Sport can be a powerful tool for promoting social inclusion and addressing educational poverty. This is the vision behind the Water Camp held in Marina di Grosseto, an initiative that brought together 50 children and adolescents from Save the Children’s Punti Luce centres in Genoa and Potenza for two days of sailing, surfing and other water-based activities.

Leading the camp was Alessandra Sensini, multiple Olympic medallist and one of Italy’s most celebrated sailors, whose enthusiasm made the experience even more memorable. “Seeing the wonder in these young people’s eyes as they discovered the sea is something I will never forget,” she said. “Allowing them to experience water sports means offering them a sense of freedom, enjoyment and shared experience.”

For many participants, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Growing up in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods, some had never seen the sea before. This striking reality illustrates more effectively than any statistic what educational poverty can mean in contemporary Italy.

The project is the result of a partnership between Ferrero, through its Kinder Joy of Moving programme, and Save the Children, an organisation that has been working for more than a century to protect the rights of children and young people facing disadvantage. “Kinder Joy of Moving acts as a bridge between the educational value of sport and Save the Children’s commitment to supporting vulnerable children,” explained Fabrizio Gavelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ferrero Commerciale Italia. He also recalled that, during the previous edition of the initiative, several children from Rome had the opportunity to see the sea for the first time.

At the heart of the project are the 27 Punti Luce centres located across Italy. These high-impact educational hubs are situated in some of the country’s most disadvantaged communities and provide free educational, cultural and recreational opportunities for children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17. The centres in Genoa and Potenza, from which this year’s participants were selected, are managed respectively by Starlight and the social cooperative Appastart.

“Sport is an educational resource that broadens horizons and strengthens self-confidence,” emphasised Silvia Di Laurenzi, Coordinator of the Punti Luce Programme. “Providing experiences that enable every young person to feel capable of shaping their own future lies at the very heart of our work.”

The water-based activities were complemented by sessions based on the Joy of Moving method, an educational approach scientifically validated through collaboration with the University of Rome Foro Italico, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and the Piedmont Regional Office of the Ministry of Education. Rather than focusing on performance, the method aims to foster cognitive, emotional and social skills, shifting the emphasis from competition to relationships and from winning to enjoyment.

This is a particularly meaningful message for young people who often experience competition as the primary lens through which to interpret the world around them. When sport is genuinely inclusive, it does not create rankings—it builds communities.