Giovani Energie

The "Giovani Energie" project, funded by the Veneto Region, provided opportunities for young people to discover their talents and acquire key skills for social and economic autonomy. The initiative included interventions to intercept inactive youth to encourage their social and labor activation, orientation and training interventions based on interdisciplinary themes for the acquisition of social and transversal skills, and support for youth initiatives. In addition, it promoted exchange between youth policy and active labor policy practitioners, stimulating greater capacity for intervention and networking, and offered territorial responses more in line with the needs of the target groups and the labor market, as well as interventions to encourage the re-entry into training paths of minors in dispersion.

The specific objective of the project was to improve access to employment and activation measures for all job seekers, particularly young people, through the implementation of the Youth Guarantee, support for the long-term unemployed, disadvantaged groups and inactive people, while also promoting self-employment and the social economy.

To achieve these goals, the project created a model that facilitated trainers in their work, using nudging, boosting and sludging techniques. The main target group was 50 youths aged 18 to 25, with current intakes of 19 youths, sent by the services of the Municipality of Vicenza and the ULSS. These young people were at a critical time in their lives, having just finished their studies and about to enter the world of work, a transitional phase that, if not properly addressed, could lead to chronic states such as N.E.E.T. The training objective was to guide them through this transitional phase, motivating them during the job search and providing practical advice on interviewing, CV creation and other activities related to the active job search.

The project included specific activities such as creating promotional and informational content for the Vicenza Community Foundation, developing content for the foundation's Facebook page, and writing articles for the newsletter. In addition, there was collaboration in creating the website and promotional materials for the "Di Nuovo A Casa" project, coordinated by Cooperativa Margherita and supported by Fondazione Cariverona.

One of the main activities was the production of a promotional video for the "Young Energies" project, with the fellow involved in organizing the production, writing the script and as the lead actor. The project was presented to the young people involved during open meetings organized by the Vicenza employment center. Monitoring of the activities carried out and difficulties encountered by the trainers was conducted through the collection of post-activity feedback and moments of confrontation. Several youth were activated for individual counseling, although difficulties were noted in finding and retaining youth, issues that delayed the start of group workshops.

Finally, research on nudging, boosting and sludge techniques was conducted in collaboration with doctoral students from the University of Verona, with the literature search phase reaching an advanced conclusion. The "Young Energies" project thus represented a comprehensive and structured initiative to promote gender equality and improve the employability of young women in the Verona area, through innovative interventions that enhanced local resources and addressed context-specific challenges.