Challenges and Opportunities of Youth Development

Abstract

This article examines the youth development initiatives and circular economy practices in Monopoli, a town in the Bari metropolitan area of southern Italy. Monopoli has seen a significant rise in tourism, yet its socioeconomic opportunities for young residents remain underdeveloped. Despite the region's relatively youthful demographic, challenges such as high youth unemployment and low wages persist. The study highlights local efforts, regional and religious initiatives to support youth development. However, these efforts often prioritize economic factors over comprehensive social inclusion. Monopoli's engagement with sustainable practices, such as high recycling rates, is noted, though youth involvement in these initiatives is limited. The research suggests that Monopoli, as part of the Metropolitan City of Bari, could benefit from broader regional strategies to address youth development effectively. This would involve leveraging both local and European networks to create holistic opportunities for young residents, ensuring their active participation in sustainable growth and community development.

To reference this paper: 

Risolino, D., 2024. Challenges and opportunities of youth development: The case of Monopoli, Italy. In Towards Circular: Analysis of the coastal areas of Greece, Italy and Spain. Edited by Skupchenko, Think Tank AlterContacts. J.K. Available at: https://www.altercontacts.org/publications/towards-circular-2024/it-sd-2 

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.25321.71528

Introduction

Monopoli, also called ‘la città delle cento contrade’ (the town of a hundred districts) by its inhabitants, is the fifth most populated town in the Bari metropolitan area, with more than 47.800 residents (Istat, 2024). This municipality, located in southern Italy along the Adriatic coast and approximately 45 km south of Bari, has been under regional scrutiny, especially after the revenue reached a new level during the last seasons. In 2023, the tourism sector registered a percentage change of 51,62% in terms of arrivals compared to 2022. Between 2022 and 2023, records showed an increase of 53.213 tourists compared to the previous years, bestowing Monopoli the fifth place in the rank of cities in Apulia with the highest number of tourists and a slot in the top ten travel destinations within the region (Città di Monopoli, 2023a). 

Although the town attracts young national and international tourists, especially due to its nightlife, the socioeconomic opportunities reserved for its young residents are relatively recent and poorly allocated (Agenzia Regionale del Turismo Puglia Promozione, 2023). Against all predictions, demographic trends aren’t the reason. On the contrary, Monopoli’s region, Apulia, emerges as one of the most youthful in the Italian peninsula, confirmed also by the regional age pyramid, which slightly differs from the national graphic (Istat, 2024). On the other hand, birth rates are considered by the Italian National Statistical Institute (Istat) to be coherent with current national standards, as both show relatively poor figures. In point of fact, Istat contextualized its last statistics attesting that since the beginning of the century, the number of births per year has decreased by one-third in the whole country (grossly from 42,000 to 14,000) and not only in the Southern parts (Istat, 2024). 

General tendencies, however, do not reflect local data; if zoomed in, the Metropolitan City of Bari shows one of the highest birth rates in Apulia (7,0 in 2022) combined with the third lowest old age index in the region, after Barletta-Andria-Trani and Foggia provinces (Istat, 2023). Moreover, the area carries, together with the city of Lecce, a positive overall migration balance (its internal migration rate is less pronounced than others) despite its low overall net migration rate. The region hosts 5% of the total number of transiting migrants in Italy. The foreign residents registered within the Bari area (30,9%) come, for the greatest part, from EU countries (e.g., Romania and Bulgaria) and the African continent, e.g., Morocco and Nigeria (Istat, 2023; Ufficio Statistico Regione Puglia, 2023). 

These data come to the aid of the readers, who could otherwise be subjected to dated misconceptions. Southern regions are historically associated with stagnant economies and an elderly population due to the poor living conditions endured by the locals after the Second World War, which were amply described by Levi (1945) in his work ‘Cristo si è fermato a Eboli’ (Christ stopped at Eboli). Nevertheless, current numbers depict Apulia as a dynamic and young area, also proved by 2023 BEST Istat high scores in fields such as renewables environmental context, school access and low pollution levels (Regione Puglia, 2023). Sadly, a positive performance in those sectors doesn’t necessarily create a strong attraction for youngsters (either residents or newcomers): from 2008 to 2017, around twenty-thousand young people moved from Apulia due to low salaries, scarce traineeship opportunities and lack of future investments (CGIL Puglia, 2017). In 2023, Apulia faced a rate of unemployment of 23,7% among youths between 20-34 years old, which, in many cases, disincentives the early depart of young adults from their household (in the southern regions, 79,4% of men and 65,9% of women from 18 to 34 years old choose to stay in their family unit (Istat, 2023). 

