Approximately 200 "solidarity" masks will be donated to first-year students at the University of the Republic of San Marino by the University's management, thanks to a project involving the Community Design Research Unit. Most of the masks, over 100, have already been delivered to students, while the remainder will be distributed in the coming days.
Recognizable by the logo of the San Marino academic institution, made of cotton and featuring a triple washable internal filter, they were produced by the Veneto-based social cooperative "Il Filò," which in recent months had been involved in the creation of a series of masks for the deaf community. Designed in collaboration with researchers at the University of San Marino, these masks feature a transparent front panel that allows for lip reading. This was part of an initiative that involved, among others, the Sammarinese Deaf Sports and Cultural Association, the San Marino Pharmaceutical Center, and the Ministry of Health: "These masks are useful for everyone because they allow full facial expression to be included in conversations," explains Riccardo Varini of the Community Design Research Unit. "Precisely for this reason, an initiative is underway to provide first-semester lecturers for all degree programs with ethical and transparent masks, free of charge. The aim is to improve, among other things, the students' educational and social experience."
This type of mask, certified by the San Marino Bioethics Committee, was made by local artisans within the peninsula, as part of an initiative that includes the transfer of skills and new opportunities: "This is an applied research project in which we considered not only the product but also the process behind it," Varini explains. "To this end, we are working to involve cooperatives in San Marino, with a view to marketing a truly ethical mask."
The initiative was made possible thanks to the impetus of the Rector, Corrado Petrocelli, the University's Director General, Isabella Bizzocchi, and researchers from the Department of Economics, Science, and Law. The degree programs in Design, Civil Engineering, Construction and Land Management, Management Engineering, Communications, and Digital Media were involved.
