The first Friday of February marks the World Odd Socks Day, a celebration that this year reaches its eleventh edition. The idea was born in a primary school in Terzo di Aquileia, in Friuli, where teacher Sabrina Flapp devised a way to raise awareness among her young pupils about embracing diversity. Wearing odd socks is not simply a subversion of outfit rules, but a deliberate symbol of uniqueness and individuality: each one of us is special. We are particular individuals, by virtue of our innate characteristics and those we choose to acquire. This reality must translate into pride in being oneself and into an inclusive attitude towards others.
Launched almost as a game, this initiative spread through social media and went viral, reaching other schools, communities of various kinds and people of all ages. We spoke about it with Dr Giovanna Giacomini, expert educationalist, entrepreneur in the education sector and founder of the Scuole Felici project.

Dr Giacomini, how would you define "odd socks"?
Within a community — which might be a family or indeed a school — odd socks represent the diversity of each individual in living together, in coexisting within a group. In general, everyone's characteristics are considered within a broader context. It is interesting to think of a parallel with nature, since nature shows us something important: nothing is identical to itself. Every leaf on every tree, for example, has its own vein structure, its own colour. Nature, then, tells us about diversity understood as uniqueness. The odd sock, ultimately, represents the uniqueness present in each one of us, both as human beings and as components of nature in the broader sense.

Even today, diversity is viewed with suspicion. Is celebrating this day therefore necessary?
I believe it is extremely necessary. And especially so this year. With World Education Day, Unesco has shone a spotlight on the need to talk about peace. Many situations, including across the world, prompt reflection on the sense of equity and on the building of a collective conscience. Over the last decade, moreover, a general tendency towards flattening has emerged: individuals are pushed towards the same competencies and outcomes. This is a trend that is also fuelled by the world of education. I believe that World Odd Socks Day is the ideal pretext for pausing to consider individual qualities, and for looking afresh at commitment as a means of drawing out the best in ourselves. An important aspect concerns moments of contact with diversity, understood as including physical or cognitive disability. Children, in particular, do not always come into contact with forms of diversity, sometimes because of very small family environments. It is therefore necessary, even if somewhat artificially, to create opportunities.

Staying in the realm of childhood, children do not show a negative perception of diversity and do not seem to have basic prejudices. Why, then, does growing up erect barriers towards what is different?
A child is born pure. They are amazed by everything, and so they are able to notice difference while pointing it out as they would with anything else, simply registering a fact without attaching a label or a judgement. Later, through the education system and through relationships, the child begins to internalise the adult way of reacting to difference. They pick up on the negative emotions that an adult may experience towards diversity, which is often portrayed as something to be kept at a distance. Consider, for example, the perception of the immigrant as someone who steals jobs. In essence, the child absorbs this perception and begins to make it their own, associating it with the way things normally are. Unfortunately, this also happens in school and family environments, unless educational systems capable of acting in the right direction step in. It is important to help children read diversity as a resource, and to transform the discomfort that comes from contact with difference into a sense of curiosity. The constructive role of the adult — which a parent can also play — is crucial if the child is to retain the pure and original attitude of their early childhood.

What are the practical tools for establishing a culture of inclusion?
At a family level, it is important to create interactions within the local community and, as we mentioned, to generate points of contact between children or teenagers and diversity. This can take the form of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or indeed someone from a different ethnic background. To that end, it is possible to get involved with local associations that work specifically on these issues. There are a great many of them, and events are plentiful. The problem, however, is that very few people currently take part. At an educational and school level, ad hoc projects need to be created, introducing diversity in various ways. Even the pupils in a class, for instance, make up a source of cultural differences that can be brought to light.

In your professional practice, are there effective tools for re-educating adults to respect diversity? Is it possible?
I think it is not only possible, but also a duty. Unfortunately, adults do not tend to dwell on certain issues, being completely absorbed in living their daily lives. What is needed, instead, is to dust off the great existential questions and reflect on the value of life, as well as on our relationship with others. This is an impulse that is perhaps difficult to feel spontaneously, which is why, once again, it is necessary for educational institutions to take the initiative. Schools could organise training and reflection events on these topics, then offer them to parents and open them up to the wider community. Volunteering initiatives in the local context are also constructive, such as forms of support for the elderly. Taking even a small step in the right direction changes the perspective one has of the other.

You are the founder of the Scuole Felici project — can you tell us about it?
I work in the field of pedagogy and for many years I asked myself what the best pedagogical approach might be. Then I came across the Danish method, a northern European educational approach that allows children to spend time outdoors 365 days a year and to experience risk. At the same time, I had the opportunity to revisit the practices and disciplines that come from the East, such as mindfulness and meditation. I tried to bring all these elements together in creating Scuole Felici: these are educational services aimed, at this stage, at children in the 0–6 age group. The project has seen the opening of ten schools, primarily in the province of Treviso, and, in September, a site in Lombardy. The aim is to continue along this path, spreading Scuole Felici across the country. I believe that by starting from early childhood and building an educational system that, among other things, also involves parents, it is possible to lay the foundations for change.