‘The goal of positive youth development is to build and strengthen assets that enable youth to grow and flourish throughout life’ (Park, 2004, p.40). In the following sections, the research attempts to illustrate the current situation of Monopoli’s practices and proposals of youth development, its present contributions to promote circular economy among its citizens and its future opportunities as one of the municipalities taking part in the Metropolitan City of Bari.

Methodology

Firstly, approaching youth development as a research topic means analysing ‘deliberate processes of providing youth with the support, relationships, experiences, resources, and opportunities needed to become successful and competent adults’ (Bernat et al., 2006, s10) and, in this case, within a specific geographical context (Monopoli). It is useful to briefly consider the terminology behind ‘youth development,’ especially since the main language of the literature reviewed in this research was Italian and did not provide a univocal meaning of this concept. 

The expressions ‘Sviluppo giovanile’ or ‘Sviluppo dei giovani’ scarcely appear in project materials or governmental plans as experts prefer using the synonym ‘crescita’ (growth), which fits more to an economic process rather than a social and interdisciplinary one like the term 'development' (Alleanza Italiana per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, 2022). In addition, authors often include subcategories of development such as employment, health, and education rather than holistically analysing the topic. This gives the impression of a lack of consensus among experts and policy-makers, especially when the term ‘development’ is referred to young individuals. 

For instance, the creators of ‘Progetto AgriCultura’, mentioned later in the article, took inspiration from youth development literature and its objectives of ‘providing [...] resources and opportunities (Bernat et al., 2006, s10). However, when explaining the programme, they didn’t make any explicit reference to the concept itself. In the schedule available online, educational and work activities are portrayed only as means to fight the economic marginalisation of teenagers, giving a purely economic interpretation to complex social phenomena such as school drop-outs and unemployment. In this way, other aspects of social exclusion such as origin, living context, local opportunities, cultural and religious beliefs become secondary, fuelling the false perception of a disadvantaged generation whose main barrier to self-realisation derives from financial reasons.

Secondly, the main topic produced limited results when associated with Monopoli, mainly because of the size of the town (156 km²) and the insufficient number of activities promoted by and within its area (Città di Monopoli). However, when looking at the bigger picture, since 2014, Monopoli has been chosen as one of the municipalities that currently take part in the Metropolitan City of Bari, an administrative and political entity in the region of Apulia. The quality and quantity of initiatives launched by the City really created an interesting path to follow during the research as it prompted solutions regarding the lack of involvement experienced by Monopoli’s youth in local projects.  

The sources consulted for this research were managed by municipal administration or non-profit organisations. Past and ongoing projects concerning the youth population and circular economy practices were retrieved via online portals and accessible through the transparent administration principles according to the Italian ‘anti-corruption law’ (L. n. 190/2012; Gazzetta Ufficiale, 2012). The history and local implementation of the Youth Guarantee initiative were retrieved from the Council of European Union and the Regional Active Labour Policies Agency Apulia (Arpal) portals. Both helped to assemble known information and depict a clear picture of the European and regional youth support network created by the programme. Lastly, the Italian National Institute of Statistics database was consulted to retrieve and study Apulia’s and Monopoli’s demographic data. The Institute's regional annual reports provided the author with the interpretation of the statistics, which gave more context and substance to the article.

Local and European Youth Support Services

Monopoli aligned most of its youth development projects towards ongoing national and regional actions, promoted at a governmental level with the assistance of local non-profit associations and municipal agencies. Just recently, the municipality, with the support of the Regional Agency for Active Employment Policies (Arpal Puglia), organised on 24th March 2024 the ‘Job Day Rotte da Sud Est’. The event aimed at facilitating the intersection between local firms, mainly involved in tourism, and young unemployed citizens (Città di Monopoli, 2024a). It was accompanied by the opening of a helpdesk and counselling service named ‘Rotte da SudEst’ inside the local civil library, Biblioteca Prospero Rendella di Monopoli, with the support of the municipality, whose task was to listen to young citizens’ needs and advice them regarding topics such as employment, internships and training (Città di Monopoli, 2024b). 

Another counselling service is offered by the National Youth Information Centre ‘Informagiovani’, which is located in many Italian municipalities and recently opened in Monopoli. Informagiovani collects and distributes information to help teenagers and young adults with their life choices, such as education, volunteering, employment, political institutions, civil rights, etc. Per request, they can be introduced to local employers. The service was established in Italy during the 1970s by an inspiration of the French ‘Centre d'information et de documentation jeunesse’ (Youth Information and Documentation Centre) founded in 1969, with the mandate to connect youth to up-to-date information and equip them to face an ever-changing society (European Union; Papalia, 2005). 

