Mario Catalano, Maria Paola Fortuna, and Giuseppe Fiamingo are the three teachers who have won the 2024 edition of the “Atlante – Italian Teacher Award,” established by United Network, the largest European organization dealing with advanced education, in partnership with La Repubblica and Repubblica Scuola. The award is given to innovative, inclusive, and original projects developed by teachers and carried out with students. The award recognizes the value and social role of teachers’ work, as well as their creative initiatives. Additionally, the award aims to spread good practices developed within Italian schools. Award-winning projects cover various themes, from the creative use of advanced technologies like robotics to inclusion for those facing autism, to in-depth scientific research bridging the gap from school desks to the universe.
In the primary school category, Mario Catalano, a technology teacher at the primary school “Giovanni Pascoli” in Erice, province of Trapani, won with the project “La bottega dei mondi digitali,” involving hundreds of students aged eight to ten in a path of computational thinking and creativity through media design and educational robotics activities. In the lower secondary school category, Maria Paola Fortuna, a special education teacher at the “Ruggero Bonghi” Institute in Rome, won with the project “Not only didactiCAA. CAA to raise awareness of inclusion,” focusing on autism: the teacher organized a series of activities to raise awareness among the school community on an important issue like autism and allowed students to internalize and embrace the concept of care for others. In the upper secondary school category, Giuseppe Fiamingo, a teacher at “Fratelli Vianeo” Scientific Lyceum in Tropea, province of Vibo Valentia, was awarded for the project “MoCRiL (Measurement of Cosmic Rays in Like) an underwater laboratory for exploration,” involving students in investigating the origin of ionizing radiation, focusing on experimentally verifying the extraterrestrial nature of cosmic particles.
Special mentions were also awarded to Laura Bifulco, a microbiology teacher at the “Grazia Deledda” Technical Institute in Cagliari, for the project on plastic-eating insects “Researchers grow up”; Mauro Longo, a teacher at the primary school “Don Lorenzo Milani” in Galatone, Lecce, with the project “Musica Maestro,” for the ability to instill a love for music; and Sara Mignini, a teacher of Italian, History, and Geography at the “Allegretti” Comprehensive Institute in Monteprandone, for the project “This time for Africa/this time for Humanity” for generating empathy and interest in other cultures. All projects presented are freely available on the public platform on Repubblica@Scuola and on the Atlante website.
The projects were judged by a jury chaired by Alessandro Fusacchia, an innovator, essayist, former MP and coordinator of the Inter-Parliamentary Orientation Group (2018-2022) and Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Education (2014-2016). The jury aimed to celebrate the value of all teachers and offer an important insight into the extraordinary work that tens of thousands of people do every day to make school a place of growth, awareness, and redemption. The jury’s guiding principle was Article 3 of the Constitution. Other jurors included Piero Attanasio, Silvia Bencivelli, Lorenzo Benussi, Francesca Biglia, Andrea Colamedici, Miriam Cresta, Davide D’Atri, Lia Di Trapani, Patrizia Lombardi, Marco Martinelli, Federico Pace, Riccardo Messina, Christian Raimo, Federica Vinci, and Marcella Mallen.
Overall, the “Atlante – Italian Teacher Award” recognized innovative, inclusive, and original projects developed by teachers in different school levels, covering a wide range of themes and fostering creativity and learning among students. The award highlights the important role teachers play in education and society, while aiming to spread good practices within Italian schools. The winners and special mentions exemplify dedication to teaching and innovative approaches to fostering growth and awareness in students. Through the recognition of exemplary projects, the award serves as a platform to showcase and share inspiring educational initiatives that have a positive impact on students, schools, and communities.
