Italy

UPSHIFT: Out of Your Comfort Zone “At the beginning, I felt a bit lost; but the day after I already started to understand what we needed to do. From then, I began to think about some possible ideas for the project, and the more we moved forward, the more I felt as if I were part of this project”. These are the words of Alessandro, 17 years old,…

The Challenge of Employment for Young People in Italy By March 2020, closures and lockdowns imposed by governments forced 90% of students worldwide out of school . The impacts of such restrictions are yet to be fully understood, although there seems to be a growing consensus that they will be wide and long-lasting. Moreover, these impacts add on…

‘As a young person it’s so natural to take decisions -- we don’t think, we just do it. I didn’t think how dangerous my journey will be or how different my life will be in Europe. I left Senegal to get a better education. It has not been easy but I don’t want to give up -- if you don't risk you do not achieve anything’, Khaoussou Diassigui is a U-…, The Role of Technology: U-Report On the Move, UNICEF’s role is to ease the burden on unaccompanied child migrants and refugees as they arrive in a new, strange place without much knowledge of what to expect or even their rights , through the U-Report On the Move (U-Report OTM) project.   U-Report OTM allows young people to express themselves on various issues they face, and allows UNICEF and…, The Journey..., Unaccompanied child migrants and refugees who arrive in Palermo are assisted by the Government of Italy, UNICEF, other UN agencies, Intersos, and NGOs. Many have been housed in a reception center called ‘Asante’ - Centro di Prima AccoglienzaMSNA. Asante is a Swahili word which means Thank you and the center is supported by the European Union and…, U-Report: Taking Action, Over the past year, U-Report poll results and interventions have been used by the Ombudsman and UNICEF to speak out on conditions of refugees and migrants, with the aim of improving reception conditions, ensuring young migrants and refugees have a Guardian, promoting access to socio-recreational activities, support to education and vocational…, U-Ambassadors: Young People on a Mission to Engage their Communities, Bassirou and Khaoussou are also U-Ambassadors or U-Report OTM’s community volunteers. As U-Ambassadors they encourage other refugees and migrants to be part of U-Report OTM, receive important information and also speak out on issues they care about. U-Ambassadors is U-Report’s volunteer initiative that started in Pakistan in 2016 -- since then…, U-Report OTM: What’s next:, While visiting a reception center for young women in Bagheria, we met a group of refugee girls and UNICEF partners in the center. A majority of the girls were trafficked illegally and rescued at the Sicilian port. Intersos and UNICEF also work and deal with illegal trafficking of girls and women. Along with the Government of Italy, they provide…, Future for Young Refugees and Migrants, UNICEF wants to make migration safe for every child. UNICEF’s engagement on issues regarding children on the move is built on the premise that a child is a child, independent of his or her migratory status. This core principle underpins UNICEF’s 6-point Agenda for Children on the Move.   This year in December the world will have its eye on the…

Leadership and participation -- we talk a lot about the former, but without proper support for the latter? We’re on a slippery slope to failure, and potentially thousands of young people let down by the UN.  It’s not enough to have strong leadership; you have to have a believer on your team, someone who genuinely believes young people’s opinions…

On 11 and 12 July 2017, young migrants and refugee U-Reporters in Italy met the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents of Palermo, Sicily, to be heard on issues that matter to them. The influx of migrants and refugees continues unabated along the central Mediterranean route. This year nearly 85,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Italy. Of…