Riot Village, the students’ camp

Reaching its 12th edition, again this year Unione degli Studenti (UdS) held the Riot Village camp, an actual students’ village taking place in southern Italy from July 23rd to August 6th. The camp is fully organised by students and is addressed to secondary school and university students, doctors and academics. Each year more than 2000 people coming from all over Italy, and even from outside Italy, participate in Riot Village! Especially in recent years many foreign students are taking part in this experience too, to spend their low-cost holidays close to the sea, the sun, the music and entertainment of dance halls and concerts being held every night. 

The discussions and debates have a daily schedule and vary from more traditionally student issues to a wider range of themes, such as the environment, migration, gender policies, LGBTQI issues, welfare policies, anti-prohibitionism and many more. This year, on 2nd August, Rete della Conoscenza organised the Episteme International Student Meeting, an interesting and involving day of insights and discussion among different European countries on the following issues: access to education and welfare, governance and democracy, teaching methods and evaluation.

Riot Village is the perfect place to relax, have fun, get to know new people and meet old friends, but it’s also the place where hundreds of young people and students’ meet every year, to think of another possible world by talking, confronting and sharing their dreams. Riot Village is the way to naturally and spontaneously live in a core of resistance composed of people who believe that an alternative world is possible, alternative to injustice, overpowering, discrimination and violence, by having fun and relaxing but never feeling distracted or estranged.

There is a direct link between the seminars, workshops, movie projections, debates and all the artistic, cultural and political opportunities of training. That is why Riot Village has nothing to share with holidays that only care of selling and consuming. At Riot Village everyone can find the time and space to relax, have fun, get to know people, love and to be themselves, to share experiences, to wish and build a world which resembles their dreams.