
About us
The Centre for Creative Development Danilo Dolci – ETS is a non-profit organisation whose history is deeply connected with Danilo Dolci’s social and educational work.
We work in the educational and social fields to promote communities' creative and nonviolent development by using participative methods. We aim to build an environment where everyone can fully and creatively contribute to society.
Our values

Development
We believe continuous and respectful recognition and validation are necessary to promote organic growth (of a creature, a group, an area, or the whole world), stemming from individual needs and values.

Creativity
The Italian word creatività (creativity) shares the same root as crescere (i.e. to grow): connecting the pre-existing in a new way, conceiving, evoking by generating. One should know how to question oneself to find unexpected solutions and value things that seem wasted.
Our work stems from the following principle: no real and sustainable change can be achieved unless we involve the community and the people for whom we conceived our interventions. Thus, we start processes aimed at identifying the community's needs and desires and co-design bottom-up interventions.
What we do
We pursue our mission by implementing projects and initiatives at local, national, and international levels and by identifying synergies and cooperation opportunities with schools, universities, institutions, organisations, and the whole community.
Our Centre has over 20 years of experience in managing national, European and international funds, such as Erasmus+, AMIF, Creative Europe, CERV, EYE, ISF CSEP, ENPI CBC MED and EuropeAid. It relies on a team of 15 employees and more than 40 volunteers, experts and collaborators. We work with a network of more than 25 schools, universities, and local organisations, as well as +300 partners from 50 countries.
Our initiatives focus on three main topics:

Danilo Dolci
We want to pay tribute to Danilo Dolci’s work and aim to enhance his legacy and social, political and educational commitment so that it can still be cherished in the future.
We foster our maieutic experimentation, cultivate relations and develop national and international networks focused on the following topics: nonviolence, participation and educational issues.

Participation
We create the conditions for nonviolent community development, enhancing self-analysis and grassroots action-research processes.
We promote participation by using nonviolent methodologies. We offer support in designing initiatives that could have a systemic impact on the community.

Education
We support education as a means to promote social change and give value to each person's interests and potential.
We promote nonviolent educational approaches and training to help people achieve their goals and contribute to the creative development of the community.
Our goals
Testing and promoting innovative and participative educational approaches in non-formal and formal settings.
Enhancing active citizenship, democratic participation and social dialogue using research-action processes targeted at social change.
Promoting nonviolent development, critical thinking and empathetic, responsible and reciprocal communication
Contributing to social justice, by creating the conditions for fostering harmonic growth, promoting social inclusion and supporting human rights.
Our history
1952
Danilo in Sicily
- Our Centre's history is deeply intertwined with the social and educational work Danilo Dolci and his collaborators started in Sicily in 1952. They developed a creative space for self-realisation and grassroots participation, laying the foundation for actual change through their nonviolent actions, hunger strikes and marches for peace, constant protests against the mafia system and other revolutionary initiatives, such as the reverse strike, Radio Libera and the maieutic workshops.
1958
The Centre Studies and Initiatives for Full Employment is created
- Created to offer the local community an environment committed to solving all the practical issues that emerged during Danilo's discussions with people, the Centre for Studies and Initiatives for Full Employment was founded thanks to the contribution of several intellectuals and friends from Italy and abroad who were willing to promote the social and economic development of the area.
1962
First results
- Thanks to the actions carried out during those years, we can now see actual results, such as the dam on the Jato River, the agricultural cooperative, the training centre at Borgo in Trappeto and the Experimental Educational Centre at Mirto in Partinico. Moreover, these achievements marked the experience and the memories of those who contributed.
1985
The Centre for Creative Development is founded
- In 1985, the Centre of Studies and Initiatives changed its name, and the Centre for Creative Development was created, delving into nonviolent educational practices and contributing to creating a new methodology: the reciprocal maieutic approach. This approach aimed to favour creative development at school and within the community.
1998
Centre for Creative Development "Danilo Dolci"
- After Danilo's death, the organisation took its name to remember the importance of his actions and acknowledge his inspirational model.
Our methodology
The Centre promotes the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach, a popular dialectic methodology of research and self-analysis tested by Danilo Dolci within the educational and sociological fields. It is “a process of collective exploration using experience and intuition as points of reference” (Dolci, 1996). The Reciprocal Maieutic Approach is connected to the principles of nonviolent communication, and it represents the communication strategy of a group, allowing all its members to express their ideas and opinions. By starting a process based on research and dialogue, the Reciprocal Maieutic Approach contributes to identifying actual needs and desires and defining a shared idea, which is also a call to action aimed at inspiring social, economic, political and educational change.
Our team
Our team can rely on 15 young professionals with years of experience in different fields such as:
Non-formal education for all
Participation methods and democratic dialogue
Nonviolence, radicalisation and polarisation prevention
Support to digitalisation for schools and businesses
Critical thinking and conscious use of social media
Environmental sustainability
Entrepreneurship and employment skills
Gender mainstreaming
Social inclusion
Emotional education
With over 20 years of experience in managing national and European projects, the Centre has developed specific competencies regarding:

Research and needs analysis

Creating training and educational paths based on participants' needs and desires

Creating educational materials and tools

Developing online platforms and OERs

Communication and awareness campaigns, events and workshops, both online and face-to-face
