Cerchio Sociale: Creating Space to Talk About Care

What does care look like in our everyday lives? It is a question that can feel simple at first, but becomes much more complex when we begin to look at it through our own experiences. How do we care for ourselves? How do we care for others? What happens when we need care but do not know how to ask for it? And how does care shape the communities we are part of?

These were some of the questions that guided our first Cerchio Sociale, a women-only dialogue circle organised in collaboration with Studio Kalos, a local wellbeing and community studio in Monfalcone.

Coming Together Around Care

For this first Social Circle, we chose to explore care as a shared theme. Rather than approaching it as a concept to be defined, we wanted to create a space where participants could reflect on what care actually means in their own lives.

We joined forces with Studio Kalos to create a setting where women could slow down, listen, and exchange experiences. The circle was facilitated by psychologist Alice Tentor, founder of Studio Kalos and a member of Collettivo Onda, who guided the conversation through a series of readings and reflective prompts.

The readings offered a common starting point, but the conversation quickly moved beyond the texts themselves. Participants were invited to connect the ideas to their own experiences, reflecting on the ways they experience self-care and care within their families, friendships, workplaces, and communities.

From Individual Experiences to Shared Understanding

One of the most meaningful parts of the circle was seeing how differently care can be experienced. For some, care meant creating time for themselves. For others, it meant being present for someone else, asking for support, setting boundaries, or simply having a space where they could speak openly.

As the conversation unfolded, these different perspectives began to sit alongside one another. Experiences that initially seemed very personal became points of connection.

The circle created an opportunity to recognise that there is no single definition of care. It is shaped by our relationships, cultures, responsibilities, needs, and circumstances. Listening to someone else's experience can therefore expand our own understanding of what care can look like.

Dialogue as a Community Practice

This is at the heart of what we are trying to build through Collettivo Onda.

We believe that dialogue can be more than a conversation. It can be a way of building awareness, connection, and trust within a community.

A space like Cerchio Sociale creates the conditions for people to slow down and engage with experiences that may be different from their own. It allows participants to listen without immediately needing to respond, to reflect without needing to reach a conclusion, and to discover common ground without erasing differences.

When we better understand what people around us need, how they experience their lives, and what makes them feel supported or excluded, we also become better equipped to imagine communities that respond to those realities.

Making Space for Women's Experiences

The women-only format was intentional.

Creating a space specifically for women allowed participants to explore the topic through shared experiences and perspectives, while creating an environment where personal reflections could be expressed with greater openness.

It also reminded us of how much knowledge already exists within communities  in people's lived experiences, relationships, and everyday practices and how valuable it can be to create spaces where that knowledge can be shared.

Continuing the Circle

Our first Cerchio Sociale was a starting point, not a conclusion.

We want to continue exploring what happens when community spaces are built around dialogue, reflection, and lived experience rather than predetermined outcomes.

Care is only one of the many themes that can open these conversations.

What matters is creating the conditions for people to meet, listen, reflect, and learn from one another.

Because sometimes, strengthening a community begins with something as simple as asking a question and giving people enough space to answer it together.