Palermo, June 19, 2026 – Young people from the Malaspina Juvenile Detention Institute (IPM) in Palermo have won first prize at the sixth edition of the national “Carlo Caruso – The Man, the Judge, the Poet” Award, a recognition dedicated to minors and young adults from across Italy who are subject to measures imposed by the Juvenile Justice Authority.
The award was given to the music video “Storms Don’t Last Forever,” a song written by nine young people from the Malaspina IPM as part of an educational and music program led by rapper and writer Kento. The project was carried out by staff and collaborators from Moltivolti APS and Gambian Association in Palermo, with the involvement of educators from the Institute and the support of its administration.
The music video “Storms Don’t Last Forever” was created as part of Diversify: Unpacking Antiracist Education, an initiative promoted by Moltivolti APS together with Gambian Association in Palermo and supported by Avocats Sans Frontières. The project uses educational, artistic, and participatory tools to challenge stereotypes, discrimination, and racism while promoting inclusion and active citizenship. Through music, the project created a space for listening and self-expression where the young people at the IPM could share their experiences, vulnerabilities, and aspirations.
Who are the young people at Malaspina? We don’t really know. At most, we imagine them through a news story, a court ruling, or a newspaper headline. Behind bars, outside our sight and often even outside our thoughts. And yet they have words, desires, fears, and dreams that no legal case file could ever contain.
“Storms Don’t Last Forever” was born precisely from this need: to have a voice. Through music and the language of rap, the young people tell their stories—their vulnerabilities, anger, mistakes, but also their hope and their ability to imagine a different future. It is a collective work that becomes a manifesto of commitment, built through meaningful relationships, listening, presence, and trust.
The prize received today is an important recognition of the work carried out within the Institute, but above all, of the courage shown by the young people who chose to challenge themselves and tell their stories without filters.
We chose to share this song because we believe that giving young people space to speak also means questioning the way we look at them. It means recognizing that behind every story there are circumstances, absences, inequalities, and wounds—but also talents, desires, and possibilities that have yet to be built.
This song does not erase what has happened. But it firmly asserts that a person is always greater than the worst moment of their life. Listening to these words therefore becomes a political and cultural choice: choosing complexity over easy condemnation, and creating spaces where young people can imagine themselves alive, free, and worthy of a future.
Moltivolti APS, Gambian Association in Palermo, the extraordinary rapper Kento, and everyone involved in this project continue to believe that no one saves themselves alone—and that even in the most closed-off places, voice, connection, and change can emerge when someone chooses to truly be there.
