Milan – Our city, our home, our identity. A city that has always quietly got on with showing solidarity, compassion, and an openness to the world, while remaining committed to social enterprise.
The Milanese proverb ‘Milan, the city with a big heart’ reminds us of how the people of Milan have historically always looked out for their neighbours in times of difficulty, and of course during times of emergency, like that of the Covid-19 crisis that has hit the city so hard.
And yet, despite lockdown, plenty of initiatives took place to help the most vulnerable. Inter Campus, founded in Milan in 1997 as an expression of Inter’s ethos, and the brainchild of President Massimo Moratti, remains dedicated to social solidarity and the thousands of children across the world who are denied this opportunity. Work has continued at full steam ahead and there are no plans of letting up any time soon.
While travel and on-field activities were suspended to protect everyone—children, local coaches, coordinators, and staff—remote contact and initiatives never wavered. This included technical videos and games to play at home, shared with all our hubs worldwide and in Milan. In our home city, a project involving children with intellectual disabilities from the Associazione l’abilità Onlus continued with specially designed videos to keep these young participants engaged in play, as they were unfortunately among those most affected by the closures of recent months. Another exceptional example is the continuation of the Sport Therapy project, which supports children undergoing treatment at the pediatric onco-hematology department of the Monza hospital in collaboration with the Comitato Maria Letizia Verga. By organizing weekly training sessions from the very first day of hospitalization, activities remained uninterrupted. Inter Campus Coach Roberto Redaelli never stopped placing his professionalism at the service of these young patients, helping them play and bringing their daily lives closer to a sense of normalcy—an effort that, as ongoing research with the University of Bicocca shows, yields positive results even at a medical level.
The “Play at the Center – playgrounds for all” project also moved forward. This initiative aims to create accessible areas equipped with inclusive rides and games in public parks across the city’s 9 Municipalities and is promoted by the Fondazione di Comunità Milano – Città, Sud Ovest, Sud Est, Martesana, where our President Carlotta Moratti serves as a board member. On September 27, the fourth inclusive park for children with and without disabilities will be inaugurated at the Giardini Lucarelli in Municipality 3. This represents a further opportunity for Inter Campus to participate in this vital project, bringing its international experience with children back to its own city and engaging them in football during the opening day, curated by Campo Teatrale.
From the first Inter Campus in Brazil to the thirtieth in Nepal, our goals and initiatives are growing progressively in Italy and in the city of Milan, where we believe we can continue our commitment to restoring the Right to Play, right here where we were born.
