KEYNOTE
LEADERS IN TRAINING The Speaker: Serena Porcari
Maria Serena Porcari is the Managing Director of Dynamo Foundation, Chairperson of the Dynamo Camp Onlus Foundation, and, since May 2010, Chairperson of Dynamo Academy Social Enterprise. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Serious Fun Children’s Network Association. ABOUT DYNAMO CAMP Dynamo Camp is part of a global organisation that was founded in 1988 in the US by Paul Newman. A group of Italian entrepreneurs decided to invest in philanthropic projects and brought the concept of a camp for seriously ill children in Italy with the same spirit. These camps are free of charge, which means that you reach out to everyone in need without considering any issue around income or diversity. The camp has a medical component inside as children who attend are often still in treatment for their condition, but for once doctors and nurses are adapting to the children and not the opposite. As these kids always spend a lot of time in hospitals and family shelters, this is a big difference.
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| March 2022
Some campers are in wheelchairs, others take treatments four times a day. But everything inside the camp is based on fun. CREATING AN EXPERIENCE FOR CAMPERS: A MODEL THAT RESONNATES WITH BUSINESSES The experience created by workers goes through challenge, choice, collaboration, success, reflection and discovery. Not a very different model that an event company would go through with their clients! The amount of work required to do every single step is so high, both in preparation and in execution. ‘LEADERS IN TRAINING ‘: FROM CAMPERS TO VOLUNTEERS The rules at the camp are strict: you can come back 3 years in a row, and need to be under 17. After 17, a number of campers decide to come back and train for 3 years to become volunteers and to give back to the community, despite their issues.
