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Fondazione Con il Sud has selected thirty-three new projects through the 2024 Volunteering Call for Proposals to strengthen the volunteering sector in Southern Italy. The initiative aims to promote volunteering by encouraging active citizenship and social participation, with particular emphasis on engaging young people and individuals who have never previously taken part in volunteering activities. The program also seeks to foster generational renewal and attract new talent.

The projects will be supported with nearly five million euros in funding and will cover the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Sardinia, and Sicily.

“The promotion and support of volunteering has always been at the heart of the Foundation’s work in Southern Italy,” stated Stefano Consiglio, President of Fondazione Con il Sud. “These new projects will enable local communities to benefit from new services, launch initiatives, and find concrete responses to pressing challenges and needs. But above all, they will allow many young people to approach volunteering, experiencing the value of solidarity and active citizenship firsthand, while contributing fresh energy and resources to a sector of undeniable importance.”

The initiatives will support renovation of spaces and properties, transforming them into hubs managed by young volunteers, where workshops on solidarity, including art, sports, and culture programs, will be held. They will also feature the opening of cafeterias, coworking spaces, bicycle repair shops, carpentry workshops, and help desks offering listening and support services for people facing hardship, with particular attention to the needs of the LGBT+ community. The projects will engage schools and young people in co-designing services and activities essential to their regions; promote training and awareness programs on legality, active citizenship, gambling addiction, the risks of alcohol abuse, respect for shared resources, and healthy lifestyles; develop apps to connect people in need with available volunteers; and involve residents in enhancing and conserving the area’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Further initiatives will include establishing a “social wardrobe” to provide secondhand clothing to those in need or repurposing garments through creative recycling; supporting the integration of foreign nationals through workshops, Italian language courses, film forums, group discussions on specific topics, and community events; and countering the depopulation of small towns by promoting social and housing inclusion of migrant workers as well as raising awareness among local communities.

The project partnerships involve nearly 250 organizations, with strong participation from public entities, mainly secondary schools and local municipalities. The initiatives aim to introduce over 3,300 individuals to the world of volunteering, to offer cultural and sports activities to approximately 3,000 residents, and provide new social, educational, or welfare-oriented services to over 2,000 people.