The project “Mamma lingua. Stories for everyone, no one excluded” is addressed to families with children from 0 to 6 years of age from foreign communities in our country, promoting awareness of the importance of shared family reading in one’s mother tongue, storytelling and linguistic diversity, through the distribution of pre-school children’s books in the languages most widely spoken in our country. The recognition and valorisation of the different languages of origin and of the different situations of bilingualism are the most effective way to encourage the learning of Italian, the educational paths of children and a better integration of foreign families.
Mamma lingua is directed at the most numerous foreign communities in Italy. 18 official languages were chosen for the project: Albanian, Arabic, Chinese, English, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Urdu.
A group of experts in children’s literature selected approximately one hundred books from the international publishing production, with a focus on titles in the fourteen languages covered by the project. These books represent on the one hand the way children’s illustrated literature is conceived in the different language areas considered and on the other hand they affirm the right of children to have beautiful books and stories in their hands. The selected books are stored in a suitcase donated to the 20 Mamma Lingua centres and the online catalogue is continuously updated.
An additional tool is the manifesto that inspires the project. Written by Graziella Favaro, an expert in intercultural education and multilingualism, the manifesto expresses the aims of Mamma lingua in 10 points and is available in a digital version in the 14 languages of the project. A storytelling video realised by Studio Tiwi encapsulates the project’s principles. All these tools are available at www.mammalingua.it.
Each region has its own Mamma Lingua support centre, where you can find the books and suitcase, manifestos and trained operators (librarians, teachers, cultural mediators, readers, etc.) who will inform you about the books and the project. The diffusion of the good practice of reading as a key to the integration of foreign children passes through the regional network of contact points, which promote the guiding principles of the project with their knowledge and activities throughout the territory.
Find the one nearest to you by visiting www.mammalingua.it