On 11th December 2014, the Municipal Administration of Monopoli, with the town Council (Giunta) resolution n.228, signed an agreement which granted the participation of the town of Monopoli in the network of the ‘Regional Plan for the Youth Guarantee Programme’, Garanzia Giovani (Città di Monopoli, 2014). The programme was first promoted in 2013 by the Council of European Union to fight unemployment among young adults across all the Member States, reporting an unemployment index above 25% (The Council of European Union, 2013). This system still includes the following measures: Training and education; Connection with employers; Apprenticeships; Traineeships; Civil service; Support in entrepreneurship;  Professional mobility within the national territory or in EU countries; Employment bonus for enterprises; Distance learning (Agenzia Regionale Politiche Attive del Lavoro)

This type of assistance is directed to all individuals in the EU between the ages of 15 and 29, with a goal to create "a situation in which young people receive a good-quality offer of employment, continued education, an apprenticeship or a traineeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education" (The Council of European Union, 2013; Agenzia Regionale Politiche Attive del Lavoro). Such results should have been reached by strengthening collaboration and establishing partnerships between education and training institutions, employment services at various levels, trade unions and youth support services (The Council of European Union, 2013). 

Garanzia Giovani of Monopoli just turned ten, enabling us to evaluate its contribution to youth development. During its activity, the programme forged relationships with Centro Formazione ‘Futura’ S.R.L., a formally recognised regional body in charge of training courses on Human Resources, Social Media Marketing, etc., for Neither-Employed-Nor-in-Education (NEETs). Most importantly, Futura opened two of its 30 offices in Monopoli, one of them through Associazione Dante Alighieri ETS di Fasano, an educational organisation, guaranteeing the continuity of its services (Noneet Due). The Associazione Dante Alighieri also organises courses and activities for disadvantaged citizens and continuously offers a wide range of learning opportunities, from internships to cultural exchanges in Italy and abroad (Associazione Dante Alighieri Monopoli).

Youth Guarantee is not the only support service in Monopoli. In small towns and big city districts, ‘Oratori’ (Oratories) often play a fundamental part in youth development. They are religious institutions recognised in 2003 by the Italian Government with law L. 206/2003. They aim to promote and host social and educational activities for minors residing in the Italian territory (Gazzetta Ufficiale, 2003). Often perceived as a joining link between formal and informal education, they create an educational community that could contribute to the development of the individual as a whole through a learning-by-doing approach (Castaldi, 2017). Oratori strongly relies on the role of the entertainer (‘animatore’), an older youth who assists official educators with the organisation of the activities for the younger participants. All recreational and educational activities are structured as co-learning laboratories, which is far from the hierarchical and frontal approach normally applied by academic institutions (Castaldi, 2017). In Italy, oratories normally are frontrunners in the organisation of social events, such as local fairs or sports activities, contributing to creating opportunities for young people (and adults) with different social and economic backgrounds to connect and interact. 

In Monopoli, the coordination of local educational communities is managed by the Diocese of Conversano-Monopoli, a subsidiary of the Bari-Bitonto Metropolitan Diocese, with the support of A.N.S.P.I. (Associazione Nazionale San Paolo Italia), a national non-profit Christian organisation (Diocesi di Conversano Monopoli). An example of activities promoted by this network is the one-year-long co-project ‘Verso un oratorio socialmente utile’ (Towards a socially useful oratory) for ‘animatori’ and educators between 16 and 30 years old. Since the start, its aim has been to train the participants on how to approach socially and economically marginalised youths and their families. The programme structure included meetings held at the Salesian Oratory in Naples and some oratories of Conversano-Monopoli, encouraging the participants to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences (Ora Puglia). Oratories offer an alternative to an economic-centred interpretation of youth development, which could find application in local environmental projects. As Monopoli is experiencing issues pitching circular economy and sustainability programmes to its young residents, a learning-by-doing approach like the one employed in the Oratories could improve the involvement of future generations.

Municipal Sustainability Actions

Regarding Monopoli’s efforts toward sustainable and environmental practices, at the beginning of 2024, the municipality was awarded the title of ‘Comune Costiero Riciclone 2023’ (Big Recycler) issued by Legambiente, an Italian non-profit ecologist organisation (Blanco, 2023). This recognition is granted every year during the Ecoforum Puglia to all municipalities with a recycling score (and low residual waste) of 75% or more, meaning that their yearly performances are higher than 65%, the minimum percentage established by Italian law (Presidenza del Consiglio, 2006). Legambiente assigns the score based on the annual data shared by each municipality on a voluntary basis and elaborated and published by the Osservatorio Regionale dei Rifiuti (Regional Waste Observatory). Being one of the most visited cities around Apulia and an attraction for many tourists, Monopoli couldn’t fail to appear in the Legambiente 2023 report, as the organisation recognised the town’s efforts in keeping the score above the minimum requested (Blanco, 2023). In fact, throughout the past years, Monopoli achieved 75,9% in 2023, 77% in 2021 and 74,3% in 2020, which contributed to enhancing the coastal town’s reputation. 

