24 August 2026
Getting Euler and mathematics to click with children might seem like a daunting task. Not for the young people at “Mat Lab,” who have their own stand in the ‘Villaggio Ragazzi’ —inevitably one of the liveliest places at the fair this week.
Twenty-four-year-old Fiorenzo Massaini, naturally a mathematics student, is volunteering at the Meeting for the first time, but he is no stranger to working with children.
“I work throughout the year with a youth group at the Don Guanella oratory in my hometown of Campodolcino, in Valchiavenna,” he explains.
“Last September, some friends from university suggested that I help put together a mathematics workshop for younger children at the Meeting. I thought to myself: I like mathematics, I already work with children, I put two and two together—quite literally!—and I ended up working at the Meeting.”
Things, however, do not simply come together by themselves; they require the contribution of others.
“We worked on it throughout the year,” he continues, “with the help of some professors as well. Then we shared our ideas with the people responsible for setting up the exhibition, who actually brought them to life. As you know, us mathematicians don’t always see eye to eye with graphic design and practical matters.”
The approach to working with children is always the same. “Mathematics, too, can be turned into a game. But it is important to get personally involved with the children. You can’t just lay down the rules and limit yourself to being the referee.
“When they see that an older person is doing things alongside them, they are more willing to get involved, and it becomes easier to pass on a passion for the subject. The added value of being here is that you are part of something much bigger.”
Fiorenzo has had no difficulty conveying that sense of involvement to the adults, either. “Knowing that another friend from the oratory and I are working here as volunteers, our parish priest decided to come to the Meeting today, bringing some young people and families with him.
“It would be wonderful if we could get some of them involved in what we are doing.” His contribution to the Meeting has gone even further. “With friends from the ‘Crotto Belgioioso’ association in Chiavenna, we often organize charity dinners.
“Knowing how important the Meeting is and the opportunity it gives us, we realized that we could do something else to support it. So we organized a charity dinner attended by more than seventy people, with the proceeds donated to the Meeting. Above all, it was an opportunity to introduce others to this very important initiative.”
