As highlighted in the document "The Economic & Social Cost of Illiteracy" (2022), published by the World Literacy Foundation, among the forms of illiteracy with the highest social costs are functional literacy, the inability to consciously use sophisticated media, and the difficulty in engaging in activities that require critical thinking skills. Additionally, there is religious illiteracy, which incurs high costs in terms of intercultural issues, hindering the understanding of diversity and social integration. The same document emphasizes that these types of illiteracy can be mitigated with the contribution of human sciences and education. International guidelines in the field of educational and cultural policies (UNESCO, Recommendations of the European Council) have long emphasized the close connection between media literacy, information literacy, ICT, and digital literacy. Overcoming high social cost illiteracies thus means cultivating literacy as a plural, integrated, and dynamic competence, which necessarily develops from a lifelong learning perspective and in relation to all other key competencies.

The objective that our Department has set with the Excellence Project "High Social Cost Illiteracies: Research Tools for Their Reduction" is to make DESU an interdisciplinary hub of national and international relevance in the study of high social cost illiteracies and in identifying educational and didactic intervention methods to combat them. This includes the development of key competences in both formal and non-formal education contexts, from childhood to adulthood.

In pursuing this objective, DESU aims to strengthen its international profile, increase high-impact scientific productivity, and enhance its capacity to attract competitive funding. These results will be achieved through complementary pathways of enhancement and innovation, with the ambition to combine scientific and structural development in terms of both human and financial resources.

ENHANCEMENT: DESU will strengthen its international networks and the collaboration between its various disciplinary components (historical, philosophical, pedagogical, linguistic, literary, legal, sociological, and natural and mathematical sciences) through the study of illiteracies, particularly functional illiteracy, illiteracy in understanding cultural and religious differences, and illiteracy in critical thinking and citizenship.

INNOVATION: With a new analytical and operational approach, different forms of illiteracy will be studied from an integrated perspective, recognizing the interactions between different forms of literacy and various key competences. Functional, multilingual, scientific (STEM), and digital competences will be understood as expressions of plural literacy, adapted to the various symbolic languages of our contemporary world.

At the intersection of enhancement and innovation, the specific objectives are articulated in three sectors: research, teaching, and third mission.

The project is structured into three research lines focused on the study of illiteracies, particularly:

1. Functional Illiteracy

2. Illiteracy in Understanding Cultural and Religious Differences

3. Illiteracy in Critical Thinking and Citizenship

The general objective and specific scientific research goals will be pursued through both theoretical and empirical investigations, which will be mutually integrated.

Theoretical Problems:

- Reconceptualization of illiteracies from an integrated perspective.

- Definition of philosophical, pedagogical, linguistic-rhetorical, and mathematical-scientific tools capable of critically interpreting the transformation of the ability to understand texts, contexts, and images in the digital age.

- Overcoming the traditional approach to the knowledge of religions in schools, which is often oriented towards religious instruction/education.

Empirical Research:

- Modeling new educational practices to counter illiteracies through empirical-experimental control.

- Advancing the repertoire of teaching strategies to promote the ability to understand various types of texts and images, including digital formats.

Our Department, with the Excellence Project, plans to create new research infrastructures to achieve the project's objectives, including:

1. MULTILAB Multimedia Environment: A space with at least 50 seats where innovative and transformative teaching can be experimented through research with schools, organizations, associations, and communities.

2. Educational Documentation Center: Focused on best teaching practices developed on a national and European scale around the development of key competences, including the acquisition, digitization, and indexing of archival documents related to the work of Loris Malaguzzi.

3. National Observatory on Illiteracies: For both empirical and theoretical research aimed at periodically assessing the profile of illiteracies in various social and educational contexts and systematically updating the related pedagogical models for countering them.

4. Critical Thinking Laboratory: Promoting philosophical research aimed at education in argumentative and interpretative skills on texts, images, and contexts, with reference to the principles of democratic debate and considering the multicultural and multireligious dimensions (https://www.laboratorio-pensiero-critico.unimore.it/).

