A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed in Rome between the National Council for Economics and Labour (CNEL) and Fondazione con il Sud to promote and optimize their respective actions and areas of expertise on issues of shared interest, with a particular focus on joint initiatives for local development and social cohesion, especially regarding the social and employment inclusion of incarcerated individuals. The agreement was signed by Renato Brunetta, president of CNEL, and Stefano Consiglio, president of Fondazione con il Sud.
The Memorandum forms part of the national framework established in 2024 by CNEL and the Association of Foundations and Savings Banks (ACRI) to pursue shared goals of public interest, including: implementing the UN 2030 Agenda; drafting the Report on Public Services and the Report on Local Social Services; addressing the employment implications of the digital, ecological, and demographic transitions; and promoting the economic, social, and employment inclusion of individuals deprived of personal liberty.
Specifically, the Memorandum of Understanding signed today between CNEL and Fondazione con il Sud aims to promote joint local development initiatives in areas such as demographic revitalization, facilitate the exchange of data, case studies, and best practices and implement measures to support the economic, social, and employment inclusion of incarcerated individuals. Particular attention is given to promoting vocational training and employment in prison, financial literacy, entrepreneurial culture, and the social inclusion of current and former inmates, within the framework of the ‘Recidiva Zero’ (Zero Recidivism) programme: ‘Education, Training, and Employment in Prison and Beyond.’ The collaboration also includes a dedicated regional focus on Southern Italy within CNEL’s Recidiva Zero Report, developed in partnership with universities, third-sector organizations, and social partners involved in the programme.
‘CNEL is building a solid alliance of territorial, functional, and mission-driven networks,’ said Renato Brunetta, president of CNEL, ‘to bring together the country’s best resources. The agreement signed today with Fondazione con il Sud is a key piece of this strategy. One of this alliance’s top priorities is the full implementation of Article 27 of the Constitution through CNEL’s “Recidiva Zero” programme, promoting education, training, and employment both inside and outside prisons, a societal challenge that takes on an even more complex and critical dimension in the regions of Southern Italy. But our joint commitment also looks to other pressing issues: we want to counter the depopulation of inland areas and stop the loss of our young human capital, a demographic resource of the South too often forced to emigrate. By pooling resources, expertise, and knowledge with organizations like the Foundation, which work on the front lines in local communities, we can build concrete responses to the country’s economic and social recovery.’
‘The agreement signed today with CNEL,’ said Stefano Consiglio, president of Fondazione con il Sud, ‘marks a significant milestone in the Foundation’s long-standing path of institutional collaboration, one that takes on even greater importance for the territorial development and demographic revitalization of Southern Italy, which is the primary objective of our 2025–2027 Three-Year Strategic Plan. We are committed to promoting an increasingly broad and productive collaboration between the public and the private-social sector across multiple areas, most notably the social reuse of confiscated assets and the socio-occupational integration of incarcerated individuals, where we have signed important agreements with the National Agency for the Administration and Destination of Assets Seized and Confiscated from Organized Crime (ANBSC) and the Ministry of Justice, and one that aims to drive positive change across Southern Italy. Over 20 years, this commitment has been guided by the core values of national cohesion and subsidiarity, with the shared goal of strengthening local communities.’
