Hi! We are the Association Pas à pas!

Let’s imagine this: you are just arrived in a foreign country you don’t know anything about, you have to ask for information on how to find a place to stay, you don’t have the I-phone and the typical Italian gestures are not recognised. People look at you with suspicion and fear and you start being kind of peckish. At that point you need food but no one speaks your language. Finally you find on the street a small shop which, maybe, will fill your stomach. You get in and point out what you want to the shop assistant. She asks you something but you don’t understand the question. After long misunderstandings she finally wraps your food and asks you to pay. You hand the bill, she complains, you don’t understand, you add another bill, she gives you some coins back but you don’t know if the change is correct, there is no way to get it. This is just the beginning, we could keep going with all your way back home, assuming that you understood where it is.

All this preamble just to give you the idea of what we do. Knowing how to get food and a shelter is not enough to live with dignity in a country, being able to communicate is essential though. We try, freely and voluntarily, to teach words: words to ask, to understand, to find one’s way.

We do not only organise Italian courses, but also Wolof, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, English, French and German courses.

Our seat is in Via delle Vigne 8r, but as it’s too small to accommodate everyone what we do is wandering with blackboards and markers in all the rooms  we are being offered by many realities of the neighbourhood.

We believe in the encounter between cultures, in dialogue, hospitality and mutual enrichment.

If we managed to make you curious a little please follow us on Facebook!

What is the governing body of the Association?

The association is composed of an Assembly of Members and a Governing Council made of 5 people, two of whom assume the role of President (legal representation of the association) and Vice-President. The next election will take place in 2021.

With the revision of the statute of 2016 the figure of the Treasurer has been introduced too. They are all elective positions which are subject to periodic renewal.

The governing council

“Hi, I am Alice. I love and support Pas à pas because it is true, humble,  responsible, attentive, welcoming, inclusive and genuine. I love and support Pas à pas because it is reckless, because it runs around and it sometimes lose its way to find it fuller. I love Pas à pas because it is human and I am honoured of being part of it”. ALICE TRIPI

“Hi, I am Elisa. I contributed to the birth of Pas à pas and I followed with participation and enthusiasm the whole path of the association. It has been amazing seeing how a project you believe in takes shape just as amazing and enriching to contribute to the fulfilment of the activities we organise, above all Italian language teaching. I am glad to share Pas à pas path and experience with those who, just like me, believe in the value of hosting and dialogue between people of different origin”. ELISA FASAN

“Hi, I am Federica. I am a chatterbox and I’ve always been passionate about languages and new cultures. Language is contact, exchange, mutual exploration. With such enthusiasm a few years ago I started to teach my language too to make this contact easier and fluid. In Genoa I got close to Pas à pas reality because it seemed to me a good context where I could cultivate this curiosity of mine, this passion. And I got attached to it and the desire of doing more arose. Now here I am, in the governing council of the association longing for acting and getting better so that mutual exchange and knowledge won’t stay superficial. Come on Pas à pas and thank you!” FEDERICA GUZZETTI

“Hi, I am Giovanna. Knowing Pas à pas changed my view on things. It gave me challenges, passions, adventures and lots of friends. Day by day Pas à pas creates relationships and breaks down barriers. And I am just proud of being part of it.” GIOVANNA BIANCHI

“Hi, I am Sara. I love Pas à pas and I am more and more convinced that associations like this are needed. It is a fresh, free, careful association but always on the road! As most of us.” SARA SOLARI