Over 5,500 young people participated in the initiative in one year
Improving the digital skills of children and teenagers in challenging circumstances and promoting their active participation in society.
With these objectives in mind, #youthefuture, an ambitious project supported by Fondazione CDP in partnership with Save The Children to tackle the issue of dropping out of school and foster social inclusion, saw the participation of over 5,500 students from 83 primary and secondary schools in 12 Italian cities: Ancona, Avellino, Chieti, Crotone, Naples, Palermo, Perugia, Potenza, Praia a Mare and Scalea (Cosenza), Rome and Velletri (Rome).
Because of its value, the project received the patronage of Rai per il Sociale and has TGR Rai as its media partner.
In recent months, the young people involved have attended training workshops to become radio presenters, created and conducted podcasts, participated in specific courses on active and responsible citizenship together with their peers from other cities, and found digital tools to be a means of accessing unexplored opportunities, breaking down the physical distances that have kept them at home.
The health emergency had a particular impact in school settings and virtual meetings between classmates, in conjunction with other schools and cities, made it possible to address key issues, even when schools were closed for the day: from children's rights to the challenges of distance learning, from the opportunities and dangers of the Internet to shaping one's identity in the age of social networks. These are some of the topics that were the focus of the live radio broadcasts conducted by the young people and discussed in the 155 podcasts that were produced as part of the project. In their last podcast, the young people interviewed Mario Vitale, General Manager of Fondazione CDP. He explained the reasons for this partnership which was designed to help them prepare for their futures.
One of the cornerstones of the initiative was the training of teachers, headmasters and parents, as well as students, with the aim of supporting pupils' well-being and motivation to study, thus reducing the risk of dropping out of school.
The project's participants also included people from the CDP Group who volunteered to mentor and tutor 125 students, conducting training workshops with them on sustainability, innovation and digital issues.
Photos by Francesco Alesi