National Program for Youth Volunteering

The Universal Civic Service is the main national programme for promoting the values of solidarity and social participation. It is aimed at young people between 18 and 28 years old and open to citizens of EU countries and to non-EU citizens legally residing in Italy.

The National Civic Service was established in 2001 with Law 64/2001. In 2017, with the Reform introduced by the Legislative Decree 40/2017, the National Civic Service became “universal”. The reform has strengthened the principles of the unarmed defence of the homeland and promotion of education and peace between peoples, also contributing to the social solidarity for the progress of society, to social well-being and cohesion, as dictated by some articles of the Italian Constitution.

The legislator used the term “universal” also to stress the importance of guaranteeing access to volunteering to all young people who wish to do this experience in Italy or abroad. However, accessibility depends on the amount of funds, which are available yearly.

The Universal Civic Service is implemented through a three-year programme.

The National Authority responsible for the implementation and coordination of the programme is the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

The Universal Civic Service is a programme that includes several actors:

• Volunteers, i.e. young people who decide to dedicate a period of their life to the country and to others carrying out civic service activities in Italy or abroad in one of the sectors of intervention envisaged by the projects;
• Bodies and organisations promoting the projects, that are public or private entities registered in the Universal Civic Service Register;
• The Italian Regions and the Autonomous Provinces, which, according to art. 7 of the Legislative Decree 40/2017, can carry out the following activities in their respective territories: training of the staff; control over the management of activities; evaluation of the results of the actions carried out in their territories; inspections aimed at verifying the correct implementation of the measures and the regular employment of the volunteers;
• A consultative body called “National Council for the Universal Civic Service”;
• Representatives of volunteers (at national and regional level); 
• The local communities, which benefit from the implementation of the projects.

The projects have a duration ranging from 8 to 12 months and the sectors of intervention are the following:

• Assistance;
• Civil protection;
• Environmental heritage and urban regeneration;
• Historical, artistic and cultural heritage;
• Cultural, landscape, environmental, sport, sustainable and social tourism promotion and education;
• Agriculture in mountain areas, social agriculture and biodiversity;
• Promotion of peace among peoples, nonviolence and unarmed defence;
• Promotion and protection of human rights;
• Cooperation for development;
• Promotion of Italian culture and support for Italian communities abroad;
• Digital competences.

From 2001 up to 2022, about 600,000 young volunteers have been involved in civic service projects. In 2022, 50,972 young people have started their placements. In 2023, the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service published various calls for participants for the selection of over 57.000 volunteers who will participate in projects to be implemented in Italy and abroad during 2024 and 2025.

Funding

According to the Legislative Decree 40/2017, the Universal Civic Service is financed through an ad hoc National Fund (established by art. 19 of Law 230/1998) and managed by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers through the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service. In addition to the national resources, the Fund also receives European financing.

In 2022, over 300 million euros were allocated for the implementation of the Universal Civic Service, of which 217 million came from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

In 2023, Decree 1233/2023 allocated over 350 million for the ordinary projects tender, of which: 

• About 332 million euros for projects to be implemented in Italy (216 million euros from the NRRP and 116 million euros from national resources);
• About 21 million euros for projects to be implemented abroad.

Additional funds were allocated to the Universal Civic Service for:

• The Digital Civic Service, based on the Agreement between the Department for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service and the Department for Digital Transformation, signed on 14 December 2021, which provided 55 million euros for the three-year period 2022-2024 (funds from the NRRP);
• The Environmental Civic Service, based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry for Youth Policies and the Universal Civic Service and the former Ministry for Ecological Transition (now Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security), signed on 6 August 2021 and extended up to August 2025, which allocated 17.5 million euros for the first two cycles of the trial.

Characteristics of youth volunteering

According to the official statistics, 50,972 volunteers took part in projects of the Universal Civic Service financed in 2022 (projects carried out in 2023). In detail, 50,040 young people carried out the service in Italy and 932 abroad.

Female participation represented 63% of the total, while male participation was 37%. 

Analysing the data by age group, the largest cohort was represented by the 21-23 years old (33% of the total volunteers), followed by the 24–26 years old (26%), the 18-20 years old (22%), and the 27-29 years old (18%). Compared to the previous year’s statistics, the youngest age group 18-20 years old recorded a remarkable increase of +4%.

Most volunteers had a secondary or university level of education. In detail, 68% had a high school diploma, while 21% had a bachelor’s degree. Around 11% of them had lower qualifications.

Out of the 50,040 volunteers carrying out the service in Italy, 54% of them took part in projects in the Southern regions, including the islands, 24% in the Centre and the 22% in the Northern regions. Regarding the sectors of interventions, 20,922 volunteers were included in assistance projects, and 10,319 of them were involved in projects in Southern Italy, including the islands. The cultural, environmental, sustainable and social tourism, sports, education and promotion sectors recorded the highest numbers in two regions: Campania (23%) and Sicily (17%), while the other Italians regions did not exceed 10%. Participation in the historical, artistic, and cultural heritage reached significant values in the Regions of Campania (19%), Lazio (16%), Sicily (15%) and Lombardy (10.19%).

With regards to the 932 volunteers placed abroad, 34% of them carried out activities in America, 32% in Africa, 26% in Europe and 8% in Asia. 

Support to young volunteers

Young volunteers receive the following support:

• general training and specific training (minimum 80 hours);
• training credits;
• certificate of participation in the civic service;
• recognition of the skills acquired;
• contributions to the pension fund;
• monthly allowance of €507.30; 
• for placements abroad: additional daily allowance (the amount depends on the hosting country), food, accommodation, 2 round trips;
• leave in proportion to the placement period (20 days over 12 months);
• up to three months tutoring to facilitate access to the labour market (for placements in Italy);
• priority access, in some Universal Civic Service projects, for young people with fewer opportunities.

Furthermore, mentoring is an important support measure for volunteers: the Local Project Operator is a staff of the host organisation who provides on the job training to volunteers for at least 10 hours per week.

 Training credits

Universal Civic Service volunteers can obtain some training credits as part of their education or professional path. Universities can also recognise training credits for activities carried out during the placement, if relevant to the curriculum of studies.

The State, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces can also stipulate agreements with private companies, associations representing cooperatives and other non-profit bodies, to encourage the entry into the labour market of young people who have completed their Universal Civic Service.

Finally, Law 74/2023 has introduced important innovations for the Universal Civic Service, establishing that 15% of the places available in public competitions are reserved for volunteers who have carried out their service without demerit.

By participating in the Universal Civic Service, volunteers can dedicate a significant part of their lives to community service, to acquire practical knowledge and skills, and have an opportunity for training and personal growth.

Target groups

The Universal Civic Service is aimed at young people between 18 and 28 years old and open to citizens of EU countries and to non-EU citizens legally residing in Italy.

The reform of the Universal Civic Service introduced additional measures to support the participation of specific target groups of young people with fewer opportunities (with disabilities, low level education and qualification, economic difficulties, NEET), who can carry out a period of civic service of 3 months in one of the countries of the European Union, aimed at facilitating access to the labour market.