International Day of Education 2026
In the context of the International Day of Education 2026, the Centro Sportivo Italiano (CSI) of Reggio Calabria is promoting a week of decentralised events involving the areas of Reggio Calabria, San Luca and Gioia Tauro. The CSI initiative, supported by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and a wide network of public and private partners, aims to tackle educational poverty through the first edition of the Educational Games – A Different Game in Reggio Calabria!
From 19 to 24 January, from San Luca to Gioia Tauro, passing through the city of Reggio Calabria, a wide-ranging programme of workshops, seminars, street sports activities and community engagement events will take place. The initiative seeks to strengthen the value of play and sport as essential educational tools to promote peace, justice, participation, inclusion and social integration.
Youth at the centre of education
The initiative aligns with the theme chosen for the International Day of Education 2026, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. The 2026 edition focuses on the power of youth in co-creating education. According to the United Nations, young people - who make up more than half of the global population - are a powerful engine for innovation, social change and sustainable development. Yet many continue to face barriers that prevent them from shaping the future they aspire to - from poverty and inequality to limited access to quality education and decent work. As their lives and opportunities are directly shaped by education, young people must be active partners in rethinking how learning works. In a world increasingly transformed by technology, involving youth in the co-creation of modern, relevant and inclusive education systems is essential to ensure that teaching and learning genuinely respond to their aspirations.
A strong local and institutional partnership
The work promoted by the CSI of Reggio Calabria places the central role of younger generations at the heart of building more innovative, inclusive and future-oriented education systems. Programme participants include the Metropolitan Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents, UNICRI, the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, the municipalities of Reggio Calabria, Gioia Tauro and San Luca, and the Regional Coordination of the Italian Association of Sports Lawyers. Partners also include the Parish of Santa Maria della Pietà in San Luca, Caritas of Locri, Cooperativa Sinergie, and several amateur sports associations (ASD), including Basket Pellaro, Fortitudo, Ginnastica Ritmica Restart, Virtus Pellaro 1962, New Basket Tiger, alongside numerous local associations and volunteers.
A week of events across the territory
The Educational Games will open on Monday 19 January at 3:30 p.m., at Palazzo Zani in Reggio Calabria, with the seminar A Second Half Still to Be Played!, dedicated to recognising the educational value of probation programmes in sport. Promoted by CSI Reggio Calabria in collaboration with the DIGES Department of the Mediterranean University, the Sports Law Lab, the V.A.L.E. Plus project, and the Regional Coordination of the Italian Association of Sports Lawyers, the seminar will bring together institutions, practitioners and witnesses to the educational pathway developed by CSI alongside the local sports community. Later that same day, at 6:00 p.m., the CSI Training Manifesto EduSport26! will be presented via live streaming on the CSI Reggio Calabria Facebook page, together with the launch of training courses starting in February for coaches, teachers, educators, youth workers, instructors, sports managers and families.
On Tuesday 20 January at 3:00 p.m., in San Luca, at the sports field built on confiscated property and managed by the parish, the Don Bosco Parish Sports Club will be presented - a new sports initiative for children and young people in the area. The event is organised in collaboration with the Parish of Santa Maria della Pietà, Caritas of the Diocese of Locri, the Office of the Metropolitan Ombudsperson for Children and Adolescents, and the Municipal Commissioners of San Luca, with the participation of families, volunteers and young people.
On Wednesday 21 January at 5:00 p.m., the Integrated Social Hub of Taurianova will host Yogando, a play and movement workshop for children aged 3 to 6, led by CSI educators and delivered within the Let’s Play to Grow project, supported by the social enterprise Con i Bambini.
On Friday 23 January (as well as on 19 and 21 January), the “Radice–Alighieri” Comprehensive Institute in Catona will host the educational activity The Great Mosaic of Friendship and Inclusion, aimed at reinforcing the value of education as a universal right. These activities form part of the RSC project, coordinated by Cooperativa Sinergie and the Municipality of Reggio Calabria – Welfare Department.
On the afternoon of 23 January, the Ciambra neighbourhood of Gioia Tauro will host the street sports education initiative Come Out and Play with Us!, organised in collaboration with the Municipality of Gioia Tauro and local associations. CSI volunteers and operators will animate the neighbourhood streets to restore play to its educational, social and regenerative role.
The programme will conclude on Saturday 24 January with two events: at 4:00 p.m., at the CSI Palacolor sports hall in Pellaro, the Community Sports Workshop – Educating Through Sport? It Can Be Done!, featuring activities and games delivered with the participation of instructors and athletes from partner ASDs; followed by the CSI Social Futsal League at the Orti sports field, a sporting and educational experience that reaffirms the value of teamwork, social interaction and community as tools for social change.
“The objective of the International Day of Education is to place the active participation of young people at the centre of co-creating educational pathways. CSI Reggio Calabria and the network built over these years are working precisely in this direction,” said Paolo Cicciù, President of CSI Reggio Calabria. “Through sport and play, we aim to contribute to tangible and sustained human, urban and social regeneration in neighbourhoods within a complex and fragile territory such as the metropolitan area of Reggio Calabria.”