Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to our well-being. by Gentletude

Kindness, my ticket to life. The Kindness How effect it contributes to integration.

How it contributes to our well-being

Kindness, my ticket to life.

How it contributes to integration.

Text by Pina Anna-Grace De Rosa

Avatarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; photos by Maurizio Raffa

GentleBooklets

Text by Mahen Bonetti Photos by Paolo Mazzo

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

#10. Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

Text by Mahen Bonetti Photos by Paolo Mazzo

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

GentleBooklets

It is a series of long-form articles

written by different authors. The booklets, designed for a quick read, feature texts and images. We have kindly asked to the authors to comment on the term “kindness.” Authors and photographers have donated their work. The motivations behind the project are the same as those of Gentletude, the desire to spread awareness about the need for “kindness” in our society, a society too focused on personal success to remember the basics of everyday living and respect for the environment that hosts us. Our decision to present these ideas in a series of publications is due to the awareness that, in order to stimulate people to think about these issues, it is necessary to present some concrete examples. In this case, the examples are provided in the texts written by the authors.

© 2014 Editions Gentletude Riva Caccia 1d POBox 5710 CH-6901 Lugano gentle@gentletude.com www.gentletude.com Distribution by www.steppa.net. The duplication and use of GentleBooklets is possible after written permission and by citing the source. If necessary, please print on recycled paper or FSC certified.

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

Kindness became my barometer Kindness is m y ti c k et to l i fe! A l i fe w hi c h has challenged and r ew ar ded m e w i th a ticket, that s er v es as m y m or al c om pas s . I have alway s c om par ed/appl i ed k i ndnes s with the str a ti fi c ati on of the c l as s s y s tem . Although m os t m oder n s oc i eti es w oul d claim that a c l as s s y s tem i s non- ex i s tent and that eve r y thi ng i s open and fr ee, ev en tually it does bec om es appar ent, that the layer s and nuanc es of the fabr i c of m os t societies dic tate other w i s e. Thr oughout m y l i fe, I s tr i v e to al i gn m y s el f with those k now n for thei r buoy anc y, for always bounc i ng bac k . So, no m att er w hat c hal l enges ar e pos ed, ther eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this s or t of opti m i s m , w hi c h i s al s o a ver y Afr ic an qual i ty. As som eone w ho ar r i v ed i n the U .S. ov er 40 year s ag o, under the c ondi ti ons of an exile, m y fam i l y and I r ec ei v ed s o m uc h suppor t fr om peopl e i n our hos t c ountr y. Having gr own up i n Si er r a Leone dur i ng m y for m ativ e y ear s , m y tr adi ti onal educ a tion uncons c i ous l y ai ded m e i n nav i gati ng the adopted s oc i al nor m s of m y c ol oni z ed Br itish educ ati on. 6

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

H e n c e , A meri ca fel t l i ke an uninhibited s p a c e , p e r mi tti n g me to e xp ress m yself f r e e l y, t h u s cal i b rati ng my curi osity about lif e w i t h t h e co u rse o f my j o u rney. Yo u m u s t k no w tha t I a m no t a n academ ic o r f i l m m a k er. H a v i n g l i v e d i n th e U .S . for ma n y year s and k n o w i n g h ow A fri ca an d A fri ca n wer e per c e i v e d b y th e ma sse s, esp e ci ally thr ough t h e n i g h t l y ne w s, ma d e my urgency even g r e a t e r t o fi nd a w ay to d i spe l m any of the m i s c o n c e p ti o n s a b o u t th e co ntinent and her people. Ye s , i t i s t ru e th a t th e l ast 5 0 year s, the c o n t i n e n t ha s b e e n rava g e d by war far e, f a m i n e a n d too ma n y d e sp o ts, however, w h a t s h e ha s g i ven th e w orl d is cultur e. E s p e c i a l l y i n the A me ri ca s – i n ever y as p e c t o f c o nte mpo rary cul ture i n this count r y, y o u f i n d h e r foo tp ri n ts. S o a s a w a y to ga u g e my karma, Kindness b e c a m e m y ba romete r. I n e e d ed to m ake u s e o f t h e b a to n th a t h a d b e e n passed on t o m e b y m y pa ren ts, w h o w e re at the helm o f a c t i v i s m for th e pa n -A fri can m ovem ent in S i e r r a L eon e , a t th e d a w n of indepen dence.

