Building The Legacy for Social change In Padova: Cadigia Hassan on The Color of Our Children
In the effort to build a better future for the African Diaspora, few voices are as clear and as necessary as Cadigia Hassan. As a journalist, sociology researcher, and mother, she serves as a vital bridge between two generations. Born in Padova in 1966, her life has been a constant “translation” between her Italian reality and her Somali roots. Her journey is a practical example of what it means to build a lasting legacy, showing that true independence isn’t just about owning a business, but about owning your own story and the future of your children.
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
Background of the series
This article series grows out of our long-running research project in Verona, which began in 2012/13 under the title The Journey. The project explores the lives, histories, and lived experiences of Africans in Verona and across northern Italy, tracing these stories as far back as the mid-1970s.
Over the years, this work has evolved into several interconnected initiatives. One of them is the Obehi Podcast, which now features over 1,000 episodes developed through conversations with key stakeholders—primarily within the global African diasporan community, including founders, academics, and business owners.
The research has also given rise to our online education platform, AClasses Academy, where professionals from across the diaspora contribute their expertise and insights to help address the challenges identified throughout the research process. In addition, the project has produced a series of videos and more than seven published books.
This article series, one of over 20, highlights some of the most significant interviews we have conducted since 2012/13, offering deeper insight into the voices and experiences at the heart of The Journey. We hope you find value in it and invite you to share your thoughts.
Continue reading
Cadigia’s experience is a centerpiece of “The Journey” research project, specifically within the phase titled “The Color of Our Children.” She proves that Institutional Sovereignty, a key part of Obehi Ewanfoh’s Story to Asset™ framework, is about taking an active role in the community.
By participating in schools, analyzing media bias, and preserving cultural traditions at home, she demonstrates how parents can protect their family’s identity and ensure their children grow up with a strong sense of belonging and power.
The Elite Heritage and the Forced Detour
In the Excavation Phase, Ewanfoh looks for the roots of excellence often hidden behind the label of “immigrant.” Cadigia’s story begins not with a struggle for survival, but with a standard of intellectual achievement.
Her father, a Somali jurist, won a scholarship to the University of Padova in the 1960s. He didn’t just pass; he graduated with 110 e lode (highest honors).
See also From Tenant to Sovereign: Reclaiming the Soul of African Education with Jeewan Chanicka
Upon his graduation in 1966, the year Cadigia was born, the family moved to Mogadishu. Her father took a prestigious role as a notary for the government. Cadigia grew up in a Somalia that was deeply intertwined with Italian culture.
“I attended the Italian school of the nuns in Mogadishu… there were Italian grocery stores, Italian cinemas. Most people in the capital spoke Italian. It was an extension of the life my father had known in Padova.”
However, the “Excavation” shows that the safety of this life was shattered by the 1969 military coup of Siad Barre. Her father was held prisoner for two years, and her mother, pregnant and courageous, fled back to Italy with three small children.
This moment of displacement turned a family of high-level professionals into “returnees” in a society that, by the early 70s, was no longer accustomed to seeing “colored” faces in its classrooms.
Translation – From “Color Curiosity” to Media Literacy
Phase 2 (Translation) is about how we process social friction and turn it into a brand message or a professional mission. When Cadigia re-entered the Italian school system in the 1970s, she was the “only one.”
She translates her early experience with a striking lack of bitterness, labeling the stares and comments not as systemic racism, but as “curiosity and ignorance.”
As a professional journalist and sociologist, she has turned this personal history into a Strategic Asset. She doesn’t just remember the “curiosity”; she analyzes how it is manufactured by the media.
Working with the Italian Network of Immigrant Women, she leads high-impact workshops titled “Mass Media and Racial Discrimination.”
“We select newspaper articles or news clips where journalists label and categorize the immigrant as a negative figure. We do this work because mass media influences public opinion by distorting reality. It is a job that must be done for both teachers and students.”
Ewanfoh reports that this is Narrative Strategy in its highest form. Cadigia is not a victim of the media; she is its auditor. She translates the “ignorance” she faced as a child into a curriculum that teaches the next generation how to see through the “labels.”
Alignment – The “Sovereign Parent” in the Public School
In the Alignment Phase, Ewanfoh teaches that we must align our story with the institutions that hold the keys to our children’s future.
