About us
Suzanne and...
I was born in the United States, moved to Italy at the age of 12 where I completed my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome, and up to Milano where I worked in the editorial field for children as illustrator and project designer. When I first heard about the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values programme in 1989, I immediately adopted it both in my profession, and as a life compass. Together with the teachings of its founder, Sathya Sai, the programme, known also as SSEHV-Educaere, continues to be a source of inspiration, guidance and spiritual enrichment for me. The yearning to foster, promote and share it with others is an opportunity to cultivate and deepen my own understanding of its significance and scope. To portray the values, their sense and meaning, together with the revolutionary vision of identifying our very own nature as one with the core of Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love, into practical materials for the benefit of children and their families, my life-goal. Over the years I have endeavored to find ways to bring the value concepts to life in a compatible way for young children and youth in the form of didactical games and practical activities. These materials have been framed as "packaged support" for teachers and parents and all those keen on upholding human values at school, in the family and in our overall communities.
Holding the SSEHV-Educaere programme in high esteem, I cherish the honour to collaborate with the remarkable team of teacher trainers of the Institute of Sathya Sai Education of Human Values of South Europe (www.isse-se.org). Additionally, I am co-founder together with my husband, of the multipurpose space “Arte e Valori” in Ticino, Switzerland, where I reside since 1996, have the pleasure of collaborating with a local magazine since 2019 on a monthly basis by sharing value-focussed articles and worksheets, and I serve as a volunteer at the cancer League of Ticino.
Finally, I consider Marty's Watch as a Bridge project, to reach out to you who believe in the inherent goodness of humanity and are striving to build awareness as to the need for Human Values in our global society. I have no doubt that together we can support one another by sharing our skills, know-how, insights and enthusiasm, and enrich our lives and the lives of today's children by coming together for a common purpose in a spirit of unity in diversity. To do so we need to "be ready" (BRIDGE = Be Ready to Inspire and Direct Goodness Everywhere). To "be ready" means to know "who we are", and to manifest the Human Values that reside within. This is the way to move forward towards the establishement of a sustainable future and a peaceful world community.
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It goes without saying that "Marty" is a joyful companion in my life.
...Marty
Marty saw the light in 1989. He was one of 5 cartoon characters, part of a tentative joint project designed by three Italian Illustrators and friends (Emanuela Bussolati, Suzanne Palermo and Daniel Conci). The cartoon series remained at a tentative stage. Subsequently a new concept was drawn up by Suzanne who continued to believe in the potential of Marty who became the leading character of "The Story of Marty - A Journey on Planet Earth". The story, initially developed in the form of a musical, welcomed the participation of "Sai, Plutarco and Fred (transformed into "Frenchy" in the novel version). During the years the project spread out through a variety of worksheets with the aim of deepening the sense and meaning of Marty's findings, among which the importance of character (unity of thought, word and deed), and Human Values. In 2013 the material was uploaded at "Marty's Watch!" to make it available to others.