Their gene r ati on had thi s m ov em ent to wr ap their b r ai ns ar ound and I w as s ti l l i n the wilder nes s , fi ghti ng to m ak e m y m ar k !

Africa and Cinema After havin g l i v ed i n the U .S. for al m os t 10 year s, I found m y s el f ful l y entr enc hed in the heady day s of l i fe i n the 80’ s N ew Yor k scene. In the 1980’ s Spi k e Lee began m aking films about bl ac k peopl e, and Afr i can m usicians l i k e F el a Kuti and Yous s ou N’Dour were c r eati ng a new genr e i n the r ecor d stor e s c al l ed “ Wor l d M us i c .” “ Afr ican Am er icans ” s tar ted bec om i ng the des ignation of c hoi c e for m any bl ac k peopl e. For m e, the c ul tur al c ontex t s eem ed r i pe for develop i ng Afr i c an c ul tur al ev ents . At that tim e, I had j us t fi ni s hed a degr ee fr om Br adfor d C ol l ege and w as w or k i ng at adver tising gi ant Young and R ubi c am and later at the publ i c ati on N ew s w eek . At fir st, I star ted pr om oti ng Afr i c an- them ed par ties, whi c h br ought i n a di v er s e c r ow d hungr y for t he s ounds of the c onti nent. However, the j oy ous and r i c h c ul tur e of Afr ica was r ar el y c onv ey ed i n m ai ns tr eam m edia, whi c h tended to foc us s tr i c tl y on

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

p ov e r t y a n d fa mi n e . I rea l l y fe l t that other p eo p l e w e r e a l w a ys sp e a ki ng for Afr ica, b ut d i d n ’ t k no w ho w to co mba t this. T h e n I h a p pe n e d to a tte n d th e Locar no F il m F e s t i v a l i n S w i tze rl a n d i n 1989. T h e r e I s a w seve ral A fri can fi l ms, includ in g O u s m a ne S e mbe n e ’ s C e d do, which w a s p a r t o n a n th o l og y ce l eb rating thir ty ye a r s o f A f r i can ci ne ma. T h e i d e a o f starti n g an A fri ca n fi lm festival in N e w Yo r k su d d e n l y came to m e. T h i s a t m o s p h e re an d en e rgy mo tivated m e t o l a u n c h a fi l m festi val , w i th no tr aining o r s t u d i e s r el ate d to maki ng a pr ogr am like t h i s . I t w as th e ki nd n e ss o f the space I inh a b i t t h a t g a ve me the fre e d om to com mu n i c a t e w i th pe o p l e, an d re ce i v e encour a ge m e n t f r o m the m. I n m y m i n d , “the re w as th i s u rgent need t o f i n d a w ay to sh o w my d a ughter, m y f rie n d s , a n d th e p e o p l e o f N ew Yor k, the A f r i c a i n w h i ch I g rew up -- to g ive them a mo r e m u l t i f ace te d de p i cti o n of this conti n en t t h a t s h a p e d me i n to the per son I am t o da y. ”