Educational Strategy

In terms of teaching, the plan includes the activation of high-quality educational paths, including:

- New Curriculum in "Visual Literacy and New Languages in Educational Processes": Within the international industrial PhD program Reggio Childhood Studies.

- Training of PhD Researchers: With innovative content and methodologies on critical education in the interpretation and use of visual texts, especially digital ones.

- Development of Religious Illiteracy Topics: Within the National PhD in Religious Studies, supported by the European School of Religious Sciences.

- New Curriculum in "Pedagogical Design for Social Inclusion": Within the LM-85 Master's in Pedagogical Sciences, to train pedagogical coordinators aware of the broad concept of "inclusion" today.

- University Training Courses: Open to students from all master's degrees, focusing on key and transversal competences in teaching; new textualities and new alphabets of communication; philosophical discussion practices and critical thinking; religious literacy and intercultural education; critical analysis of digital communication; languages and artifacts in mathematics teaching; metaphor and argumentation in scientific communication and public discourse.

- Increased Offer of Courses in English: Through the presence of visiting professors from abroad and training of teaching staff with university language enhancement courses, to make DESU more attractive to foreign students.

- Organization of Seminars, Conferences, Workshops, and International Summer Schools: On high social cost illiteracies for master's students, PhD students, young researchers, and teachers, fostering interdisciplinary methodological reflection.

Third Mission and Social Impact

On the Third Mission and Social Impact front, our department will work with the local territory not only to achieve dissemination objectives but also to improve the services themselves by:

- Enhancing Teacher Training Collaboration: Within the University's Center for Teacher Training and with the support of the national inter-university network CRESPI, by fostering collaboration on teaching and project levels with educators and teachers of all levels, supporting and coordinating experiments and identifying the best results.

- Intensifying Engagement with Local and National Institutions: With whom collaboration is already active and who have expressed their willingness to support DESU in new activities (Province and Municipality of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Children Foundation - Loris Malaguzzi Center, INDIRE, INVALSI, Ministry of Education), in the dissemination of results among the wider public and education professionals, laying the groundwork for nationwide activities.

These research lines will address the critical areas of intervention needed to reduce high social cost illiteracies, fostering a comprehensive approach that integrates theoretical insights with practical applications.

Among the proposals of the Excellence Project (2023-2027) of the Department of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is the creation of a Laboratory on Critical Thinking. This laboratory will have a philosophical approach while maintaining a continuous dialogue with other disciplines included in the Excellence Project (particularly pedagogy, history, literature, and natural sciences). Here, "critical thinking" does not refer so much to the practical applications of philosophical thought aimed at functional solutions to organizational problems (such as critical thinking, design thinking, etc., in the form of problem-solving). Instead, it refers to the meta-reflective aspects of philosophical thought capable of constructing a complex analysis of the literacy-competence nexus in contemporary times, interacting with methodological issues, the uniqueness of study objects, and the plurality of languages and contexts (with different points of observation).

With the themes and issues of the Excellence Project as its backdrop, focusing on the complex links between new illiteracies and skill development, the Laboratory aims to promote theoretical analyses, philosophical-political reflections, and experimental educational actions to enhance argumentative and interpretative skills (regarding texts, images, and contexts), citizenship values, and the principles of democratic debate. This is intended to highlight the importance of a non-polarized public space, but rather one constituted by a conscious public opinion.

In recent decades, Western societies have undergone significant transformations in the public sphere due to several factors: the weakening of organized political participation in intermediate bodies (transition from party democracy to public democracy, and then to social media democracy), the advent of digital and social media, and the loss of authority of traditional social and educational agencies (schools, parties, churches, etc.) in favor of new communication modalities, mainly composed of digital images. However, these images are often not correctly understood and interpreted. As a result, today's public debate increasingly resembles a "collage" where official voices, personal opinions, militant statements, fake news, scientific theories, claims of "particular" groups, and advertisements converge uncontrollably. This has led to the emergence of new forms of cultural illiteracy, undermining the quality of public opinion and, consequently, the strength of democracy (which can only be called such in the presence of informed citizens capable of understanding cultural diversity and open to rational and argumentative discussion).

