During the pandemic people all over the world were unable to meet friends, get together and socialise. Restrictions to activities particularly impacted children like Stefano who would normally engage with different groups of people at school.

Admiring the Stars aimed to offset the effects of confinement for children. With support from the European Social Fund (ESF), the project created ways for children to express themselves through visual storytelling and to continue to take part in social activities.

It promoted workshops, sports and photography lessons, supported through the Palestrina School in Central Italy. All 22 of the school’s students took part in 30 hours of theoretical and practical lessons. The project activities were then showcased at a final exhibition, giving participants a chance to express their feelings and show the world what life in the pandemic looked like through their eyes.

‘With this photographic exhibition we decided to describe the whole year during the pandemic,’ explains Stefano. ‘So, at first you can see portraits of alone students, then there are photos of silent and empty places, and finally we tried to represent the reaction, when all of us came back to school.’

A second module will take place in 2022.