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

to make dreams come true The path

It was to be s ev er al y ear s though, befor e this dr eam pr oj ec t bec am e a r eal i ty. Even after hav i ng the F i l m Soc i ety of Lincoln Ce nter and Br ook l y n M us eum on boar d, getti ng the fundi ng took l onger than I had expec ted. Nonetheles s , I di d not feel dem or al i z ed, but r ather, m y pas s i on j us t bec om e m or e viscer al an d I w as r el entl es s i n fi ndi ng m or e like- mi nded peopl e to tak e thi s j our ney with me. Finally, in 1992, F or d and R oc k efel l er Foundation s c am e thr ough w i th s tar t- up funds, and the nex t y ear the fi r s t Afr i c an Film Festiv al ( AF F ) took pl ac e. The fir st year w e had hoped for a m odes t tur nout, bu t to m y s ur pr i s e, Afr i c an c i n em a was em br ac ed by audi enc es s how af ter show. In the ensui ng y ear s , I w as enc our aged and challen ged by the Afr i c an fi l m m ak er s to per severe. W hen I founded the N ew Yor k Afr i c an F i l m Festival in 1990, i t w as di ffi c ul t to i m agi ne its tr ansform ati on i nto one of the l eadi ng film festival s s how c as i ng fi l m fr om ar ound 13

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

t he Af r i c a n D i a sp o ra i n th e U nited States. T h e c l i m a t e a t the ti me, w i th the fir st signs of S o u t h Afri ca mo vi ng tow ards dem ocr a c y a n d t h e ra g i ng ci vi l w a r i n Liber ia was t he n , a s i t i s n o w, a ca u se fo r both hope an d c o n c e r n. I n t h e l a s t tw en ty ye a rs, the N ew Yor k Af r i c a n F i l m F e sti val h a s re sp o nded to an in c r e a s i n g d e man d fro m A me r ican audi en c e s f o r fi l ms th a t ad d ress the r eality of A f r i c a n e x pe ri e n ce a n d sh o w the r ange of ex p e r i m e n ta ti on w i th an d synthesis of Af r i c a n a n d Weste rn a e sth e ti cs. Humor and Kindness: The African Film H u m o r a n d ki nd n e ss ha ve formed the ba s i c i n g r e d i en ts o f man y A fri can film s. F r o m t h e ea rl y w orks of S e n e g alese Sem be n e O s u m an e , â&#x20AC;&#x153;the fa th e r of Afr ican Cin em a â&#x20AC;? , t o t he mo st re ce n t mo vies com ing f r o m t h e c o n ti ne n t a n d th e D i aspor a, we ar e c o n s t an tl y prese n te d w i th laughter, t ou c h , a n d sha ri n g a s w ays to navigate t he c o m p l e xi ty of e ve ryda y l i fe . W h e n w e t al k a b o u t ki n d n e ss, we ar e talk in g a b o u t so meth i ng more th an abstr act ge n e r o s i t y : w e are al so tal ki n g about the

ways bodies i nter ac t i n s pac e and ti m e. Ther e is so m ethi ng uni que i n the w ay Af r ican film s foc us on touc hi ng, on i nti m ac y, and on the s har i ng of c om m unal s pac e. And of cour s e, at the l ev el of c hor eogr a phy, we hav e danc e. For people ac c us tom ed to the s ter eoty pes of m ainstr e am T V and H ol l y w ood, w her e the delicate tex tur e of hum an em oti on has been boiled dow n to the s am e s toc k ges tur es and p hr as es , the s am e c ar dboar d char acter s endl es s l y r ec y c l ed by the hot star of the mom ent, ther e i s s om ethi ng ar r esting in the s i m pl e r eal i s m w i th w hi c h Afr ican cine m a tr eats the ex pr es s i on of love, hum or, s ur pr i s e and j oy. This one- of - a- k i nd v i tal i m pul s e c an be seen equal l y ac r os s the c onti nent, fr om the cut- r ate v i deos of N ol l y w ood to the highly wr ought ar ti s tr y of s uc h fi l m fes ti v al fixtur es as Abder r ahm ane Si s s ak o, Os valde Lewat- H al l ade and M aham at- Sal eh Har oun. I would even ar gue that k i ndnes s i s the m ost im por tant el em ent of fi l m i c pr ax i s i n Afr ica, give n the enor m ous ec onom i c , ed ucational, and per s onal r es tr i c ti ons fac ed

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

b y Af r i c a n fi l mmake rs i n co mpar ison with t h e i r c o u n t e rpa rts i n o th e r cou ntr ies.

a c o u r t y a r d n e g o ti ati on ta l k, I feel r eas s u r e d t h a t w e a re maki ng o u r little bit of c o n t r i b u t i o n to al l e vi ati ng the pover ty of spirit!

