The IRIS project – Weave, Repair, Meet, Exchange – stems from the collaboration between the “Fulvio Manara” Intercultural Library, the cultural heart of Fileo and a vibrant community space, and the InConTra association. It is one of the winners of the European Cultural Foundation’s “The Europe Challenge” call for proposals, a European award that supports innovative initiatives capable of strengthening the role of libraries as bastions of democracy, inclusion and civic participation.

IRIS addresses the issue of social conflict and polarisation through practices of restorative justice and intercultural dialogue. The library thus becomes not only a place of culture but also a meeting place, a community-based library that gives a face to social participation, intercultural education and the strengthening of inclusivity.

The project involves the organisation of themed weeks featuring readings in the library and intercultural dialogues using the Community Cycles methodology.

The project also saw the launch of the Jacqueline Morineau book collection, which was donated by the Morineau Foundation to InConTra and is now housed at the Fileo library: it is a collection of works on the themes of restorative justice, bringing together the thoughts, practices and perspectives of one of its most authoritative figures. Thus was born the region’s first restorative library: a space that preserves memory, care and dialogue, capable of connecting cultures, generations and experiences of conflict, opening up new possibilities for encounter and transformation.