Another recognition came in 2023 from the same organisation. Legambiente assigned four sails (on a scale of 1 to 5) in the ‘Guida Blu 2023 - Il mare più bello’, 'Blue Guide 2023 - the most beautiful sea’ (Città di Monopoli, 2023b; Città Metropolitana di Bari, 2023). The responsible Committee judged Monopoli as an area of clear waters, with a great quality of services and that is environmentally friendly. 

Indeed, the town’s commitment toward a greener and more sustainable future is fairly visible through the initiatives carried out during the last few years. In 2021, its administration sponsored a three-day workshop titled ‘Living Circular’ (Abitare Circolare) organised to promote the topic of waste management with a particular focus on the region of Apulia and the support of a local association Esperimenti Architettonici (Città di Monopoli, 2021). Its main purpose was to create a new concept of ‘production and waste’, stimulate fruitful partnerships among stakeholders, and raise citizens' awareness about circular economy practices (Esperimenti Architettonici, 2021). 

In April 2024, the Congress MiniPia for Small and Medium-sized companies was organised to illustrate the benefits of investing in technological and industrial innovation, digitisation and energy, and environmental transition (Città di Monopoli, 2024c). Furthermore, recently, the city held a local forum centred on tourism, ‘Forum del Turismo - Strategie e prospettive per il 2024’ promoted by the city councillor. The event involved many stakeholders, from local police and town managers to several actors affiliated with the private tourism sector, e.g. hotel, restaurant and beach managers (Città di Monopoli, 2024d). One of the sessions was dedicated to  ‘Recycling, street and beach cleaning’, which tackled similar issues to those included by Legambiente in the 2023 report. 

Although the town projects seem to direct citizens and private firms towards a responsible and sustainable use of resources, its youth population isn’t as involved as it can be. The initiatives listed above are mostly oriented to raise awareness among the actors of the private or public sector (agencies, regional and municipal offices), such as the Forum del Turismo or Abitare Circolare, two events that have already been cited. It isn't easy to find any references from young participants regarding the promotion of greener and more sustainable practices in Monopoli. 

One of the few pieces of information found concerning  Monopoli’s youths' interest in sustainability and climate change was found in the database of Fridays For Future. It has been reported that in 2019, some of the young people took part in three global strikes organised by the movement, setting them aside from neighbouring towns which didn’t report any protest or action (Fridays For Future Italia, 2024). Creating opportunities for development for young adults is also possible at a higher level. Monopoli is part of a wider network that could provide support and means to reduce the gap between youth and the fulfilment of their needs in matters of education, work and citizenship. 

Development Opportunity for Monopoli’s Youth in Bari

As mentioned above, together with other forty municipalities, Monopoli adheres to Città Metropolitana di Bari, which is considered an administrative, economic and political entity appointed by the Italian government in 2014 with its independent governmental bodies: Metropolitan Mayor, Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Conference  (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, 2017). The law reform (L. n. 56/2014) identified guidelines and specific objectives for such areas: ‘taking care of the strategic development of the metropolitan territory; promotion and integrated management of services, infrastructures and communication networks of interest to the metropolitan city; taking care of institutional relations on its level, including those with European cities and metropolitan areas’ (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, 2017). 

By creating the metropolitan centres, Italian policy-makers aligned the country’s administrative and territorial structure to the recently reformed national Constitution (Title V) and the European Union’s objectives (EU Commission, 2011)  regarding facilitating governance and easing the country’s Public Administration’s duties at a provincial level (Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, 2017). From the EU’s perspective, this measure had been fundamental to locally address issues such as employment, mobility, security, services, environmental and territorial governance, the eco-sustainable development of urban areas, and the economic and productive development (Ufficio Relazioni con il Cittadino del Comune di Bari, 2016), while respecting all geographical singularities and political standpoints within the territories. 