Of cour se, as a w om an, I am es pec i al l y sensitive to the r ol e of c i nem a i n the l i v es of Afr ican w om en. Fem ale soli dar i ty and c ooper ati on hav e been the bedr oc k for m any Afr i c an s oc i eties and thei r for m al and i nfor m al ec on om ies, and dur i ng the w or s t m om ents of fam ine, war, ec onom i c c r i s i s and s oc i al upheaval, thes e nets of m utual ai d hav e kept Afr ican c ountr i es al i v e. I feel m yse l f to be a par t of thi s s har ed destiny, and i t i s ther efor e both a duty and a pleasur e to hel p s pr ead the v oi c es of the m en and w om en fr om m y c onti nent and the Diaspor a w hos e w or k s ar e featur ed i n the Afr ican F i l m F es ti v al . M y belief is that m os t s pac es w e i nhabi t alr eady pr ov i de the oppor tuni ty for the i n tegr ation of c ul tur es . And at the foundati on of that i ntegr ati on is Afr ica. The integr a ti on pr oc es s i m pl i es a k i nd attitude: the w ay i n w hi c h hum ans adapt them selves to a for ei gn env i r onm ent and the way in whi c h other s ar e r eady to w el com e them c r eate an ex tr aor di nar y m i x of solidar ity, under s tandi ng, c ons c i ous nes s

F o r t h e s e men an d w o men , making a film is a n o d y s se y, an d th e j ou rne y fr om inspi ra t i o n t o r e al i zati on i s ofte n a l ong pr ocess o f c o l l a b o r a ti on an d commi tment fr aught w i t h s a c r i f i c e , w i th th e e n d o f establishing d i a l o g u e w i th th e p u b l i c. F o r t h e s e d i re cto rs, e ve ry step in the film m a k i n g p r oce ss i s a sacri fi ce m ade will ing l y i n o r de r to esta b l i sh un der standing b e t w e e n t h e co n ti ne n t a n d th ose outside it, t h e D i a sp o ra an d tho se on the m ain lan d , w o m e n an d me n , compatr iots and neighbors. I a m m y b i g g e st cri ti c an d fi n d myself cont i n u o u s l y w on d e ri n g i f I h a ve done the ri g h t t h i n g or ho w can I i mp rove on what w e â&#x20AC;&#x2122; v e a l r e ad y sta rted . W h e n I s e e pe o p l e of al l hu e s and gender s e x i t i n g t h e th e a te r con ti nu i ng the debate o f w h a t t h eyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ve j ust se e n o n the scr een, o r t u r n i n g a p rog ram p a n e l d i sc ussion into

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

a n d c o m p a ri so n , o n l y po ssi bl e thr ough a c u l t u r e o f ge n tl en e ss. T h i s I r e a li zed sh o rtl y a fte r setting foot o n t h e s h o r es of A me ri ca , w h o se citizens a r e c o m p o sed of pe o p l e fro m all over the world. O u t s i d e o f A fri ca, th e l arge st num ber of p e o p l e o f Afri can d e sce n t a re found in the A m e r i c a s —fro m U ru g u a y up to Canada, b e c a u s e w he n th e sh i ps ca me they went a l l t h e w a y arou n d . If yo u l ook at what c o n s t i t u t e s A meri ca ’ s cu l tural r efer ences — j a z z , b l u egrass, b a n j o, q u i l ting, all the w a y u p t o h i p h o p i n co n te mpor ar y cul t u r e — a l l o f th e se th i ng s h a ve their r oots in A f r i c a n c u l ture. N o w, i f w e al l a g ree th a t th e m oving im a g e s i s o n e o f th e most p o w er ful, access i b l e w a y s to re a ch ma n y pe ople at one t i m e , t h e n fi l m gi ves p e o p l e the oppor tu n i t y t o t r a v el to d i ffe ren t p l ace s in Afr ica, a n d t o c o n ne ct to th e cu l tural r efer ences t h a t s u r r o u n d th e m eve ry da y. T h i s w a s m y mo ti vati on . S i multaneously, t h i s l e t s p eo p l e start re th i nki ng their im a g e o f Af r i ca . Yo u s t a r t f in d i ng yo u r fo o ti ng within that