The Laboratory's objectives include:

- Promoting theoretical and philosophical-political analyses related to contemporary literacy and competence issues.

- Encouraging experimental educational practices that enhance argumentative and interpretative skills.

- Supporting the values of citizenship and the principles of democratic debate.

- Creating a public space that fosters a conscious and informed public opinion.

The Department of Education and Human Sciences (DESU) at Unimore presented its research and development project, which led to its selection as a Department of Excellence for 2023-27, to local institutions, organizations, and the community. DESU is one of the 180 departments in Italian state universities recognized for their research quality and scientific planning.

The project, titled "High Social Cost Illiteracies: Research Tools for Their Reduction," was introduced to the city on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at Palazzo Baroni (viale Timavo, 93) in Reggio Emilia. The event featured three main segments: a session for stakeholders, a press conference with the inauguration of the Artigianelli Classroom, furnished thanks to the generous contribution of the Lugli Paguni family, and a session for the general public.

Morning Session for Stakeholders (9:30 AM - 12:30 PM):
This part targeted the network of stakeholders with whom DESU has collaborated over the years. These entities and institutions provided valuable support during the drafting of the Excellence Project, contributing to this prestigious achievement. DESU now aims to present the final version of the project to these stakeholders to identify new forms of collaboration for effective implementation of its goals and objectives.

After greetings from Unimore's Deputy Rector, Professor Giovanni Verzellesi, DESU Director Professor Annamaria Contini presented "High Social Cost Illiteracies (2023-2027): Objectives and Impact." This was followed by remarks from Raffaella Curioni, Councilor for Education, Knowledge, University City, and Sport, with a mandate for University Affairs for the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

Subsequent presentations included:

• Professor Alberto Melloni: "Illiteracy and Understanding Cultural and Religious Differences"

• Professor Carlo Altini: "Illiteracy in Critical Thinking and Citizenship"

• Professor Fulvio de Giorgi: "Functional Illiteracy: A Historical-Educational Perspective"

Concluding remarks were given by Dr. Stefano Versari, Director General of the Regional School Office for Emilia-Romagna, and former Head of the Department for the Educational System of Instruction and Training.

Press Conference (11:15 AM):
The morning concluded with a press conference featuring the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the donation by the Lugli Paguni family for the Artigianelli Classroom, in the presence of Unimore Rector Professor Carlo Adolfo Porro and Reggio Emilia Mayor Luca Vecchi.

Afternoon Session for the General Public (3:00 PM - 6:30 PM):
This session aimed to present the project to a broader audience of teachers, educators, and pedagogists, while also opening the doors of the former Seminary (Palazzo Baroni) to the community.

Guided tours of Palazzo Baroni were organized from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM, in collaboration with the FAI Delegation of Reggio Emilia, to introduce the new home of the Department of Education and Human Sciences.

The afternoon events included:

• Roundtable with Stefano Versari: "The Cost of Illiteracies: A Research Site on School, Education, and Society," featuring DESU professors Nicola Barbieri, Chiara Bertolini, Roberta Cardarello, Paola Damiani, and Andrea Mariuzzo.

• - Introduction and Screening of Rai Documentary "Lorenzino don Milani": Curated by Alberto Melloni and Federico Ruozzi, with contributions from Melloni, Ruozzi, and Eraldo Affinati of the Penny Wirton School.

• - Roundtable on "When Words Make Us Equal: Philosophical Alphabets for Children": Featuring DESU professors Carlo Altini, Roberta Cardarello, Lucia Scipione, Dr. Luca Zanetti (INDIRE), and Professor Margherita Borghi (IC Correggio 1).

