Earthquake Fragments: teenagers' imaginations as a starting point for seismic risk education

Abstract

From 2021 to 2023, the “A Scuola di Terremoto” (At the School of Earthquake) project, promoted by the Civil Protection Department of Calabria Region in collaboration with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology), worked with schools throughout Calabria (southern Italy) to foster a culture of risk reduction, with particular emphasis on seismic risk. Through workshop activities and training programmes for students and teachers, the project explored teenagers’ mental representations of earthquakes. Over the course of two school years, 246 stories were collected - narrated by students through drawings and written accounts - from which isolated protagonists emerged, who rarely turn to the community or institutions for support. To develop the capacity to understand and confront risk, to recognise and manage the emotions it evokes, and to facilitate effective responses to emergency situations, the project advocates a constructivist educational approach aimed at strengthening territorial awareness, coping skills, and collective resilience. The proposed activities seek to transform emergencies from overwhelming experiences into manageable challenges, fostering more realistic and positive internal dialogues. “A Scuola di Terremoto” project represents an innovative model of civic education and prevention, which recognises the critical role of mental representations in building communities that are better prepared and more cohesive in the face of risk.