space, how y ou r el ate to the c onti nent and its diaspor a. Afr i c a i s a v er y l ar ge c onti nent. A lot o f peopl e tend to thi nk of i t as a m onolithic w hol e, and thi ngs l i k e the Af r ica Is A Co untr y Bl og hav e pi c k ed up on that, but ther e ar e i n fac t ov er fi fty c oun tr ies ther e. And within thos e c ountr i es , ther e ar e nu m er ous tr ibe s and ethni c i ti es and c ul tur es . So r eally, ju s t hav i ng an Afr i c an F i l m F es tival is an ac t of c ul tur al i ntegr ati on, an act of kindn es s . W hen you add to that the fac t that i t i s taking place in N ew Yor k , and by ex tens i on i n the United S tates , ther e i s a natur al i ntegr ation that tak es pl ac e j us t i n hav i ng au dience m ember s w ho ar en’ t Afr i c an c om e to see thes e fi l m s and m eet the fi l m m ak er s and ask them ques ti ons after w ar d. The discus s i ons after the F es ti v al , the sm all talk betw een fi l m m ak er and audi ence m em b er s after the fi l m w hen w e ar e all filing out of the c i nem a, ar e pr i c el es s .

Kindness, films and integration I believe th at Ki ndnes s c an fac i l i tate the pr ocess of i ntegr ati on betw een a hos t c ul -

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

t u r e a n d t h a t o f a n i mmi g ran t. I n m y o p i n ion , i t i s n o t a l w a ys the fir st ins t i n c t a h o st cul ture mi gh t fee l towar d an im m i g r a n t , b u t i t i s a rad i cal i dea, one that s e e k s t o b al a n ce w h a t a ho st c ultur e has t o o ff e r a n d w h a t an i mmi gran t is br inging. We a r e a l l fami l i a r w i th the schem a in w h i c h t h e i m mi gran t i s ta ki ng , taking, tak ing , b u t w ha t i f w e w e re to think of the h o s t c u l t u r e a n d th e i mmi g ran t as taking p a r t i n a t y pe o f e xch a n g e ? T h i s i s m o re a n d mo re th e reality these d a y s w i t h the gl ob a l i ze d , di gi tized wor ld w e l i v e i n . W i th tha t i de a o f an exchange, k i n d n e s s b ecomes bo th a mo ti v ator and a c o n d u i t f o r i nte g rati on . S o f i l m i s a setti ng for ki nd n e ss, both the k i n d n e s s o f th e F esti val an d p rogr am m er s in h o s t i n g , bu t a l so th e ki nd ness of the f i l m m a k e r s i n g i vi n g u s th e i r stor ies. K i n d n e s s i s on e of the vi rtue s, so its se c r e t t o o v e rcomi n g rel ati on sh i p pr oblem s is n ’ t a n e w i d e a o f co u rse. I t ’ s v e r y a n ci en t i n fa ct. W h e n w e are ki n d to o n e another, it s m o o t h s t h e roa d , i t pu ts ou r i nter ests on t h e s a m e l eve l as th e i nte rest of other s.

