What is LAP?S

Established in 1997, Lapis is a non-governmental organisation which aims at combating schooling dispersion and related phenomena such as child labour and child criminality. Following the concept of Lapis, this activity has to act on two front lines: a better school on one hand, for a better link between school and society on the other. This aim is sought through a series of activities including field research, workshop and public debate promotion, interaction with local and national authorities, diffusion of a greater awareness regarding the relevance of educational issues.

Since May 1998 we release “Foglio Lapis”, a platform to exchange opinions about schools, teaching, social exclusion, infant and youth social condition. Our magazine is distributed under electronic format and can be contacted through our official web site. In 2000, Lapis organised a permanent international forum on teaching innovations, which can be accessed through the web site, with the collaboration of qualified consultants intervening on specific issues. The scope of the organisation is not limited by national boundaries; several contacts have taken place with local authorities and charities from foreign countries.

Among initiatives which have taken place during these first years of activity - all documented on our web site which obtained several quality awards - we have carried out a survey on the literacy of youth under compulsory national service. The survey was carried out in three counties with the collaboration of the Italian Army. Other researches have addressed the condition of disabled pupils and the role of gender issues applied to the scarcity of male teachers in basic schooling. We recently issued an essay on this last subject.

More recently Lapis started two new projects. The first one tries to address the need for an education which would further lawful modes of conduct and prevent deviant behaviour among the youth, potentially leading into criminality. We try to implement this programme through a series of meetings between schools and magistrates. The second project tries instead to strengthen the link between schools and producers which is essential to facilitate school leavers entry into a first profession. In particular we target craftsmen workshops and small enterprises trying to address and resolve difficulties which may be posed by state regulations and insurance policies to facilitate the setting up of practicals within private companies. This project has been proposed also abroad where it has received favourable attention and first attempts of implementation.