“I ragazzi di Ballarò” at Pirandello: culture and school against drugs

Agrigento schools' commitment to fighting drug use: The regional SHE network promotes a meeting and a theatrical performance

Agrigento, May 29, 2025 – The meeting and theatrical performance promoted by the regional network SHE – Salus will be held on Tuesday, June 3 at 9:30 am at the Luigi Pirandello Theater , as part of the @LAB_School project. Actions to combat and prevent addictions , funded by the Department of Education and Professional Training of the Sicilian Region . The initiative is coordinated by the Regional School Office for Sicily and has the “Giulio Emanuele Rizzo” Comprehensive Institute of Melilli (Siracusa) as the lead school.

The event is part of the regional project, which promotes health and well-being among young people, with parallel activities involving the nine Sicilian provinces . The goal is to raise awareness among the new generations about the risks of drug addiction , creating an educational model that unites school, health, art, families and territory.

The meeting in Agrigento will be enriched by the participation of Francesco Zavatteri , president of La Casa di Giulio , and organized in collaboration with the ITET 'Leonardo Sciascia' , a hub school for the province of Agrigento of the SHE network, led by Prof. Milena Siracusa . The event is intended for students in the third year of middle schools and in the first two years of high schools . In addition, the program includes the participation of the associations Vivi Sano , La Casa di Giulio and Raizes Teatro .

The theatrical performance 'I ragazzi di Ballarò' , written and directed by Alessandro Ienzi of the Raizes Company , will follow. The show offers a dramatic glimpse of lives marked by heroin and crack addiction, recounting the transformation of the Palermo neighborhood of Ballarò from a vibrant place to a symbol of abandonment and pain.

The meeting, open to the public and broadcast live streaming , will see the participation of representatives of schools, school principals, health workers, local authorities and representatives of the Provincial Youth Council . “Bringing the topic of youth addictions into the Pirandello Theater means recognizing culture 's essential role in prevention,” declared the Director of the Agrigento Territorial Area, Bernardo Moschella . “Theater, art, words become tools for listening, reflection and growth for the new generations.”

The project will continue in October with a second appointment in Agrigento, at the Istituto Comprensivo 'Esseneto' , with the artist Igor Scalisi Palminteri , who will lead the '300 grams' workshop and the Collective Painting Workshop , a participatory experience to promote inclusion , creativity and awareness through painting and music .

The initiative is part of the commitment of Agrigento schools to combat drug use, promoting a cultural change through education, awareness and art .

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