Bologna, September 15, 2026 – The first bell of protest rings. On the first day of school, the first protest by the city’s students did not take long to appear. A protest that did not spare even a jab at the government, with a mannequin of the Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara hung from the windows of the Minghetti high school, right next to the entrance of the institute.
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The (brief) demonstration yesterday morning was organized by the Osa collective, which also displayed a banner in front of the same Minghetti high school with the writing: “The future is not written, let’s conquer it. Let’s reject war, racism, and imperialism.” The protest lasted only a few dozen minutes, in the middle of the morning and while classes had already started.
Next Monday, a first public assembly of students is already scheduled.
Osa: “Last autumn’s wave is not dispersed”
“The wave from last autumn is not dispersed – stated the Osa activists through the megaphone during the demonstration in front of the high school – we need to organize ourselves, to fight the policies of the Meloni Government and to build a new world of peace and progress. The alternative exists,” continued the Osa representatives. The student collective then accuses Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister Valditara of being “enemies of the students,” due to a growing “militarization of schools,” the “security policies” implemented by Palazzo Chigi, and a “now widespread racist propaganda.” “The school has lost its emancipatory capacity – concluded the Osa collective activists – and now aims only to build little soldiers ready to obey.”
The student demonstration with the minister’s mannequin then ended after the speeches without further public order issues or problems for the lessons.
Giulio Venturi (Forza Italia): “A violent and disrespectful gesture”
“It is a violent gesture to which one must never get used – is the condemnation from Forza Italia councilor Giulio Venturi –. It is even more serious when it is committed by young people, raised in hatred and without respect for institutions. Because dissent is one thing, violence is another.”
Undersecretary for Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni: “Unacceptable”
“Solidarity with Minister Giuseppe Valditara for the shameful act that took place this morning at Minghetti High School in Bologna, where a mannequin resembling him was hung from a window of the school on the day of the school year opening. A violent and unacceptable image, which has nothing to do with legitimate dissent and which offends above all the school itself, the place that more than any other should teach respect for others’ ideas. We hope for a firm condemnation of this vile act from all political forces,” underlines the Undersecretary for Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, in a statement.
