This is what emerges from research commissioned by Ace
Discrimination is still a too frequent phenomenon in Italy, so much so that 1 in 2 Italians has been a victim of it. 77% witnessed at least one discriminatory act and 50% did not react. Over 70% of those interviewed declared that the greater number of discriminations occur at schoolnext we find i social media (over 50%). The percentage of discrimination within a group of friends grows in 13-16 year olds, reaching 25% of cases. In the age group between 16 and 19, discrimination passes from verbal to physical form. This is what emerges from one research commissioned by Ace, Fater brand for household and fabric detergents.
Given the results of the investigation, the brand has decided to take the field with two concrete actions: ‘Anti-hate Formula’, a national-scale project with the aim of raising public awareness of the many forms of hatred that affect people also through offensive writings; ‘Let’s take to the streets’an initiative which involved the schools of 4 Italian cities with the aim of redeveloping the places chosen by the students to return them to the city cleaned, regenerated and prepared for social aggregation.
The investigation highlights that in the face of an episode of discrimination, over half of the interviewees were unable to react, around 30% of them declare that they did not do it due to a sense of helplessness. Anger (60%), disgust (50%) and sadness (33%) were the emotions felt by the majority of those interviewed. 14% said they felt indifference. “We started from our Purpose, from the purpose we have given ourselves as an Ace brand which is to make a positive contribution in the communities in which we operate, starting from what we do best which is cleaning. We call it ‘the clean that unites’. Because as our research shows, there is a lot to do to take care of our common home, our country, by cleaning up the many discriminations that still afflict us. I want to thank our partners, Retake, Diversity Lab and Dlv Bbdo who guided us in building an initiative that I hope will call each of us to do something concrete to remove the most stubborn dirt that is that hatred and fear for those who are different that we want to disappear from the walls and squares of our cities”, he commented Antonio Fazzari, General Manager of Fater.
It was born like this ‘Ace Formula Anti-Hate’, the social communication campaign that recounts real episodes of discrimination experienced by 4 boys on the subject of homophobia, body shaming and fatphobia, racism and anti-Semitism, created with the consultancy of Diversity Lab, an organization committed to promoting the culture of inclusion and the value of diversity, in the media, in companies and in civil society. “The national trend regarding discrimination in Italy is sadly known, as emerges from recent news and as also confirmed by this research. To reverse this trend there is a need for a profound and systemic cultural change, which starts from schools, families, institutions, but also from organizations. This is why we are proud to have given our contribution to this awareness campaign, putting the experience and commitment that we have been putting into promoting a society that is more respectful and valuing of people for ten years at the service of this project – he declares Gabriella Crafa, vice president of Diversity Lab and Diversity Foundation – We worked closely with the entire Ace-Fater Group team on the language and representation of stories and people in all the contents of the campaign, involving activists from underrepresented categories, in an intense work of comparison and dialogue on De&I themes , with the common objective of bringing the public a correct, value-based and authentic story.”
To make this commitment alongside citizens concrete, Ace started the ‘Let’s take to the streets’ project in 2022. An itinerant urban redevelopment project promoted together with the voluntary association Retake and carried out in collaboration with theeducational agency La Fabbrica. The 2023 edition involved the involvement of students from Italian primary and lower secondary schools in Rome, Milan, Pescara and Palermo in a project to develop their active citizenship skills in caring for their territory. The students were involved in choosing a public meeting place and in devising a concrete and feasible proposal to improve it. The 4 best ideas, one for each city, will be implemented during public events of active participation, during which insults promoting forms of hatred will be removed and workshops on inclusive language held by Diversity Lab will be organised, giving all citizens back the new space for socializing and sharing. The tour will start on September 23rd from Rome, passing through Milan on October 7th, Pescara on October 20th and will end on November 11th 2023 with the Palermo stop. To support the project, Ace has developed a special graffiti and insult remover product, not for sale, which will be used by Retake experts during events to remove graffiti that glorify hatred.
“With ‘Let’s go down to the square’ we wanted to give space to younger people – he states Francesca Elisa Leonelli, president of Retake – Build and transform with them, everyday spaces into more usable, playful, safer and more constructive places. The children will be the protagonists of the change, who will be able to give shape to their ideas and experience what they can achieve with simple gestures and in company. Seeing the city from their point of view always has a lot to teach everyone, inside and outside of school, and with the project we can’t wait to see it in practice.”
Source-www.adnkronos.com