NoWalls Young: Friendship Beyond Barriers

A project to bring girls and boys together, beyond walls and differences | 2025

In 2025, Mirmica partnered on a wonderful project, NoWalls Young: Friendship Beyond Barriers, coordinated by the NoWalls association and supported by the Giovani Smart 2.0 grant by Regione Lombardia.

The project aimed to bring together students from Milan upper secondary schools with Unaccompanied Minors through creative workshops designed to facilitate their relationship—during the workshops and beyond.

From February to April, workshops took place in three different schools in Milan: Liceo Scientifico Vittorini, Liceo Classico Carducci, and Istituto Tecnico Santa Caterina da Siena. Mirmica facilitated the workshop at the latter school, combining theatrical practices, physical and expressive work, and self-narration, with the aim of creating a safe space for play, well-being, and connection; experimenting with new forms of relationship; exploring different possibilities of expressive communication; and transforming how participants see themselves and others.

Ten girls from Istituto Tecnico Santa Caterina da Siena took part, along with five Unaccompanied Minors from Cameroon, Guinea, Gambia, and Niger.

The other two components of the project were an “anthropological” cooking workshop, carried out in collaboration with LAC – Laboratorio di Antropologia del Cibo, and a rap creation workshop, in collaboration with RIL Factory.

In addition to these workshops, the three groups also participated in two sessions on financial and digital education, and then met again at the end of May for a festive activities packed day organized by YouSport: featuring sports games, snacks, and lots of music.

The response from the boys and girls was enthusiastic and joyful. Above all, the project allowed even the shyest participants to step outside their comfort zones in a way that was different from everyday life—surprising themselves and breaking down daily dynamics into something transformative.

We as the facilitators grew a little with them too.

Here's what happened on the last day of the workshop... stay tuned to see what happens next.