Audra was founded at the end of 2023, born from the shared experience of its founders in fields such as agroecology, facilitation, global citizenship education, music, and the arts.
Our mission is to carry out socially beneficial activities for both members and the wider community, always respecting individual freedom and dignity. We are a non-profit association inspired by a systemic vision of life rooted in complexity thinking, regenerative cultures, deep ecology, and intersectional feminism.
We believe in building communities, fostering participation, and promoting active global citizenship, social and climate justice, food sovereignty, and shifting narratives around gender and migration.
To achieve these goals, we draw on tools such as group facilitation, youth work, agroecology, music, theater, cinema, and art as creative, social, and even therapeutic practices.
The name “Audra” reflects our vision and identity. During our search for a name, we came across Michela Murgia’s kids book Noi siamo tempesta (We Are Storm), which tells real-life stories of transformative change achieved not by individuals, but by groups, communities, and collectives. It resonated deeply with us: meaningful change happens together. The world heals, regenerates, and evolves together.
“Audra” means “storm” in Lithuanian, symbolizing something sudden and disruptive that shakes existing balances but brings with it regenerative energy. It also represents the international breath of the association, which, while based in Valchiusella, often works – and networks – in European contexts. Not to mention that one of our founders is based in Lithuania!
In pursuit of our mission, Audra engages in a variety of activities, including:
Valchiusella, a small valley in the Italian Alps located about 60 km north of Turin in the Piedmont region, is the home of our association. Known for its natural beauty and typical mountainous environment, the valley is surrounded by diverse landscapes and rich biodiversity.
In recent years, Valchiusella has seen a notable increase in the returning population, which has contributed to a gradual cultural and artistic revitalization of the region. This shift has fostered a quieter yet steady development of local initiatives, making Valchiusella a fitting location for our association, in line with our values of community and sustainability.
Although our headquarters are in this small valley we love, our projects have an international reach and are often made possible through a rich and constantly evolving network. Our members are spread across Italy and Europe, and our work often takes us traveling to connect with and exchange experiences with our like-minded partner organizations.
Giulia Attanasio is a community music facilitator, singer, trainer and filmmaker, with a focus on circular music and polyphonic songs from around the world. In 2017 she founded the project Terra dei Canti, through which she promotes choral singing as a tool for community and personal development. Since 2019 she is directing a women social choir in Valchiusella that weaves together repertoires from different musical traditions. In 2017, she founded @terradeicanti, a project that explores and promotes choral singing as a tool for community development, team building, and well-being. Giulia has also extensive professional experience in the audiovisual and documentary sectors, which she integrates into her group work through an original participatory video methodology. She organizes events and training sessions for young people and adults, collaborating with municipalities and national and international third-sector organizations, both in rural and urban contexts, often within the Erasmus+ program.
Marta Auletta is an agronomic and environmental professional with a solid background in sustainability and green care. She holds a degree in Agricultural Sciences and Technologies and a Permaculture Design Certificate from the Italian Permaculture Institute, with a focus on regenerative agriculture. She completed an internship at the Oropa Botanical Garden, gaining expertise in plant ecosystems, and is part of a mycological group, studying fungi and lichens as bioindicators of environmental health. Her passion for biodiversity and ecosystem protection is central to her work. Her experience includes working in social cooperatives as a gardening tutor, supporting adults in need, and leading workshops for schools to inspire environmental awareness. She currently works at a gardening store specializing in organic agriculture and garden design, combining technical skills with sustainable solutions.
Valentina Corrado has been working in audiovisual production since 2015, overseeing projects from concept development and on-set organization to filming and post-production.
She works both independently and within teams, producing corporate videos, music videos, video-dance pieces and documentaries, and she also provides video consultancy at the Avogadro Institute in Turin and at I.C. Giovanni Cena.
Since 2018, with Veritas Art Pictures, she has manages all stages of documentary production focused on migration-related themes. She is also a programmer for the Bref short film festival (Aiace Valle d’Aosta).
Within BILOURA - Intercultural Arts Collective, she leads the video department, applying narrative change principles in the Living Better project.
Dario is a group facilitator, project manager and filmmaker. Since 2022, he has been a project development manager for the European ecovillage network GEN Europe. As a facilitator, he works with several ecovillages in Europe in the development of transformational learning programmes related to project development, group facilitation, participatory documentary and deep ecology. As a filmmaker, he co-directed with Adonella Marena of Lo Sbarco (2011) and was part of the collective film Demonstration (2013) directed by Victor Kossakovsky. He graduated from the UPF creative documentary master in Barcelona and was creative producer and editor of Makaría (2020).
Davide Giachino, Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (Politecnico di Torino), is a singer and a project manager of national and international level projects. He is also a researcher and trainer on new narratives on migration, food sovereignty and global citizenship topics. He has an extensive experience in facilitating groups and communities who want to strengthen their vision and mission, make the decision-making process more efficient and horizontal and, in general, increase the participation and enhancement of individuals within the group.