Marginalisation, difficult socio-economic backgrounds, educational poverty, fragile familiar contexts and disability are invisible barriers for youth participation proposals, that in this way risk of becoming a privilege for the few, reproducing existing  inequalities and differences in opportunities.

In this regard, promoting good practices of volunteering and active citizenship helps contrasting distress and exclusion among young people with fewer opportunities.

Support to young volunteers

Among the Universal Civil Service projects it is possible to apply to, there are some which include the extra measure “FEWER OPPORTUNITIES”. This measure provides some spots for young people with economic challenges, low schooling, disability or temporary fragility, of personal or social nature. It is an important opportunity that contributes in making the civil service truly universal: an inclusive experience open to all the young people between 18 and 28, also those coming from the most disadvantaged categories

The application to the spots reserved to the young people with fewer opportunities includes, in addition to the standard requirements and only for the categories connected with economical challenges and disability, a self-certification that proves the young person belongs to one of the two aforementioned categories (according to the artt. 46 e 47 del D.P.R. n. 445/2000), that must be submitted when the nomination takes place.

Community building

The volunteering projects promoted by the Civil Service include activities for the protection and safeguarding of the territory, adding value to local cultures.

Outdoor, touristic and cultural activities are envisioned, so as to become the driving force for a local development model, which contributes to make the territory safe, inclusive and sustainable.

Tackling societal challenges

Every planning and  programming activity of Civil Service includes a context analysis, as specifically required by the art. 4 comma 2 of the law decree from March 6th 2017, n. 40. The three-years plan 2023-2025 takes into account the national and international context in which is taking place, firstly considered as the picture of our country as it is now, as well as of its projection in the international scene, considering the prevailing needs to be addressed and the challenges to be undertaken to give value in the fields of growth and development. Context though, must be considered also taking into account the existing conditions  of the Civil Service “system”, with its peculiarities and capacities, as well as with its improvement potential.

Inclusion and more generically, social cohesion, support of fragile people, education and right to schooling, safeguarding environment and the territory, risk prevention and disasters consequences’ management, have always represented strongly characterising fields in the Universal Civil Service, thus making the mentioned criticalities one of the reference contexts to guide future actions and interventions.