From young people, for young people: 35 proposals for the recovery.
Watchwords: school, culture, food, urban regeneration
400 viewers, 32 guests, 3 artistic performances. These are the numbers of the third Italian Youth Forum 2021 of the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO (AIGU), streamed live from Parma on AIGU’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, dedicated this year to the presentation of the Next Generation You Manifesto. A document containing 23+12 proposals conceived by young people for young people, concrete and easily achievable. Starting with school, the true engine of the future, with many small revolutions in the classroom: compulsory food education, teaching for global citizenship, workshops for theoretical subjects and philosophy in technical institutes, a digital school-leaving exam, a psychologist available to students, parents and teachers, and sustainable products in school canteens. These actions are joined by equally incisive ones aimed at steering the agri-food system in a sustainable direction, as well as urban contexts and the cultural sector: an agricultural civil service, “cultural therapy” activities for personal wellbeing, statistical indicators to measure cultural life, and the reconnection of urban fabrics and small towns to improve access to services and quality of life. The proposals, concrete ideas to be included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), were brought to the Government’s attention through dialogue with the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility Enrico Giovannini and the Minister for Youth Policies Fabiana Dadone.
“Listening to and involving young people is right and necessary, because the effects of the choices we make today will fall on them and on their children. In particular, thanks to the resources of Next Generation EU, decisions will be taken with a medium- to long-term vision, and we must use them to make the world a better place. This is why I have always considered it essential to enshrine sustainable development in the Constitution, resting on the sacrosanct principle of intergenerational justice,” says the Minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility, Enrico Giovannini
The discussion on the proposals
The guests who took part in the debates also included the Mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi, FAO Deputy Director Maurizio Martina and the President of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO Franco Bernabè, together with scientists, innovators and artists, among them: the director of the MIT Senseable City Lab in Boston Carlo Ratti, the economist and President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Stefano Zamagni, the orchestra conductor Beatrice Venezi, the teacher of Computer Science and Entrepreneurship and winner of the Global Teacher Award Daniele Manni, the CNR researcher and collaborator with the Finlay Institute in Havana on the Covid-19 vaccine Fabrizio Chiodo, and the singer-songwriter Giovanni Truppi. Space was also devoted to the experiences of Iris Ceramica Group, Emil Banca and the Chiesi Group, local businesses actively engaged on a path of environmental and social sustainability.
“The pandemic has created a major discontinuity at a crucial moment in the life of an entire generation. The recovery therefore chiefly concerns young people. The positive idea of the future that the European Union and individual national governments have sought to convey with the Recovery Plan, which has sustainability at its heart, is a stimulus for concrete commitment. It is up to young people to define the society that will emerge from the Next Generation EU programme, because the project belongs first and foremost to them. The Youth for UNESCO, who have shown such enthusiasm in spreading the values of the institution, have an important task ahead of them: to interpret and lead this new phase of change. We expect a great deal from them,” says the President of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO Franco Bernabè
THE NEXT GENERATION YOU MANIFESTO
The 23 proposals of the Manifesto are organised into four thematic areas: Feeding the future, A school for everyone, You are my city, and the New Deal for culture (introductory videos on the topics addressed can be downloaded at this link). For each area, the association set up a dedicated working group actively involving members and external experts, with the shared goal of drawing up a checklist of proposals — a true Manifesto: the Next Generation You Manifesto. To these are added a further 12 proposals formulated by the association’s president at the end of his mandate and made available to the community.
“Environmental, social and generational inequalities feed off one another. There is no sustainability without youth participation. Our generation has a duty to put in place an action plan to tackle these challenges quickly and effectively. Now is the time to act. We are ready,” says the President of AIGU, Antonio Libonati