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Beyond Invisible Borders
Join Cecilia Vicinanza, an activist working with Italian grassroots organizations that provide emergency assistance to people on the move along Europe’s migration routes.Together, we will reach the Fraternità Massi Refuge. Here, in the heart of the Susa Valley, we will explore how the places that frame the stories unfolding every day around an imaginary line reveal tensions, fragile balances, and the social and political contradictions that only a border can bring to light.
Highlights
- A deep immersion into the intense and often chaotic daily routine of those who run the refuge every day.
We will visit both the Fraternità Massi Refuge and the Les Terrasses Solidaires Refuge, comparing two realities - one Italian and one French - working to support people on the move. For two days, we will actively step in and contribute to the smooth functioning of the Fraternità Massi Refuge. - Trails for the few
We will walk the main transit routes between Italy and France, exploring the mountainous border areas to understand their history and geography. - Humans, not numbers
We will have the chance to meet people passing through the refuge during our stay. A unique opportunity to speak with those who wish to share their stories, always respecting their willingness and the complexity of their experience.
TRIP PURPOSE
A journey where activism and discovery intertwine. We will offer concrete support to those facing a long and unjust journey. We will meet people on the move and listen to their stories. We will explore key border locations and walk the mountain trails that cross into France.
An intense and conscious experience to understand firsthand the stories and territories of borderlands—marked by fragility, resilience, and deep contradictions.
This journey is rooted in the present: a Europe that continues to reinforce its borders, make migration routes increasingly dangerous, and treat people on the move as numbers, emergencies, or problems to be pushed away. Yet every day, people continue to cross mountains and invisible frontiers in search of a future.
Here, activism and discovery meet. We will be guests at the Fraternità Massi Refuge, offering tangible support to those in transit and listening—if they choose—to the stories of those crossing the Italy–France border today. We will walk alpine trails, places of powerful natural beauty that are also shaped by controls, pushbacks, and political decisions that directly affect people’s lives.
An intense and mindful experience to understand what a border truly means today. Because being present in certain places is already a choice.
This trip is for you if you want to learn more about:
- Being part of a community
- Doing real, hands-on volunteering
- Nature and hiking
What's included
- Food: Full-board stay.
- Accommodation: 4 nights in a hostel.
- Tour & Activities: Excursion and volunteering activities.
- Other: Support from the guide throughout the entire trip.
What's not included
- Transportation: travel to and from the meeting point (Turin).
- Other: Trip cancellation insurance.
- Anything not specified under "What's included".
Payment Terms
30% down payment at the time of booking and the remaining 70% due 30 days prior to departure.
If the booking is made within 30 days of departure, the full amount is due at checkout.
Bank transfers or credit cards can be used to make payments.
However, if the trip status is marked as "Confirmed" or "Last tickets", there's no need to worry - it means the minimum number of participants has already been met.
ITINERARY
Day 1 – Welcome to the Susa Valley
The experience begins in Turin, where we will meet before traveling together to Bardonecchia. We will reach our hostel, settle into our rooms, cook dinner together, and take part in an icebreaker game to get to know one another.
Day 2 – The Crossing
Breakfast at 8:00 a.m., followed by preparing packed lunches.
We will head to Oulx for an introductory tour of key border locations. From there, we will travel to Claviere, then walk one of the trails leading to Montgenèvre, in France. We will return along the village roads. Dinner at the hostel.
Day 3 – Fraternità Massi Refuge
Breakfast at 8:00 a.m. On this first day at the refuge, our goal will be not to get in the way. We will observe, learn, and listen. We may take part in the morning briefing, room preparation, the communal lunch, helping people get ready to depart, and dinner distribution. Today’s keyword: listening.
Day 4 – Fraternità Massi Refuge
This day will be similar to the previous one, with one key difference: this time we will be able to participate more consciously.
If yesterday’s word was listening, today’s word is participating.
Day 5 – Terrasses Solidaires Refuge, Briançon
Breakfast at the accommodation. Packed lunch.
We will travel to Briançon, France, to visit our friends at the Terrasses Solidaires Refuge. This will be a valuable opportunity to discover the main organizational differences between the two refuges and to engage with French activists, learning how they work and how they perceive the situation “on the other side of the barricade. Return to Turin.
Cecilia Vicinanza, 32, is an energy engineer, activist, and digital communicator. She holds a degree in Energy for Development and has traveled along Italian and international migration routes to tell the stories of those too often forgotten by the system. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Rete Milano and part of the TOM crew. She also hosts a Lifegate vodcast focused on sustainability topics.
Booking Info
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