So the host c ul tur e’ s adopti on of k i ndnes s towar ds im mi gr ants m ak es i t pos s i bl e for ther e, again, to be an ex c hange of s or ts . Benevolenc e and gener os i ty ar e on the other side of thi s c oi n, and i t’ s that s pi r i t of gener osity that fuel ed m y des i r e to found the Afr ican F i l m F es ti v al . F i l m i s a v er y com petitive w or l d, and I hoped i n s om e sm all way to s how thes e fi l m m ak er s s om e kindness in the for ei gn l and of Am er i c a. Over the pa s t tw enty y ear s , I’ v e been v er y m oved to s ee s o m any m en and w om en com e to the F es ti v al and l ov e i t, to tr ea sur e these fi l m s and fi l m m ak er s , w ho gi v e so m uch of them s el v es to the r eal i z ati on of these film s . Ar t can sup por t Ki ndnes s , i n ter m s of the car e of and attenti on to other s ; i n the pr ocess of c om i ng i nto c ontac t w i th other s via visual s tor y tel l i ng, hopeful l y one’ s eyes and h ear t ar e opened to the s i tua tions and pl i ghts , the hopes and des i r es , of the nar r a ti v e ( or doc um entar y ) s ubj ec ts por tr ayed in a fi l m or w or k of ar t. By tr ansform i ng an audi enc e’ s per s pec tive of a gi v en pl ac e or peopl e, w e ar e hopefully b egi nni ng a pr oc es s w her eby

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

they m ight one day be i n a pos i ti on to ex tend kindne s s to thos e peopl e i f they c om e acr oss them i n thei r w ak i ng l i fe, hav i ng seen them in a c el l ul oi d dr eam . It is per haps i deal i s ti c , but thi s w oul d be a gr eat legac y for the F es ti v al to hav e i n the life of New Yor k and eac h of the c i ti es acr oss the States w her e w e s how fi l m s . Kindness around the world In m y opinion, k i ndnes s c an hav e uni v er sal aspects c om m on to al l c ul tur es . So m any cul tur al tr adi ti ons hav e a v er s i on of the Golde n R ul e: do unto other s as y ou would have them do to y ou. This is esse nti al l y a v er s i on of k i ndnes s . So I think ther e has al w ay s been thi s i m pulse on a c ul tur al l ev el to ex tend benev olence and k i ndnes s to other s , the i dea that this is our hi ghes t w ay of bei ng to war d one an other. And as our w or l d bec om es m or e and m or e integr ated, i t i s es s enti al , to m y w ay of thinking, that w e c onti nue to c ul ti v ate thi s kindness. It is easy now to do s o m uc h on our ow n, without hum an c ontac t, v i a c om puter s , but 26

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

a r t a n d f i l m can cul ti va te ki n d n ess thr ough s t o r y t e l l i n g , as I h a ve a l re a d y descr ibed. E v e n i f c u l tu ral d i fferen ce s can involve a d i ff e r e n t w ay o f d o i ng th i ng s, if you look b e y o n d t h e a cti on s, o r be h i nd them , you c a n o f t e n s ee th a t th e va l ue s a re the sam e. I t h i n k m o s t i f no t a l l cu l tures value hospi t a l i t y, w h i c h i s i n esse n ce an act of kind n e s s , p a r t i cul arl y w he n d o n e for im m i g r a n t s , b u t ho sp i tal i ty l o o ks ver y differ ent f r o m o n e c ul ture to a n o th e r! P e r h a p s t h e smal l e st u n i t of cultur e is the f a m i l y, a n d fami l i e s, th o u g h o ften getting it w r o n g , a r e me a n t to be vessels of sup p o r t , a n d by e xte n si on , ki nd n ess, so all c u l t u r e s w ou l d, to my mi n d , seem to str ive t o w a r d k i n dn e ss i n th e i r b e tte r m om ents, e v e n i f t h a t l o o ks di ffe ren t i n S enegal than in E t h i o p i a , i n B ri ta i n th a n i n B r azil.

