KOTO BA Walks: between the “rooms” of latency and the “non-places” of Pedagogical Generativity
Project Sheet
Prof. Emiliana Mannese, Chair Holder – UNESCO Chair Generative Pedagogy and Educational Systems to Tackle Inequality.
Project proposal developed by the UNESCO Chair Generative Pedagogy and Educational Systems to Tackle Inequality (University of Salerno).
02 / 2025
03 / 2025
Generative Pedagogy
O.Ge.S.O. Protocol
latency
immersive multisensory experience
generative talents
Scientific Framework
Abstract
KOTO BA Walksproposes an immersive and multisensory educational experience which, through a “journey into the forest and the universe” structured in rooms (inner processes) and non-places (generative thresholds), activates in participants a pathway of reflection and meaning-making. The project integrates a sensory installation with Generative Guidance workshops based on the O.Ge.S.O. Protocol, orienting individuals toward the discovery of desires, talents, and futures as trajectories of self-realization and responsibility.
Theoretical context
- The paradigm of Generative Pedagogy and System-World (Mannese, 2023) and the centrality of guidance as an educational lever.
- The metaphor of the journey and latency as a space of transformation and production of novelty.
- Conceptual reference toKoto ba(language as the blossoming of meaning within lived experience).
Why
To respond, in coherence with the aims of the Biennale Educational area, to the need to design cultural experiences capable of generating critical thinking, self-awareness, and authentic formative processes, with attention to the conditions that enable or inhibit educational and social possibilities (inequalities).
Purpose
To promote an authentic and generative cultural experience capable of activating, among young people and families, a pathway of self-care and formation of generative talent as the “Genius Loci of the Soul” (Mannese, 2023).
Goals
- To stimulate personal reflection and pedagogical generativity through immersive and multisensory environments.
- To foster critical thinking and the production of authentic knowledge.
- To promote nature–culture connection for self-discovery and life design.
Development and Methodology
Methodology
- Immersive experience (free movement within the “forest”/“universe” space): sensory, symbolic, and reflective activation.
- Generative Guidance workshops: reflective writing, narration, and production of symbolic artifacts.
- Qualitative monitoring of the “production of novelty”: - Primary school (word/drawing) - Secondary school (sentence/short text)
Participants
- Primary school pupils (Grades I–V)
- Lower and upper secondary school students
- Families
Main activities
Installation “The Flowers of Generativity in the Paths of Thought”: journey through the Forest of Generativity with visual/auditory/olfactory/tactile stimuli.
Workshops “Generative Talents” based on O.Ge.S.O., differentiated by target group:
- Primary School: Bild Generativity – “Map of DESIRES”
- Lower Secondary School: Grow Generativity – “Map of TALENTS” (interactive autobiography)
- Upper Secondary School: Live Generativity – “Map of FUTURES” (life design)
- Families: Activate Generativity – “From Desires to Futures: Map of PROJECTS”
Results and Resources
Perspectives
- Processing and analysis of empirical materials for scientific publications and a Special Issue of the University’s A-ranked journalAttualità Pedagogiche.
- Consolidation of a replicable model of immersive educational experience consistent with the UNESCO framework and the O.Ge.S.O. Protocol.
Links and Publications
Bibliographic references
Mannese, E. (2023).Manuale di Pedagogia Generativa e Sistema-Mondo: Epistemologie e Comunità Pensanti per l’Homo Generativus. Pensa Multimedia.
Heidegger, M., & Caracciolo, A. (2018).In cammino verso il linguaggio. Mursia.