On the occasion of World Thinking Day, a group of asylum seekers from the hosting center Madre Teresa di Calcutta in Taranto (Puglia region) met with a delegation of scouts.

World Thinking Day is celebrated every year on 22 February by scout organizations around the world. It's to commemorate the birthday of both Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, and Lady Olave Baden-Powell, his wife and the World Chief Guide.

A number of migrants in Taranto gave speeches for the occasion while others listened in silence.

The meeting ended with a symbolic gesture: the scouts donated to the asylum seekers tiles painted by scout groups from the area.

'The word peace has a very strong meaning for me'

The word peace is written in several different languages on the tiles. They will soon become installations around the city as part of a project promoted by the Noi e Voi onlus association, the local Scouts and the city of Taranto.

One of the migrants involved said during the event: "I am an Ivorian and I come from a country where we are always at war. This is why the word peace is very meaningful for me."

16 migrants from the house Madre Teresa

The facility Madre Teresa is currently hosting "16 residing asylum seekers and 11 who are not part of the classic system but who are followed, welcomed and helped by the association," said Lucia Sciapli, a member of Noi e Voi onlus, the organization that manages the center.

Scialpi said the event with the scouts offered a "beautiful moment to get to know each other, overcoming those barriers than can exist when we don't know anything about someone else's world."