Cadigia’s approach to the Italian public school system is purely Sovereign. She does not wait for the school to invite her in; she occupies the space as a stakeholder.
Despite the lack of resources in many Veneto schools, where even basic supplies like paper and soap are sometimes missing, Cadigia remains a staunch advocate for public education. She aligns her family’s success with her own active participation.
“School is made by people: not just teachers but parents. If we, parents, propose initiatives, teachers appreciate it. We cannot always delegate; we must do our part. If I can give a hand to improve the school, I do it.”
Whether it is acting as a class representative, organizing a Christmas market to fund the school library, or joining other mothers to roast chestnuts for a school event, she is sending a signal to her children.
She is teaching them that they are not “tenants” of the Italian state, but active owners of their educational environment.
Creation – The “Sociologist of the Street”
The Creation Phase involves generating a personal brand or work that adds unique value to the world. Cadigia defines herself as a “Sociologist of the Street.” After years as a freelance journalist, she returned to the University of Padova to complete a degree in sociology.
Her “Creation” is her academic and journalistic voice, which she uses to advocate for the Gruppo Rocc (Network Beyond the Borders of Citizenship). This group, supported by the Municipality of Padova, brings children of diverse origins into high schools and universities to share a positive message of coexistence.
“I define myself as a street sociologist because I stop to talk to people, I ask questions, and I want to understand trends. Now, I have the tools and techniques to apply this to the sense of belonging of those born and raised here, the so-called ‘second generation.'”
Cadigia is creating a “Fortress of Peace” by building a social network that validates the complex identity of children who are 100% Italian in culture but carry a different lineage. Her creation is a new form of citizenship that isn’t defined by a passport, but by contribution.
Legacy – The “Crocodile” and the “Sangussiche”
The final phase, Legacy, is about ensuring that the “wood does not try to become a crocodile”, meaning maintaining one’s soul even while successfully integrating.
Despite the 20-year civil war that has kept her from returning to Somalia, Cadigia has built a legacy of memory for her children.
“My father told Somali fables to my eldest son… I carry on the customs by cooking, like the ‘thè somalo’ and ‘sangussiche’ (spiced meat and onion rolls). I create a Somali atmosphere at home for my guests and friends.”
This is the ultimate Fortress of Peace. Her eldest son, Alessandro, is now 23 and studying molecular biology. Her daughter, Electa, is in primary school. They are “Veronese” and “Padovani” by nature, but they carry the “baggage of experience” of their grandfather’s academic honors and their mother’s social activism.
Cadigia has ensured that her children do not suffer from a “sense of belonging” crisis. They belong to Italy because their mother made sure they owned their space in it. They belong to Somalia because their mother made sure they tasted its flavors and heard its stories.
Lessons for the Sovereign Professional
Obehi Ewanfoh’s reporting on Cadigia Hassan offers three definitive lessons for any parent or professional in the Diaspora seeking to turn their story into an asset:
- Be a Participant, Not a Spectator: The quality of the institutions around you (schools, neighborhoods, associations) depends on your involvement. Sovereign people do not wait for the system to work; they help build the system.
- Fill the “Geography Deficit”: Cadigia points out that while Somali youth know Italian history, many Italians don’t know where Somalia is. To own your genius, you must educate your environment about your value. You are the teacher of your own history.
- Reframing Failure as a Shift in Direction: When her son changed his university major from Informatics to Molecular Biology, Cadigia didn’t see it as a loss of time.
“I told him: it’s better to realize now that this road isn’t for you. It’s not a failure; it’s a choice that strengthens your talents.”
Your Next Step Toward Sovereignty
Cadigia Hassan’s journey from the Italian schools of Mogadishu to the sociology halls of Padova is a story of active belonging. She proves that the “color of our children” is not a barrier, but a vibrant part of a multicultural “calderone” (melting pot) that makes the whole society stronger.
See also Is Your Education a Trap? Reclaiming Your Intellectual Sovereignty with Professor Oluwafemi Esan
Are you ready to move beyond “Economic Tenancy”? Are you participating in the institutions that shape your children’s lives, or are you just a spectator in their education?
The bridge to your Sovereign future is waiting. At AClasses Academy, we use the Story to Asset™ framework to help you excavate your unique journey, just as Cadigia did, and turn it into a fortress of influence for your family.
