The 2024/25 edition of the campaign “Books for Those Who Have a Right to Them” has officially begun. State primary schools that apply can receive textbooks to distribute to children participating in the Alternative Activity program.
After a year, the UAAR (Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics) is once again donating textbooks in order to support the Alternative Activity program. Such a program serves to provide an alternative to Catholic religious instruction in Italian state primary schools. While the imposition of nativity scenes in schools has resumed, the UAAR has been focusing on addressing serious issues, namely: reducing the educational disparity caused by Catholic religious instruction (IRC).
The number of classes that are implementing textbooks for the Alternative Activity program has now surpassed 12,000, an increase of approximately 90% compared to the 2023/24 school year. This progress can be partially attributed to the Books for Those Who Have a Right to Them campaign, through which UAAR has donated over 1,300 textbooks and contacted all Italian comprehensive schools via certified email in order to encourage the adoption of textbooks for Alternative Activities.
«The results are encouraging» commented Roberto Grendene, UAAR’s national secretary. «We are on the right path, but in over 100,000 primary school classes, the equal educational dignity of children is still at risk. This is precisely why we have decided to renew our commitment with the 2024/25 edition of Books for Those Who Have a Right to Them. We want young students in the Alternative Activity program to have their textbooks for free, just like their peers who attend religious instruction have their textbooks for free».
From now until February 10th, 2025—which is the deadline for school registrations—state primary school administrators can fill out a request form on the following page: www.uaar.it/kitdidattica to receive textbooks provided by the UAAR. Schools will have the possibility to choose between Alternativamente (Raffaello Scuola) or Interno a noi (Giunti Scuola). The form also includes questions about the school’s procedure for obtaining reimbursement for textbooks adopted by the Teaching Council for the municipal administration.
«We have observed» Grendene continued, «that uncertainty prevails. Some schools mistakenly believe that municipalities only reimburse Catholic religious textbooks and not those for Alternative Activities. This is obviously not the case. The goal of the aforementioned initiative is to spread practices already seen in provinces like Livorno, Asti, Teramo, where 44%, 38%, and 37% of primary school classes, respectively, have adopted textbooks for the Alternative Activity program».
Press Release
For More Information
- Statistics and insights on the adoption of alternative Activity textbooks in Italian primary schools
- Interactive map by province
- The previous edition of the Books for Those Who Have a Right to Them campaign (2023/24)
- The new edition of the Books for Those Who Have a Right to Them campaign (2024/25)