Alberto Merler
Gioco per il futuro. Il mio futuro in gioco. [“Playing for the future. My future at play”]. Final event with the children of the Santa Maria di Pisa primary school, Sassari. Gioco per il futuro. Il mio futuro in gioco. [“Playing for the future. My future at play”]. Final event with the children of the Santa Maria di Pisa primary school, Sassari. Use the bricks you have, not the timber you wish you had. Above all, build collective actors.
He learnt loyalty and entrepreneurial daring from his parents. From his father, a merchant who helped farmers sell their produce directly without making a profit, foregoing personal gain for the common good. From his mother, who was active in the Women’s Social Movement. From the Brazilian school he attended in Itapetininga, in the state of São Paulo, he learnt that education is a holistic undertaking, encompassing science laboratories, well-stocked libraries, and career guidance.Interculturalism was also a great teacher. Brazil, Africa, Europe, Japan. Dakar and Sheikh Anta Diop. The universities of São Paulo, Milan, and Trento. Journeys always open to the unexpected, to the combination of seemingly disparate factors that open up new possibilities.Alberto showed us that being a socially engaged academic means knowing how to bring together available resources. It means daring – having the courage – when colleagues say ‘it can’t be done’. Creating a degree course in Social Work by bringing together four faculties. Establishing the PhD program when others had tried and failed. Taking students out into the field, to the markets, to the gardens of Piazza Conte di Moriana to understand social issues by observing the manhole covers from 1880.His lesson is simple and radical: when you get your hands dirty, things get done. Don’t wait for ideal conditions. Use the bricks you have, not the timber you’d like. And above all, build collective actors. Commitment doesn’t depend on a single individual but on collaboration. On breathing that vital breath that transforms a project into a living creature.We, who were his students, continue to ask ourselves whether we are still following this path. The answer lies in this very quest, which arose from his question and example. Alberto taught us that lending a helping hand is never merely a remedy for the individual body but rather a concern for society, for our connections, and for the possibilities for transformation that open up when we have the courage to see, listen, and act.Audire, audere, adiuvare. Listen, dare, help. This is the path he followed and the one he showed us.
His journey and example have inspired us in this PLACES research project. Alberto Merler has taught us that academic commitment does not arise from a single moment, but from a mindset cultivated over time. It is a strategy of paying attention to contextualised details, people, and possibilities.