The students of Duca degli Abruzzi joining the contest by Ministry of Public Education named „Solving the economic crisis through a business plan“ made a video about the „Albergo Diffuso“ (scattered hotel), a model of original (and only Italian) hospitality and of sustainable tourism development of the small rural villages, where they usually live. They started from the study of the article 9 of the Italian Constitution and tried to answer, through the research and the study of the involved school subjects, to the  economic crisis they are experiencing. So they proposed the idea of an Italian model of responsible tourism, the Albergo Diffuso, as an integration among tourism, agricultural and handcrafted activities.

The Phases: The research activities in the labs, the excursions and the video making were carried out during the school time.

The project should be characterised by a strong interdisciplinary perspective. Classes were dealt with in the ICT lab in order to build students‘ own knowledges and reach the information useful for their competences.

Results:

• Students got to know that development, research, culture, heritage and Environment are an unseparable "whole"; and that as citizens they can contribute to their safeguard through their valorization.

• Students faced enthusiastically the study of the territory and of its image through the support of all the involved school subjects

• At last they and their teachers won with their video the Italian Ministry of Education Contest and they were awarded in Rome by the President of the Chamber of Deputies

• They were invited to prosecute their project in the new contest edition in the School year 2015-16

• The  Albergo Diffuso is a zero environmental impact model of development of the territory: there's no need to build anything, you only have to restore the preexisting structures. Differently from the ordinary guest houses it represents the  real philosophy of hospitality, allowing to experience at best  the hospitality both at home and in hotel, with all its services.

• The project foresees the link with the world outside the school and so the Student can transfer the reached output to their own communities.

Mrs. Paola Lobina: paolalobina@irradium.it