“Dalla comunità alla community – From the community to the Community platform”: the title explains the real scope of the initiative which was organised by Matera 2019, Uisp Matera (Italian Union for Popular Sport), Unione delle Proloco and Twitteratura and will take place at the Open Design School (Casino Padula, Agna Le Piane) on 18th and 19th March.
The event represents the third step towards 19th January 2019, the day of the opening ceremony of Matera European Capital of Culture 2019.

The 18th March will be dedicated to the celebration of the project “SportAntenne” supported by Uisp Nazionale and promoted also by Uisp Matera. Since November 2017 150 migrants, who are hosted in the Reception Centres of Basilicata as beneficiaries of the Sprars (System for the Protection of Asylum Seekers and Refugees), have been involved in several sports activities with the aim of fighting against discrimination. During the day a variety of games and sports activities will be carried out in the outdoor and indoor spaces of Casino Padula. The activities will involve the participants, local associations and the whole community.

The physical community will pass the torch to the digital community: on 19th March at 6:30 p.m. the new Community platform of Matera 2019 will be presented to the public. It is an open space where citizens can suggest projects to be implemented in the ECoC year. The final goal of the site, which is accessible by everyone and open to Europe, is to learn how to design projects together. At Casino Padula people will be shown how the platform works, its mission, its objectives and the game rules.
After the presentation enlivened by a glass of wine, the community will gather round the traditional bonfires in honour of Saint Joseph set up by the inhabitants of Agna Le Piane neighbourhood along with the parish of San Giuseppe in Matera.
This tradition, which is celebrated in Matera and throughout Basilicata (Barile, Montescaglioso, Tursi), will be narrated on the web thanks to the Matera 2019 webteam volunteers, makers and linkers, to the partnership with the UNPLI (Union of the Tourist Boards of Basilicata) and to the community of Tw Letteratura, the Italian association that disseminates literature using Twitter language. The result will be the collective narration of a popular tradition, a ritual marking the end of winter, the return of the sun and the start of the new season. Following the common practice of Matera 2019 Community, everyone can join the narration, from every place of Basilicata. You just have to share tales about bonfires, poems, music and stories of rites of passage with the hashtag #fuochidicomunità.