Don LOrenzo MIlani (1923-1967) and Education

This article pays tribute to one of Europe's prominent and innovative critical pedagogues and social activists in the year of the first centenary of his birth: don Lorenzo Milani (1923-1967). His innovative approach to education, which has wider resonance than just for schooling and incorporates adult and youth education and community education, is rooted in his criticism, and that of the students with whom he worked, of the Italian public education system. It is also rooted, as Pier Paolo Pasolini stated, in a critique of Italian society at large. This aricle underlines Milani's view of education as an act of love, and as a means to create the conditions for the least socially positioned to come into voice. As a result, education can reveal the treasure which lies within them. The text highlights Milani's belief in collective rather than individualistic egotistical endeavour. Students learn, deepen their awareness of issues and write collectively. Their mantra is caring for others whereby individual challenges are perceived as public ones. The article also highlights the true political purpose of Milani's lifelong commitment to education: to help the conventionally marginalised develop as 'sovereign citizens'.