Ilaria Olimpico

I am a ‘Peace Studies’ PhD Researcher, a Facilitator of Social Arts & ‘Work That Reconnects’, and a Focusing Trainer.

More than fifteen years of experience facilitating groups - at the intersection of peace education, conflict transformation, deep ecology, and community building across borders - has led me to the methodological map ‘Stories that Reconnect’.

I have collaborated with CISP-University of Pisa, DSPS University of Florence, and University of Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS).

I have served as a facilitator and consultant for ANCI Umbria in the European FAMI projects PUZZLE and LIFE, focused on conflict transformation, social inclusion, and capacity building, collaborating with newcomers and institutions.

In recent years, I have been designing and facilitating workshops, both online and in person, in collaboration with international facilitators such as Elena Boukouvala, Arundhati Samudra, and her mentor Héctor Aristizábal.

Ilaria listens to the stories beneath words and midwifes the unseen through the alchemy of group presence . a subtle magician of what wishes to emerge.

Hector Aristizabal, founder of ImaginAction, Director at Re-Conectando, eco-psychologist and artist.

Ilaria’s work encapsulates her depth and sensitivity in working with groups, considering social, political divisions and inequalities, and creating possibilities for dialogue and systemic change across them. It values imagination, embodiment, cultural diversity, and the complexities of diverse positionalities.

Dr. Elena Boukouvala, Postdoctoral Fellow in Geography at the Open University, sociologist (PhD), drama therapist (MA), psychologist.

Ilaria's ability to move fluidly between academic analysis, artistic expression, facilitation of collective processes, and her personal life is astounding, quoting Haraway, Ilaria is an embodiment of 'hanging with the trouble'.

Dr. Paul Pulé, Honorary Research Fellow, Coventry University Centre for Global Learning, Education & Attainment.