An old newsstand that does not forget its past, but returns to be the reference point in one of the most important squares of the city, straddling two very different but adjacent neighborhoods. The Spaccio di Cultura – Community Concierge is located in the newsstand in Piazza della Repubblica 1 / F in Torino, between Porta Palazzo and Aurora. A project conceived and managed by the Rete Italiana di Cultura Popolare which holds together a network of public and private entities, from the world of commerce, crafts, the third sector and active citizenship and puts the idea of ​​proximity at the center. The Concierge is among the 15 Pon Metro projects of the City of Torino, created in collaboration with Torino Social Impact, supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and recognized among the best practices of social innovation at European level.

Born from the process carried out for years thanks to the Portale dei Saperi. The Spaccio di Cultura, cultural and social device of the city, is responsible for providing services and responding to people’s daily needs. A place of meeting and exchange in which to receive the help you need and at the same time a way to help others: an exercise in human micro-economy that sets in motion commerce and craftsmanship but also those services that do not they fall into specific categories but we need them. From running errands in public offices, to shopping, to a place to pick up the courier. It arises from the consideration that a community of “proximity” is made up of people and not of things or objects, and that its true heritage is the good relationships that can be cultivated. We all need a social aid to solve the small, big problems of everyday life and there are often unknown “knowledge”.

The community concierges are the trusted people who can help everybody to solve some problems of our daily life: technological consultancy, small translations, homework help, shopping at Porta Palazzo, leaving keys and collecting packages, but also carrying boxes to the cellar, fixing the curtain rod, setting up a piece of furniture, dogsitting, babysitting, small tailoring jobs, taking care of plants during the holidays and other things, as many as there are community resources. Services of collective utility carried out every day by trusted people, coming from migration situations or with economic and social difficulties reintegrated into work.