From Cameroon to Italy, a boxing champion’s fight for her rights
Pamela Malvina is 32. Born in Cameroon, she has lived most of her life in Italy. In 2015, at a community gym in Bologna, her boxing journey started. Initially, she thought it was an aggressive sport, ‘not suitable for women,’ but later realized it could build communities. Without Italian citizenship, obtained a year ago after […]
Creative protesters in France: “If you don’t understand us when we speak, then we’ll sing!”
In 2023, many people took to the streets in France. They were protesting President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated for weeks, and some brought the protest to life by dancing and singing. Mathilde, Les Rosies, and Lauren see their dance and music to get people excited about politics. They want […]
Near Milan, six families share living space, responsibility and community
Chiara and Luca live with their families in a shared house. Six families share rooms and services on six floors. The concept is called cohousing. Each family has its own apartment, but three floors are used as common spaces. The purpose is to live alongside other people. This is not always easy and requires a […]
In Italy, the colonial past remains an uneasy subject
Unlike in other countries in Western Europe, Italy’s colonial past is still rarely debated. It’s difficult to find stories about that time in movies, books and television shows, it’s never a topic in history classes in schools, although it had marked the story of the country for decades. With the Italo-Somali writer Antar Marincola, @vdnews_ita […]
Who are climate quitters and what do they want?
Andrea Grieco, 30, is a climate quitter, one of those who quit his old job because the policies of the company he worked for were not environmentally friendly. He is now a European Climate Pact Ambassador. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not […]
From xenophobia to exploitation, in Italy migrant workers are fighting for their basic rights
The northwest of Italy is well known for its industry. The area has become an important location for the logistic sector, and most of its workers are migrants, workers that, in a context of housing crisis and rising costs of living, are forced to accept very hard work conditions, low wages, and irregular contracts. In […]
In Lavapiés, a neighbourhood of Madrid, locals are fighting gentrification
Lavapiés is one of the last popular neighbourhood in Madrid, well-known for its ethnic and cultural mix. In the last years, growing gentrification has been pushing up life costs and rents, making impossible for many inhabitants keep living there, between fear of discrimination and the rising tourism market. Samuele Maccolini from @vdnews_ita went to #Lavapies […]
In Italy, a psychologist with a camper fights against the stigma surrounding mental health
Maurizio Cinquini, 55, became a psychologist after working as a train driver and a coach. One day, while having a beer with a friend, he thought of taking a camper van and driving around the country, encouraging people to talk to a therapist. That’s how, in 2022 “Psychologist on the Road” was born. Since, Maurizio […]
Faenza, Emilia-Romagna: how the Italian city is recovering after devastating floods
In May 2023, unprecedented rains and severe floods hit the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, leaving thousands of people without homes and the government with billions of euros’ worth of damage to fix. Faenza was one of the cities that took the hardest hit. Water reached as high as the second floors of residential buildings, leaving […]
#Nextones aka the sounds of a quarry
Nextones is a unique festival in Europe. Taking place in late July in Val D’Ossola, in the Piemonte Region, it aims at being more than a place where people listen to music. This international festival of music and audio visual arts where, in an old quarry, you can listen and watch the most interesting artists […]
