Fourth Youth Conference in Florence, Strengths and Concerns of Care Leavers

The strength of the group where young people feel understood and free to share their experiences. The importance of activities and meetings to share knowledge and ideas. Cultural experiences. Trips. Exchanges that make people grow. The feeling of being the protagonists of an individual and collective journey. But also concerns about the future after the age of 21. Difficulties on the bureaucratic front for access to housing and the Borsa per l’autonomia (Independence fund).

The fourth Youth Conference, which took place in Florence on 14 and 15 April, was all this and much more. The two-day event was attended by 31 care leavers and 17 tutors for independence representing the 17 regions participating in the national project. The Conference was the participatory evaluation body whose aim was to take stock of the first five years of the Care leavers project for young people who, on reaching the age of majority, live outside their families of origin on the basis of a court order. Promoted and financed by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policies within the framework of the Fund for combating poverty and social exclusion, the project has worked on an experiment launched in 2019 with the scientific and technical assistance of the Istituto degli Innocenti.

The National Youth Conference at the Istituto degli Innocenti

The Fourth National Youth Conference of the Care leavers project took place on 14 and 15 April at the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence. During the event, opportunities to get to know the group alternated with workshops involving both care leavers and tutors for independence, as well as discussions between the participants, the technical assistance unit and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies.

This fourth Youth Conference focused on evaluating the tools used for experimentation through theatrical activities, workshops that were more manual in nature and evocative cards of the tools used for experimentation.

In particular, the first day focused on knowledge – “Un messaggio vale più di mille parole” (A message is worth a thousand words) - to then move on to the evaluation workshops: Un giro di carte sui Tavoli e sulle Youth conference (A round of cards on the Tables and Youth conferences); Tra nuvole e striscioni (Between clouds and banners); Guarda come ci divertiamo (Watch us having fun); Passo dopo passo... i nostri progetti (Step by step... our projects). More than 30 young people joined the Conference. They were divided into three groups with each group participating in all workshops. On the morning of the second day, three new groups were set up with the task of collecting all the thoughts shared the day before to come up with an evaluation of the work that had been carried out. In parallel, the tutors were trained for two days in educational group management by professor and trainer Roberto Maurizio, a collaborator of the Istituto degli Innocenti.

On the second day, the young people shared, in the presence of Renato Sampogna, manager of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, their “Messaggio nella bottiglia” (Message in the Bottle) which contained the themes that had emerged during the regional Youth Conferences. Depending on their sensitivities and inclinations, the different groups produced videos, writings, drawings, lists and puzzles. There were messages of affection and esteem for the tutors and reflections towards that world of services sometimes perceived as too distant and too busy to think about them. The National Youth Conference then closed with the reports of the work performed by the groups.

Experimentation: future prospects

This fourth Youth Conference - the second in person after the pandemic - confirmed the great energy of an organisation that gives young participants the opportunity to meet, get to know each other and discuss ideas and issues among peers and with institutions. The voice of the protagonists confirmed that group activities are one of the pillars of the national experiment. Young people take full advantage of the opportunities these conferences offer in terms of mutual recognition, a sense of belonging and creation of new networks. Finally, a dialogue with the institutions is the framework that gives meaning to everyone's efforts and highlights the importance of everyone's projects. Together with the group, the figure of the tutor was the other great highlight of this edition: for young people, tutors represent certainty and solidity when the process of growing up is not easy and doubts and fears accompany every choice to be made. Tutors can now be considered necessary professionals as they offer individual services within the framework of promoting independence. This is because they are able to act as an indispensable interface between citizens and public and private administrations. There is a clear need to strengthen the work of the groups and their connection with the Youth Conferences. Care leavers are sending messages that adults have a great responsibility to understand and transform into concrete answers.