Awarded for after-school efforts alongside foreign children: to master's degree student in International Security Studies, joint with University of Trento, honor conferred motu proprio by President Mattarella
Fatima Zahra El Maliani named Knight of Merit: congratulations from academic communities
The academic communities of the University of Trento and Sant’Anna School of Advenced Studies congratulate Fatima Zahra El Maliani, the 22-year-old student of the Joint Master's Degree in International Security Studies (MISS), for the honor of merit that President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella conferred motu proprio on her, nominating her Knight of the Republic. Fatima Zahra El Maliani received this honor along with 29 other citizens distinguished for acts of heroism and civic engagement. These are "heroes and heroines of everyday life", who have been able to make a difference through their commitment to ethical entrepreneurship, to people in prison, to solidarity, to volunteering, to fostering social inclusion, to spreading legality, and to extending the right to health.
The student from the University of Trento and the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa was honored for her efforts in helping 30 foreign children through Unicef - Younicef after-school activities at Casarcobaleno in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Porta Palazzo in Turin, the city where Fatima resides. As a child, after arriving in Italy from Morocco at the age of two, Fatima Zahra El Maliani herself attended Sermig (Youth Missionary Service), which "turned her life upside down", as the student admits today. Inspired by her own experience, the student decided to embark on a path of civic engagement, helping foreign girls and boys, taking in homeless women and teaching Italian language to migrants.
The honor was conferred on Fatima Zahra El Maliani during a ceremony in the presence of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on the morning of Friday, March 31, at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
The list of honorees with Fatima Zahra El Maliani is available HERE.
Cover: Fatima Zahra El Maliani (Source: Sant'Anna School Press Office)
