism, harshness, and sometimes violence. This project allowed them to create clothing that suits their tastes, with styles, tones, and colors they like, but that also carries a message of hope."
Dewdrops make no noise, and neither does the blade of grass that grows in the dark soil. Even when it grows between the cracks, it goes unnoticed, but silently it covers everything in green. And green is the color chosen by Sara, who designed a hill with a sun made of mosaic tiles that form the phrase Peace begins with a smile. The green of hope under a sun of peace. The same hope Cecilia chose to represent with a phoenix rising from the ashes, standing victorious over the separation wall between Israel and Palestine; the same peace Isabella represents with an open cage surrounded by flowers, from which two beautiful doves take flight, with the inscription Peace Please between the bars.
These are not complicated images; they are simple messages that are easily grasped, yet not banal, crafted with great care by the students from the graphic design classes of the Manfredini Schools in Varese. This work began through an encounter with collaborators from the Pro Terra Sancta association, during awareness moments focused on the situation in the Middle East. The graphics were designed for printing on t-shirts for the school's students, with the aim of both conveying a message and supporting Pro Terra Sancta’s projects. Part of the proceeds will, in fact, be donated to the association.
'The initiative,' explains the educational coordinator Lorena Volontà, 'started from our encounter with your organization [Pro Terra Sancta, Ed.] and an educational concern: the more young people can engage with the world and care about others, the more they learn, or rather, the more they learn intelligently. Today, statistically, young people are not really connected with the world; they have many tools and much information, but it's as if everything is always virtual, distant, mediated by digital devices, so it barely touches their hearts.'
Therefore, when the terrible conflict between Israel and Palestine intensified on October 7, 2023, the director and teachers invited a collaborator from Pro Terra Sancta to help the students better understand the reality of the Middle East. 'Not only,' continues Professor Lorena, 'to understand the history and geopolitical context, which are essential for comprehension, but above all to meet a real person and discover the stories and faces of the people you work with—the flesh and blood—because that is what touches the heart.'
The peace t-shirt initiative
Following these meetings, students have repeatedly organized solidarity initiatives for Pro Terra Sancta throughout the year. Then came the idea of a collaboration with the graphic design classes: 'The challenge,' says Professor Riccardo Viganò, 'was to create a product that could serve the association in telling their story and at the same time raise awareness among a young audience.' A challenge that Pro Terra Sancta itself also faces.
'We often propose curricular projects to students connected to companies that can already introduce them to practicing what they are studying; at first, this project seemed less professionally challenging, but then it turned out to be extremely important from a curricular perspective as well. Someone from the association came and explained a real and demanding need, just as a company would, but with an even more important purpose.'
The t-shirts, in fact, were made based on the association's color scheme and graphic elements, developed and enriched by the students' designs. For the educational coordinator Lorena Volontà, the initiative was a success: 'for both the students,' she explains, 'and their parents.' It is certainly a project to continue and expand into other graphic activities. 'Because,' Professor Viganò repeats, 'besides being challenging from a curricular standpoint, it's a unique way for the students to create something with their own hands that can truly make a useful contribution to devastated countries. This gave us an incredible energy.'
And for Professor Volontà, there is no doubt: it is already the beginning of a new cultural shift for the students, who 'often,' she concludes, 'wear t-shirts that convey cynical, harsh, and sometimes violent messages. This project allowed them to create clothing they like, with styles, tones, and colors they enjoy, but that also carries hope.' New blades of grass, new threads of hope.
