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A culture to defuse violence. The educational revolution of Fondazione EOS

Building the cultural antibodies that make violence impossible. This is the guiding principle of Fondazione EOS – Edison Orizzonte Sociale in its effort to combat gender-based violence: a perspective that shifts the focus from the effect to the cause, staying one step ahead of all forms of discrimination through work on culture, awareness, and education. While the news often shows us only the final, tragic outcomes, for Fondazione EOS the decisive challenge is played on the ground of prevention. And this is precisely where the Foundation has chosen to stand: alongside young people, convinced that spreading a culture of respect is the most effective way to dismantle stereotypes and build healthy relationships
By Editorial team
05 Dec 2025

“Our mission is to support young people on their journey toward adulthood by creating safe spaces for growth, where everyone learns to recognize and respect one another,” explains Francesca Magliulo, the Foundation’s Director. “But for these efforts to be effective, it is essential to also support the adults who live alongside them, so they can recognize warning signs and manage vulnerabilities.”

EOS’s vision is built on a paradigm shift: violence is not tackled only through rules and protective measures, but through a cultural revolution that begins with education. The Foundation’s projects across different contexts—from schools to sports—are concrete examples of how this idea becomes reality: awareness-building programs that involve both adolescents and adults, because cultural transformation is a shared journey.

One of the privileged spaces where EOS tests this approach is sports, a field still often fertile ground for discriminatory phenomena, which EOS has transformed into a safe environment where young people can experience relational dynamics grounded in respect. From this perspective, Fondazione EOS developed its Child Safeguarding Policy, a set of measures and procedures designed to ensure the safety and well-being of adolescents. It is an essential management tool, but above all a cultural one, as it strengthens the commitment to preventing all forms of abuse, violence, and neglect. A practical example of this is the collaboration with Rugby Milano, which includes a program of information, awareness-raising and engagement for the entire sports community, and especially for the young athletes, with whom shared codes of conduct are defined. In this way, EOS has turned the playing field into a training ground for life: not only matches, but exercises in responsibility and mutual respect. “We feel the responsibility to contribute to lasting change. It’s not only about applying new rules, but about promoting a culture that places at its core the protection of minors, gender equality, and accessibility. For us, sport means personal growth and social cohesion. Investing in its educational dimension helps build stronger communities and a better future for the new generations,” says Magliulo.

The same is happening within schools. In Palermo, after an episode of violence that had shaken the city, EOS—together with the partners of the Traiettorie Urbane project—promoted the program “TU a scuola senza stereotipi”: a training course for teachers, workshops for students, and an intergenerational roundtable where young people and adults engaged in open discussion about stereotypes, identity, and emotional expression. The project provided the school community with theoretical and practical tools, creating a more aware and inclusive environment.

EOS’s commitment in schools goes even further: together with Fondazione Minotauro, it has implemented workshop-based interventions in several high schools in Milan, where psychologists work with young people to help them recognize their emotions and equip them with the emotional tools needed to build healthy relationships, preventing violence through awareness. The guiding thread of these initiatives is the belief that change stems from education and dialogue. Not a top-down transmission of rules, but the creation of spaces where young people can experience the freedom to be themselves, while adults learn to guide them with competence and sensitivity. “We believe the new generations hold within themselves the energy to write a different story,” concludes Magliulo. “But adults must have the courage to support them on this path and to allow themselves to be changed in return. Only then can prevention become shared culture.”

Fondazione EOS demonstrates that to educate means to create possibilities: to grow without fear, to build relationships founded on respect, to imagine a future in which gender-based violence is no longer a destiny, but a past we overcome together.

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