It’s that ap pr ec i ati on of di ffer enc e that seem s to ac tual l y be nec es s ar y for k i nd ness to exte nd ac r os s c ul tur es . Even if we’re abl e to s ay, l ook , k i ndnes s i s a univer sal v al ue, w e ar e nev er al l goi ng to agr ee on w hat that l ook s l i k e. So, we kee p doi ng the F es ti v al , i nv i ti ng audiences a nd fi l m m ak er s to s ee a new stor y and tal k about i t, and hopeful l y w e’ r e m oving for w ar d. Twenty yea r s ago s eem s l i k e y es ter day, but it’s a si gni fi c ant am ount of ti m e, and hopefully w e’ v e been her e l ong enough that we can s ay w e ar e m ak i ng a di ffer ence.

Conclusion I h o p e t h a t ou r F esti val ce l eb r ates diver s i t y, b o t h wi thi n A fri ca a n d b e tween Afr ica a n d t h e U n i ted S ta te s. S o i f a u n i v e rsal d i me n si on does exist to k i n d n e s s , a s e n a cte d i n th e Festival, it w o u l d b e a un i verse o f d i fferen ces. 28

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

AUTHOR

PHOTOGRAPHER

Mahen Bonetti Mahen Bonetti was born in 1956 in Sierra Leone to a family that has experienced the ups and downs of post-colonial politics. Several of her relatives were forced into exile in the United States and England in 1970. Mahen could only return in 1980 for the funeral of her maternal uncle, former Prime Minister Sir Albert Margai, who died in the United States. Mahen received her bachelor of arts in administrative studies at Bradford College and pursued graduate studies in media communication at New York University. She worked at Young and Rubicam and at Newsweek’s editorial and advertising division, before becoming founder and executive director of the African Film Festival Inc. in 1990. Her experiences led her to the conclusion that media could be used to encourage positive change in the world - not just to entertain, but also to educate.

Paolo Mazzo Born in Padova, lives and works in Milan. Professional photographer since 1988, he’s partner of F38F, that produces advertising,publishing and architecture photographs. Focused on social themes, beside studio work he conceived and produced several personal projects, about the cultural regeneration of a forgotten mining city (Arsia, Croatia, work in progress); the fugitive Sahrawi people (“Voci distanti dal Mare”, Napoli 1998; “Il Coraggio di essere un popolo”, Reggio Emilia 2002); the urbanistic analysis of the city where he lives (in F. Oliva, L’urbanistica di Milano, Hoepli editore, Milano 2002; A. Arcidiacono, L. Pogliani (a cura di), Milano al futuro, et al./edizioni, Milano 2011). Since 2002 he collaborates with the the Academy of the Architecture in Mendrisio. Since 2007 he is one of the coordinator of the ISSI, the international Summer school Ivrea. He gave lectures and workshops at the IUAV in Venice, at the Polytechnic of Milan and Turin and at the humanitarian school of photography in Milan. He won “Marco Bastianelli- Opera Prima“ Prize in 2010 and he took part to different solo and group exhibitions.

www.africanfilmny.org

www.be.net/paolomazzoF38F/frame 32

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

GENTLETUDE Gentletude is a neologism composed of the words “gentilezza” (gentleness/kindness) and “attitudine” (attitude). It pursues the aims for a better world without violence, arrogance and rudeness. A world where caring and paying attention to others, common sense and balanced competitivity are the most important things. The production provided by the association was completely free, based on the Commons Creative Criteria. Gentletude in Italy is a non-profit organization (NPO), and in Switzerland is a non-profit association. Contact Gentletude on the website: www.gentletude.com

Kindness, my ticket to life. How it contributes to integration.

The integration process implies a kind attitude: the way in which humans adapt themselves to a foreign environment and the way in which others are ready to welcome them create an extraordinary mix of solidarity, understanding, consciousness and comparison, only possible through a culture of gentleness. 36