Spotlight on volunteering: Italy invests in youth

Servizio civile, literally “civil service”, is a national volunteering program for young people between the ages of 18 and 28 that was first instated as an alternative to the military service, which in Italy was obligatory for all adult men until 2005. Today both men and women can apply for the servizio civile, a year-long volunteering opportunity that commits them to working between 30 and 36 hours a week for non profit organizations, NGOs and other cultural or social projects, both within Italy and abroad. It is not a conventional volunteering scheme, however, as a minimum expenses compensation is provided and some national insurance is also covered.

Once the clocks strike midnight on December 31 between 20 and 30 thousand young Italians can count on being recruited as servizio civile volunteers. By 2010 their numbers are expected to reach  40 thousand.  These are the numbers that Carlo Giovanardi, undersecretary to the President, uses to put an end to what, in his words, has been “a pioneering stage for the servizio civile”.  At the same time, he takes on the skeleton in the cupboard that has haunted the servizio civile debate ever since the enormous economic cutbacks that reduced national funds by 42% delivered by former minister for the economy Tremonti.

What gives Giovanardi the certainty that so many people will be recruited? His main battle horse is a paragraph in the Italian anti-crisis package published on November 29, in the Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italian Official Journal), whose article 4 states: “As of January 1, 2009 the national fund for civil service will no longer be obliged to pay Inps ( Italian national insurance) for servizio civile volunteers that start their terms in January 2009”.  In other words, explains Giovanardi: “This means we can reduce the cost of servizio civile volunteering by 25%, giving us an extra 40 million euros to play with”.  

As well as these 40 million euros, an added 42 million euros can be counted on, giving a grand total of 82 million euros – enough to cover the expenses of 30 thousand servizio civile volunteers for the three months.

This is not all, however, promises the undersecretary. Other funds will be allocated through the regional governments – both Campania and Lombardia have decided to contribute to the national fund for servizio civile and Giovanardi hopes more will follow, especially because those who do not will not be able to request servizio civile volunteers to operate in their region.

“From now on regions that do not invest in the program will not be granted volunteers through the program, to reap the benefits of the national youth service they will have to invest in it”.

Find out more: www.serviziocivile.it

 

Translation by Rassmea Salah