Placemaking and sport: spotlight on urban regeneration in Matera

On Friday 22 November, as part of the Matera Sport Film Festival, the final event of the project ‘Placemaking and sport - Innovative European solutions’, financed by the European Community, of which Uisp is a partner, will be held.

Matera is the pilot city of the project in Italy, the others are Copenhagen (Denmark), Zejtun (Malta), Nice (France), Valencia (Spain). The objective of the European project is to promote innovative and effective solutions for public spaces, the challenge for the sports organisations was also to adapt public spaces, such as parks and squares, to make them places where sport and motor activity can be practised, meeting the needs of citizens.

Friday's initiative will be held at the University of Basilicata, will also involve students from some high schools and will be an opportunity for discussion, reflection and sharing. In fact, the five short videos that each city has produced will be presented, illustrating innovative and effective solutions for the cities' public spaces. The meeting will be moderated by Daniela Conti, head of UISP Policies for Interculturality and Cooperation, coordinator of the project.

WATCH THE VIDEOS OF THE PROJECT  

In closing, the short documentary ‘Cricket the inclusive playground’, realised as part of the Monitora project, dedicated to integration through sport, will be presented. The documentary, made by Blade Runner, in collaboration with Uisp, in competition at the Matera Sport film festival, tells a story of sport, environment and integration. It is the story of a group of Asian communities that decide to ask Uisp for help in finding places to play cricket. Thanks to Uisp Roma and the non-profit organisation Insieme per l'Aniene, they found an abandoned area and, having obtained permits, began to clean it up, turning it into a place for sport, integration and socialisation for all. Today it is possible to play football and is also a place where families can take a walk.

Friday's meeting will open with greetings by Chiara Rizzi, Professor at the University of Basilicata, and Michele Di Gioia, director of the Matera Sport Film Festival, followed by speeches by Giuseppe Pecora, coordinator of the Placemaking and sport project, Uisp Matera, and Rita Orlando, director of the Matera-Basilicata 2019 Foundation. Dusan Pjevac, Placemaking and sport project coordinator, Azur Sport Santé, Nice (Fra) and Hilal Erkoca, Placemaking and sport project coordinator for ISCA (International Sport and Culture Association) will also be present and speak at the meeting. ‘We are happy to have two of the project partners present, hosting them in Matera, so little known, is an opportunity to show the coexistence of the old and the new in a city that, as we know, has small and difficult spaces. Once again, sport becomes a tool for identifying new ways of experiencing neighbourhoods,' explains Daniela Conti, Uisp project coordinator.

The reference area, where Uisp intervened in Matera for the Placemaking and sport project, is Piazza degli Olmi, on the outskirts of Matera. The square has undergone various redevelopment works, from green areas to the installation of a playground, to allow citizens to practice sport in the open air. All this will be shown live to the project partners on Friday afternoon. (by Francesca Spanò)