Director's Statement:

"DESU stands out in the national panorama of education-oriented departments for three essential aspects: the project planning capacity of its staff, including at the international level; the markedly interdisciplinary nature of the study interests cultivated within it; and the intensity of collaboration with the local territory to improve the quality of educational services. This latter aspect," explains DESU Director Professor Annamaria Contini, "proved crucial for developing a highly innovative and 'credible' research and development project, characterized by concreteness and feasibility. We hope that the institutions and entities that supported us in drafting the Excellence Project will play an equally significant role in its implementation phase. The project proposes ambitious but consistent goals with the tradition of excellence that distinguishes the educational institutions in our territories."

The Excellence Project includes the planning and implementation of various high-quality educational activities.

During the 2023-2024 Academic Year:

1. New Curriculum Activation:

   - The new curriculum in "Visual Literacy and New Languages in Educational Processes" has been launched as part of the Reggio Childhood Studies doctoral program.

2. English-Taught Courses:

   - Four new courses have been included in the department's 2023/2024 curriculum, all taught in English and available across all master's degree programs:

     - Religious Literacy and Intercultural Education (4 CFU)

     - New Textualities and New Alphabets of Communication (4 CFU)

     - Philosophical Discussion Practices and Critical Thinking (4 CFU)

     - Key and Transversal Competences in Education (4 CFU)

3. Doctoral Scholarship Announcement:

   - A scholarship has been announced for the 39th cycle as part of the DREST – National PhD in Religious Studies, Curriculum in Law and Religions, on the theme “Religious Illiteracy, Religious Minorities, and Religious Diplomacy.” This project involves a legal analysis of the European Union's actions to protect and promote the rights of religious minorities as a tool to combat religious illiteracy.

Within the scope of research, the Department of Excellence project aims to achieve the following specific objectives:

1. Understand the Phenomenology and Causes of Illiteracies:

   - Focus on those with the highest social cost.

   - Identify those that can be mitigated with contributions from the humanities.

   - Integrate the diverse research perspectives of DESU to conceptualize these illiteracies.

2. Examine the Relationship between Knowledge and Key Competences:

   - Consider recent socio-economic transformations.

   - Analyze the impact of digital technology on learning processes.

3. Experiment with Innovative Educational Practices:

   - Conduct theoretical and empirical studies.

   - Develop and test new educational models to counter illiteracies in various educational contexts, from childhood to adulthood.

4. Analyze Religious Literacy Conceptions and Practices:

   - Study these within the framework of intercultural education interventions.

5. Utilize Philosophical Tools for Education:

   - Focus on rational argumentation, interpretation of verbal and visual language.

   - Develop critical thinking as a transversal skill in relation to key competences.

These objectives will be pursued through the new departmental infrastructures being established and through the promotion of individual and group research activities by departmental staff at all levels. Staff are encouraged to align their research interests with the core themes of the Excellence Project. Part of the project's financial resources will support research missions, conferences, and seminars, as well as monographic publications, collective volumes, and articles in internationally circulated scientific journals. Proposals submitted to the project committee will be evaluated for their adherence to the project's development themes.

During the 2023/2024 academic year, in line with the strategic objectives of the Department of Excellence, the following Third Mission/social impact activities have been organized or are currently underway:

1. Internship Agreements:

   - Establishment of internship agreements with schools and other socio-educational agencies in the area.

2. Internship Projects:

   - Increase in co-designed internship projects for the degree course in Educational Sciences for Early Childhood and Socio-pedagogical Professions, in collaboration with local entities and the technical-scientific table of the School-University of the Primary Education Sciences degree course.

3. Protocols of Understanding:

   - Activation of protocols with the Regional School Office and the Reggio Emilia School Office to formalize and facilitate the exchange for research, training, and third mission projects with local educational institutions.

4. Collaborations with Local Educational Excellence:

   - Intensified collaborations with local educational excellence (e.g., Reggio Children Foundation), local administration (Municipal Schools and Early Childhood Centers), and schools (laboratories and training courses).

5. Permanent Observatory for Adolescence:

   - Establishment of a permanent observatory for adolescence and drafting of a manifesto for policies aimed at adolescents and young people, in collaboration with the municipal administration and the Education Councilor's Office

6. Critical Thinking Laboratory:

   - Establishment of a Laboratory on Critical Thinking.

