The selection of 20 young ambassadors to collaboratively draft the first “Health Manifesto” is one of the new features of the current edition of Project Factor J, promoted with Janssen Italia. Conceived as a grassroots document, the Manifesto aims to experiment with new communicational paradigms that are clearer, more empathic, and transparent, to create trust and raise consensus especially amongst youth.
Today, we present the four ambassadors from Bologna, students at the Liceo Enrico Fermi, who were protagonists of the recent local event held in Bologna [see news: Youth and Science].
Carlo Guerra, 17
“I joined Factor J because I wanted to participate in a PCTO course on soft skills and orientation, but after the first hour of lesson, I had already understood this was something special. It was an exciting and interesting course. We often tend to think that suffering and disease are distant from our reality, but it’s not so and Factor J helps us to understand this. We met people who suffer from pathologies that are much more common than you may believe. This has helped us to develop our emotional intelligence and empathy. I loved the course so much that I decided to become a project ambassador. I’m a sort of spokesperson for “trust in science,” as well as empathy and the respect of disease. I speak about these things with my peers and parents. I write about it on social media, and I’m also interviewed. Moreover, we are collaborating on writing a Health Manifesto that will be ready in a couple of months and that will be presented in June to the council.
The message that will emerge from the manifesto is that we, as youth, believe in the future, and the only possible future for us is based on science.
I started Factor J with the objective of becoming a mechanical engineer and ended the programme dreaming about becoming a doctor. So, I’d say it may have changed my life.”
Laura Rosa Mejia Lara, 17
“I got interested in the project last year, following some class meetings that touched me as they addressed issues that I felt closely, and still do. So, when I was given the opportunity of becoming an ambassador, I didn’t hesitate. Thanks to Factor J, I was able to face two issues that are very close to home: depression and mental health issues. Many of my peers have similar issues. However, they are often not heard, no one notices their malaise. Participating in sessions on these issues I was able to increase my understanding of these issues. Speaking about depression and mental health was very useful to my classmates and I. It helped us acquire the tools necessary to listen to and help those who are in difficulty.
Factor J taught us that empathy is indispensable in human relations. Being an ambassador means acting as a spokesperson to peers on the issue of trust in science and empathy towards people suffering from a disease. And I speak about these issues with my classmates, friends, parents and relatives. Moreover, I’m helping to draft the Health Manifesto.”
Giulia Diacci, 17
“Last year, I participated in Factor J sessions and this year I decided to become a project ambassador, because it really struck me, especially from an emotional point of view. Thanks to Factor J, I learned to think of what others feel. And I must say that this has aroused my interest in the topics addressed by the course, even from a didactic point of view. I believe that my role as an ambassador is very important, because it allows me to share with my peers what I learned thanks to the project. Moreover, this role allows me to act as a spokesperson for all my classmates, and promote their opinions when we are working on important documents, such as the Health Manifesto. I’m very interested in both the scientific and medical areas. I’m not making any decisions, yet. If I think about myself in the future, I hope to be serene and happy. And not to have any regrets about my choices.”
Matilde Dall’Olio, 17
“As an ambassador for Project Factor J, I’m working together with 19 other young men and women on drafting a Health Manifesto. Our collaboration is going very well. Everyone is contributing, everyone can make proposals, and suggest ideas. Our objective is to reach out to our peers and increase their trust in science. The idea behind the Manifesto is to allow more people to learn about the importance of scientific progress in our lives. I, for example, would not be here without science, without medicine. I was urgently operated twice and, especially after the first time, it was the talent of the doctors that saved me.”
