“Creativity turns diversity into community.”
“Creativity is the essential ingredient that allows a class or a school of different individuals to become a class or a school where those differences grow into a community.”
With these words, Anna Granata, Professor of Intercultural Pedagogy at the University of Milano-Bicocca, reminds us that inclusion is a daily process that takes shape first and foremost in our schools. It is there that the broader constitutional project of a fair, supportive, and pluralistic society is built.
In this interview for Inclusion Talks, Professor Granata takes us inside the classroom — among students, teachers, and school leaders — and shares what it truly means to live inclusion: a collective and creative act capable of transforming differences into meaningful connections.
Where does community begin? At school.
“School is open to everyone.”
This is what Article 34 of our Constitution states — the only one in Europe that dedicates an entire passage to education. Today, we should say “open to all” in a more inclusive way, notes Anna Granata, but the message remains powerful: school is the place where diversity becomes a daily experience.
However, school does not always succeed in this mission. This is why the role of teachers is fundamental: only through a shared vision and a collective approach can true relationships of equality be built.
A small town, a big lesson
Among the many stories she shares with us, one comes from Bagnolo Piemonte, a small mountain town where one out of three children is a native Chinese speaker. In this context, the presence of foreign students is not seen as a problem, but as a valuable resource. The school has launched a permanent language workshop, not only in Italian, but also in Chinese and other mother tongues.
A concrete example of inclusion as an active value, one that keeps a school open and offers children a place where their identity is not erased, but valued.
“Five Minutes to Change School”
It is with this vision that “Five Minutes to Transform the School” was created, a project coordinated by Professor Granata to give a voice to teachers, students, school leaders, and parents who are experimenting with new forms of organizational creativity in schools. Rethinking spaces, time, and assessment methods. Moving beyond the mindset of “we’ve always done it this way” to create a school where everyone can feel well, learn well, and teach well.
“Anna chose to be present, to step in, to turn every educational gesture into an act of innovation. Because innovation is a concrete concept: it starts with us, with those who choose to participate consciously. This is the spirit of Innovamey: Innovation Starts from Me.”
Because at Innovamey, we believe that change is not just an idea. It is an action that begins with those who choose to step forward and create real impact.
An idea that Anna cultivates every day at the university as well, together with her students (more than 90% of them are women), who become valuable allies in collecting stories from the field. One of these is the story of Dante, a foreign child who was difficult to manage, and who completely changed his behavior when a future teacher told him: “You are my favorite student.” A simple gesture that overturns dynamics, builds trust, and creates connection.
School and gender equality: a collective urgency
But diversity does not end with geographic or linguistic background. One of the areas Anna strongly focuses on is gender equality. She works on this even in difficult contexts where, after a disturbing incident (a message written in the bathroom: “Turetta one of us”), she is called in to speak with the students.
On that occasion, she discovered that half of the auditorium was empty. Many students had stayed in their classrooms to “keep up with the curriculum.” But what curriculum are we talking about, Anna asks, if we ignore the educational responsibility to address gender-based violence?
“Any teacher who chooses to stay in the classroom today, given the data on femicides, fails to recognize the important responsibility we have as adults.”
In her view, the university has a huge responsibility: to design and experiment with what does not yet exist, to speak beyond the boundaries of academia, and to offer spaces for dialogue where a different society can be imagined.
A cup of coffee with Astrid Lindgren
If she could, Anna would have a coffee with Astrid Lindgren, the author of Pippi Longstocking, to understand how the idea of a girl so free, so rebellious, and so capable of breaking conventions was born. And to ask her: what new characters could we create today to make freedom and empowerment something real for all girls, and for boys as well?
Giving voice to inclusion is a political act
Anna concludes:
“Today, giving a voice to those who practice inclusion is a political act. Thank you for creating this space.”
We at Innovamey firmly believe that sharing experiences like hers is essential to generating change. Because, as Anna teaches us, inclusion is not an add-on. It is the true expression of democracy.
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