Fondazione Santagata contributes to the official training program on the Pre-Texts protocol for contexts of war, humanitarian emergency, and social fragility. The program is promoted by an international network of organizations, research centers, and operational realities active in crisis contexts. The training is dedicated to applying the Pre-Texts method as an educational and psychosocial tool to support resilience, trauma processing, and the reconstruction of community ties.

Context

The training takes place in the framework of growing humanitarian and social emergencies linked to armed conflicts, forced migrations, and social fragility, responding to the need for educational and psychosocial tools capable of operating in complex scenarios.

The program originates from the work of the BACH Center – Biobehavioral Arts and Culture for Health, Sustainability and Social Cohesion at the University of “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti-Pescara, under the scientific direction of Prof. Pierluigi Sacco, who introduced the Pre-Texts protocol in Italy. The protocol was originally developed by Doris Sommer (Harvard University) within the Cultural Agents program.

The protocol uses written texts and artistic practices as pedagogical and psychosocial devices to foster deep understanding, emotional resilience, participation, and community cohesion. Today, it is applied in various contexts of fragility, emergency, and marginalization.

Objectives

The training aims to:

  • prepare professionals able to apply the Pre-Texts protocol in contexts of war, emergency, and social vulnerability;

  • provide operational skills for educational and psychosocial interventions based on arts and culture;

  • support processes of individual and collective trauma processing;

  • promote cultural practices as tools for dignity, health, and participation;

  • strengthen an international network of facilitators and professionals active in fragile contexts.

Expected Results

  • Formation of a first group of operators specialized in the use of the Pre-Texts protocol in critical contexts.

  • Strengthening cultural and educational intervention capacities in conflict and emergency situations.

  • Development of integrated practices combining education, culture, and psychosocial support.

  • Consolidation of networks for international cooperation and exchange of skills and methodologies.

Partners

The program is implemented thanks to an international collaboration involving:

  • BACH Center – University “G. d’Annunzio” Chieti-Pescara

  • CCW – Cultural Welfare Center

  • Pre-Texts Social Lab

  • Pre-Texts Cultural Agents – Harvard University

  • Centro Internazionale di Brera

  • Flashback Habitat Torino

  • SSAW – Support Survivors of African War

  • Fondazione Santagata per l’Economia della Cultura