“Costruire Futuro, Insieme!” The ActionAid and Fondazione CDP project to combat educational inequalities and early school leaving has been launched.

Rome, 2 December 2021 – ActionAid and the Fondazione Cassa Depositi e Prestiti are launching “Costruire Futuro, Insieme!” (Building the Future, Together!), a project consisting of training and active citizenship courses aimed at involving teachers, educators, parents and young people in curricular and extracurricular activities.

About 9,000 girls and boys aged between 11 and 19 will take part in the project, developing their skills through active citizenship activities and training courses, both face-to-face and distance learning, on study and work orientation and the prevention of gender-based violence, with a focus on cyberbullying. The initiative also includes training courses for about 500 teachers and educators on active citizenship and inclusive education.

Early school leaving in Italy is an increasingly alarming phenomenon and the latest ISTAT data confirm this. In 2020, the drop-out rate before graduation was 11% in the North, 11.5% in the Centre and 16.3% in the South of Italy. The regions with the highest incidences of drop-outs are Sicily, Campania, Calabria and Apulia (19.4%, 17.3%, 16.6% and 15.6% respectively).
The project “Building the Future, Together!” by ActionAid and Fondazione CDP includes a programme of training sessions focused on six metropolitan areas in the Centre-South: Rome, Naples, Bari, Reggio Calabria, Syracuse and Palermo. The activities are carried out in collaboration with a school – as a central development hub – working together with a network of institutes and associations in the area that work with young people.

Among the tools made available to deepen the themes of active citizenship, inequalities and civic education, ActionAid’s portal, Agent 0011 – already operational since 2015, with 5000 visitors a year and 200 registered class groups – aims to involve young people also through the immersive technology of a serious game (a game designed for educational purposes) dedicated to the project. The “InclusiCity” game will see girls and boys take on the role of the mayor or mayoress of a city with the aim of making it inclusive while maintaining a balance between economic sustainability, civic well-being and respect for the environment.

Another key instrument of the project is Radio Kivuli – ActionAid’s webradio – which will give voice to all the protagonists of the initiative, thanks to ad hoc workshops on radio methodology and the creation of four dedicated podcasts.

As part of the “Building the Future, Together!” project, a partnership is also planned with the Fondazione Milan, the public charity linked to the wider context of Responsibility and Sustainability of the AC Milan Group. Thanks to this collaboration, event days will be held in the cities of Syracuse, Reggio Calabria and Rome, where Fondazione Milan educators and coaches will offer educational and sporting events involving students and teachers.

Lastly, a volunteer skills action plan promoted by Fondazione Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is planned to involve CDP Group employees in tutoring and guidance activities for students on a wide range of topics, such as sustainability, innovation and digital.

“Poverty, inequality and exclusion affect the ability of young people to take part in the life of their communities. With the project “Building the future, Together” we will try to break this cycle, creating the conditions for many boys and girls to rebuild their self-confidence and motivation and find concrete opportunities for growth, thus becoming protagonists of their future again”, Katia Scannavini, ActionAid Italy Deputy Secretary General.

“School drop-outs and educational poverty are phenomena that in our country can compromise the future of many young people, who must not be denied the opportunity to access training courses that help them grow and express their potential. Fondazione CDP is committed, and will continue to be increasingly so in the coming years, to promoting the concrete implementation of education and training projects that can help relaunch the economy and generate positive spillovers for the country as a whole,” commented Giovanni Gorno Tempini, Chairman of Fondazione CDP.

To find out more:
Go to Fondazione CDP website
Go to ActionAid website

Press information
Spencer & Lewis
333.5233150 – pietronigro@spencerandlewis.com
338.8376492 – tagliazucchi@spencerandlewis.com
CDP Press Office
+39 06 4221 4000, ufficio.stampa@cdp.it