Existence of a National Youth Strategy

The draft bill delegating legislative powers to the Government in the field of youth policies and the universal civic service, approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 December 2025 and which now needs to be discussed and approved by the Parliament, provides for the creation of a proper National Youth Strategy, which will define strategic priorities, objectives, and lines of action, will have a duration of at least five years, and will be defined by agreement between the State and territorial authorities.

For now, the national youth strategy is defined in the Agreement between the Government, the regions, the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano, and local authorities concerning the allocation of the “Fund for Youth Policies” for the years 2024, 2025, and 2026, approved by the Unified Conference on 17 October 2024.

Scope and contents

The national youth strategy defined in the abovementioned Agreement establishes, for the first time, a three-year plan which, in addition to ensuring consistency among the various initiatives planned across the territory, will allow continuity in interventions in favour of young people, ensuring greater impact through shared opportunities for growth and support, particularly in peripheral and less developed areas of the country.

The planning of regional initiatives and their monitoring will take place through the preparation of a three-year Plan, which each Region must submit to the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service. Similarly, ANCI and UPI will need to prepare a three-year Plan of interventions to be sent to the Department.

The portion of the Fund allocated to interventions of national relevance is aimed, among other things, at: programs for the social inclusion of young people and for the prevention and countering of various forms of hardship; support for young people in the transition from education to the labour market; co-financing of projects funded by the EU and carrying out activities with European and international bodies; and the development of an information system aimed at monitoring interventions implemented at the local level and financed with Fund resources.

The portion of the Fund allocated to the Regions, Autonomous Provinces, and the Local Autonomy System is aimed at co-financing territorial interventions directed at promoting, among other things: initiatives to encourage active and inclusive youth participation through co-planning mechanisms; social inclusion programs for young people to facilitate their integration into social and work life and their active participation; and the creation and/or promotion of Regional Youth Cards.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the Youth Strategy

The Prime Minister is the authority in charge of youth policies and strategy. He/she may delegate the responsibility to a third political authority. At present, the delegated authority for youth policies has the rank of Minister.

Revisions/updates

Every year, the National Government, the Regions, the autonomous Provinces, the ANCI and the UPI agree upon the new national youth strategy in the framework of the Unified Conference. The most recent national youth strategy has been agreed upon in the Unified Conference that took place in October 2024.

The draft bill delegating legislative powers to the Government in the field of youth policies and the universal civic service, approved by the Council of Ministers on 22 December 2025 and which now needs to be discussed and approved by the Parliament, provides for the creation of a proper National Youth Strategy, which will define strategic priorities, objectives, and lines of action, will have a duration of at least five years, and will be defined by agreement between the State and territorial authorities.