Everywhere

Publish date 05-09-2021

by Stefano Caredda

They call them "remaining" young people and they are - to put it simply - those who live and want to continue living away from the big cities. That is, those who do not resign themselves to having to abandon the places where they were born and raised, or where they simply chose to live: young people who are now asking for a change of pace so that the issue becomes one of the key points of the policies of the future.
The so-called "internal areas" cover 60% of the country: 22% of the Italian population lives in these territories, that is just over one in five citizens. Here young people are about 20% of the population and more than half of them have (or would) intend to stay, planning their life and work in those territories. It is a choice due primarily to attention to the quality of life from an environmental and social point of view. In fact, after more than 60 years the urban-centric model, which has characterized Italian life at least since the economic boom of the 1960s, has entered into crisis, and the idea that sustainable development must pass has emerged. also by defusing a mechanism of migration towards the cities that now appears linked to old logic.

Not that the topic has not been dealt with so far: an Internal Areas Technical Committee of the Ministry for the South and Territorial Cohesion aims to create the "National Strategy for Internal Areas" (Snai), which is nothing else that a national policy of development and territorial cohesion that aims to counter the marginalization and the phenomena of demographic decline typical of the internal areas of our country. In particular, 72 areas have been identified so far (over a thousand municipalities and two million inhabitants) in which to implement interventions, some already started, others awaiting the necessary agreements between all the public administrations involved.

However, what is highlighted by the young people of the Officina Giovani Aree Interne, called to draw up a document that will be presented to the government, is that a "revenge of the internal areas" passes through the presence more participation, more training, more culture and more welfare. In fact, in most of the territories there are no high schools (the first step of the "escape") but above all there is no training offer capable of really intercepting the job opportunities that the different internal areas can offer. There are opportunities, because "staying" does not necessarily mean becoming farmers or breeders (there is also this of course, in entrepreneurial forms appropriate to the times). Furthermore, we also need culture, we need public services (such as public transport on demand), we need social policies with proximity services that start from the needs of the people. In short, cities and inland areas do not have to live in antithesis (the former attracting innovation and investments, the others that are abandoned), but they can weave new interdependent relationships and help each other. The future of the country is played out everywhere.


Stefano Caredda
NP May 2021

This website uses cookies. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Click here for more info

Ok