7. Observatory on Illiteracies:

   - Establishment of an observatory on illiteracies.

8. Malaguzzi Documentation Center:

   - Establishment of the Malaguzzi Documentation Center, aimed at collecting and providing research services on schools, in collaboration with the Reggio Children Foundation and the Malaguzzi family.

9. "50+1. Intorno alla Grammatica della fantasia di Gianni Rodari" Project:

   - Organization of activities as part of this project, promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia, the Institution of Schools and Early Childhood Centers, Reggio Children, Reggio Children Foundation, and the Department of Education and Human Sciences at UNIMORE, in collaboration with MCE – Movimento di Cooperazione Educativa and ADI-SD – Associazione degli Italianisti-Sezione Didattica, and under the patronage of the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Regional School Office for Emilia-Romagna – Reggio Emilia district. The project included a scientific conference, an exhibition on Rodari, public events, and teacher training workshops.

10. "DigitAlf@betismi" Seminar Series:

    - Organization of a series of meetings and seminars on "DigitAlf@betismi – A Transformation for Education for All," organized by the master's degree program in Theories and Methodologies of Digital Learning.

11. National Conference "Learning to Learn in School":

    - Organization of the national conference "Learning to Learn in School: Educational Policies, Pedagogical Challenges, and Sustainable Practices."

12. "The Work of the Educator" Seminar Series:

    - Organization of seminar cycles on the topic "The Work of the Educator: Testimonies, Experiences, and Reflections," in collaboration with local associations, for the degree course in Educational Sciences for Early Childhood and Socio-pedagogical Professions.

To enhance the Department as an increasingly international center of research and teaching, it is essential to build relationships and exchanges with global partners. One of the key instruments in this context is the enhancement of the Visiting Fellowship Program. Each semester, the Department hosts international scholars and faculty members to share the latest research findings, develop new projects, provide consultation and guidance to PhD students and young researchers, and deliver lectures and seminars for Master’s degree students.

Below is the continuously updated list of Visiting Fellows who have contributed, and are contributing, to the growing internationalization of the Department:

The central governing body of the project is the Project Committee.

The strategy planning is shared across the entire Department. The project's development is monitored by an internal DESU committee (the Project Committee) and is subject to verification by an external Advisory Board composed of three internationally recognized experts.

Monitoring and Oversight:

- Project Committee: Responsible for in-progress monitoring, the committee comprises eight members from within DESU, including six faculty members and one technical-administrative staff member. The committee members are:

  - Prof. Anna Maria Contini: Director of DESU and project coordinator

  - Prof. Andrea Mariuzzo: Research Delegate

  - Prof. Nicola Barbieri: Teaching Delegate

  - Prof. Federico Ruozzi: Third Mission Delegate

  - Prof. Elena Favilla: Department Quality Manager

  - Prof. Carlo Altini

  - Prof. Chiara Bertolini

  - Dr. Francesca Cadeddu

  - Dr. Dario Mazzoli

This committee interfaces with the Department, the external Advisory Board, and the university governance. It is also responsible for overseeing the periodic and final technical and financial reporting.

- Advisory Board: To ensure the quantitative and qualitative performance of the project against the initial state and the objectives set for the first three years and the subsequent two years, an Advisory Board has been established. Confirmed members to date include:

  - Prof. Nicole Reinhardt: Director of the Department of History of Religions at the Leibniz Institute of European History, Mainz

  - Prof. Gabriella Agrusti: Professor of Experimental Pedagogy at LUMSA - Libera Università Maria SS Assunta, Rome

  - The third member will be appointed in 2024.

Financial Documentation and Reporting:

- Financial Documentation: Preparation of financial documentation for project progress has been assigned to Prof. Carlo Altini, who works in concert with the Director and the delegates.

- Semi-Annual Report: Dr. Francesca Cadeddu, in collaboration with Prof. Andrea Mariuzzo, prepares the semi-annual report.