A meeting to brainstorm the different needs of the area and the projects that can be put in place to foster its growth and sustainable development: from the '100% Cascina Oremo' project to prevent school dropout, to the support for local General Government and to the availability of new financial instruments for environmental and social sustainability projects. These were the themes that took centre stage in the discussion between the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group, including the Fondazione CDP, and the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Biella, held in Biella at Palazzo Gromo Losa.
The event was attended by, among others, Claudio Corradino, Mayor of Biella, Michele Colombo, President Fondazione CR Biella, Andrea Quaregna, Secretary General Fondazione CR Biella, Francesca Sofia, Director General Fondazione CDP, Mauro Sambugaro Head of Business Relations PA Northern Italy, Katia Fioretti, Relationship Manager Piedmont and Valle D'Aosta, Francesco Acerra, Relationship Manager Piedmont of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Group, and Flora Cupolino, Financial Specialist Salesperson of Poste Italiane.
The Cascina Oremo project Created thanks to an extensive networking and territorial co-design involving the Biella education community at the impetus of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio (CR) di Biella and having received the support from numerous entities including the “Con i bambini” Foundation; the "Cascina Oremo" project, named after the farmhouse from which it operates from, has been active for about a year and has been completely renovated with a 13 million euro investment from the Fondazione CR Biella.
Cascina Oremo is a modern sports and educational hub fully accessible and spanning more than 10,000 square metres, and can count 84 operators and 100 associations as part of its network.
Numerous projects related to Cascina Oremo are being developed. These include the "100% Oremo" project supported by CDP Foundation under the intervention sector dedicated to "Social and Youth Inclusion." Thanks to the active involvement of schools, third sector and local community engagement, the "100% Oremo" initiative supports over 3,000 students in the development of their cross-curricular skills, including enhancing their personal awareness, as well as giving to those living in fragile socio-economic situations the opportunity to access extracurricular activities in both sports and culture.
CDP and the community The meeting was also an opportunity to share best practices for the development and efficient functioning of General Governments operating at the local level with CDP by their side. In the past three years alone, more than 20 local authorities between the City of Biella and its Province have benefited from it. An already strong bond between Fondazione CDP and the Biella area, which will also be able to make use of new tools such as the Green Loan, a product resulting from the collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for financing investments aimed at accelerating the ecological transition, such as the purchase of zero-emission transport vehicles, the installation of photovoltaic panels for public buildings, or the construction of bicycle paths to encourage sustainable mobility.