The "Inkwell Project" is an initiative of the Documentation Center on Disability in Bologna. Founded by Claudio Imprudente in 1986.
Claudio Imprudente explains: "Its purpose is to create a 'culture' based on the acceptance of difference—what we might call a 'New Culture of Disability'—which stands against an 'old' culture rooted in the rejection and denial of such difference.
The "Inkwell Project" rests on the conviction that information and direct knowledge help bridge distances, break down the barriers of prejudice, and foster exchange between young people and disabled persons—and through them, enrich society as a whole.
For more detailed information, we recommend our readers the book "THE INKWELL PROJECT: The Culture of Difference in Schools," edited by Sonia Pergolesi and Claudio Imprudente and published by UTET Libreria. It is an inspiring book, rich in values, testimonies, and concrete initiatives.
To give a sense of the school visits conducted under the Inkwell Project, here is an essay by a student, Daniele Galli, in the second year of middle school at the Comprehensive Institute of Monticelli d'Ongina, written after a visit from a disabled person, Francesca.
"Her name is Francesca, but her appearance didn't trouble me at all. After being introduced, she began to talk about her life. One phrase struck me in particular: she said she was willing to repeat a thousand times anything I didn't understand, just to be friends with us.
If an ordinary person had said that, it would have meant nothing. But coming from Francesca, who struggles enormously to speak, it made me think deeply. When we asked her questions, she told us about her sad childhood in a boarding school, where she was isolated not only because of her disability but also because she was poor. Those memories are mostly painful, but Francesca doesn't want to push them away, because they helped her grow.
She also told us about her desire to write poetry, born from a wish to capture the most meaningful moments of her life—both happy and sad. We tried to understand what her poems meant. Her favorite is "I Accept": it speaks of all the difficulties she faces in her situation and how she overcomes them through deep faith in God."
Another poem dear to Francesca is "I Can, I Cannot."
I Can, I Cannot!
San Pedretto, November 13, 1986
You can work,
While I cannot.
You can run free,
While I cannot.
You can do a thousand things,
I can do them too,
even if in a different way.
You can love,
I can love too.
You can give,
I can give too.
You can receive,
I can receive too.
Perhaps I can go
further than you,
With my imagination...
There
There is no limit
that can stop me...
- Francesca, 2001