Furthermore, the establishment of Metropolitan Cities created the perfect opportunity to promote constructive dialogues and cooperation practices that could lead towards a capillary sensibilization and mindful awareness of some of the most pressing matters. For example, youth development, conceptualised as ‘deliberate processes of providing youth with the support, relationships, experiences, resources, and opportunities needed to become successful and competent adults’ (Bernat et al., 2006, 10) is one field that could benefit from being evaluated and addressed as a common concern among metropolitan cities and areas. Due to its transversal nature, youth development is the combination of multidimensional factors, and it embraces sectors like education, health and societal behaviours. Some development components, such as the labour market and educational systems, are heterogeneous across countries. Consider, for example, the differences between North and South Europe in terms of job opportunities and salaries. As it is nationally regulated, it is more arduous to apply a cohesive and unique approach among Member States. Not all should end under national discretion. Other development factors could be perceived as equally present in all European cities, and those should stand at the centre of a collective focus.

The Experience of the Metropolitan City of Bari

When analysing the Statute of the Metropolitan City of Bari, one of the first written points concerns the promotion of ‘social, cultural and economic development of the area, according to principles of sustainability, environmental protection, solidarity’ and since its establishment, the administration has launched some projects in pursuit of those goals (Statuto Città Metropolitana di Bari, 2014). 

‘REshaping CRUcial strategies to fIghT unemployment through Social Economy’ (RECRUIT) is an EU-funded initiative created in collaboration with Impact Hub Gmbh, Association Des Agences De La Democratie Locale (Alda), Comunidad Autónoma De Madrid and Municipality Of Agias Paraskevis  (Città Metropolitana di Bari, 2024). It aimed to strengthen the cooperation of experts and local stakeholders and increase their actions in matters of social economy and employment (Alda, 2021). The project organized international workshops and an interregional exchange between the three countries involved in the activities: Italy, Spain and Greece. The idea was reciprocal engagement, stimulation of good practices, and learning from the other’s experience. From the start, RECRUIT planned to target only some categories of national citizens, specifically, the NEETs, women, youth and migrants in countries with high unemployment rates. The press, investors, entrepreneurs, regional authorities and NGOs were invited to participate in RECRUIT’s workshops and discussions (Città Metropolitana di Bari, 2024). 

From 2019 to 2023, the Metropolitan City of Bari was at the centre of ‘Progetto AgriCultura’, a programme sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Home Affairs and funded by Programma Operativo Nazionale Legalità FESR FSE 2014 – 2020 (National Operational Programme Legality). It aimed to promote and activate social inclusion practices for young people between 16 and 24 years old at risk of deviant behaviours. After the establishment of Banca della Terra (a land bank), Bari provided 648 hectares of land in more than 20 municipalities, which, after being censused with the aid of the participants, were offered to youth-managed start-ups. The participants, around 600 people, had the opportunity to work in the new ‘Filiera Agriculturale’ and to take part in the recovery of agricultural assets, attend more than 300 hours of courses and mentoring, and, in case of NEETs, be reinstated in the job market through an ad-hoc platform. 

The projects of Città Metropolitana di Bari demonstrate the many opportunities Monopoli’s young residents could benefit from. Deeper cooperation among municipalities can positively affect the employment rate and offer support to young people close to falling into the NEET category. Bari is already considered an attractive town for students. In the 2022 academic year, the University of Bari counted 39.972 enrolled (Portale dei Dati dell’Istruzione Superiore, 2022). In 2024, it has become the perfect laboratory to experiment with new and sustainable processes of youth development (similar to Progetto AgriCultura), which not only creates spillover effects but also allows the forging of fruitful partnerships with all levels of actors based in the surrounding cities.

Agenda for future research

In May 2023 in Monopoli, a non-profit organisation, Teatri of Bari and a regional agency, Arpa Puglia, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at supporting each others’ activities, promoting environmental sustainability and cultures in events, meetings, performances, exhibitions and festivals (Città di Monopoli, 2023c). This agreement could largely benefit youth development in Monopoli’s area and create a spillover effect in the nearby localities. The concept itself could evolve from an economic-oriented approach to a multidisciplinary one, including social and environmental perspectives that are mostly neglected. If successful, there is a chance that more NGOs will join the same agreement or create new ones to produce valuable data to apply in future research. Moreover, the contribution of the National Recovery Plan (PNRR - Piano nazionale ripresa resilienza) and its upcoming funds in Apulia, especially in the sustainability and youth service sectors, could positively influence the budget of the forthcoming projects (Openpnrr, 2021). From 2021, the Italian Government allocated more than 15 billion euros of funds (26,28% for the eco-transition, 3,17% for social inclusion and 4,86% for school and research) (Openpnrr, 2021) under the disposition of D.l. 152/2021, which had been amended several times over the years (Gazzetta Ufficiale, 2021). The PNRR local outcomes and their extent are still unknown due to the short time-frame of the implementation, in the next few years researchers will be able to determine the plan performance and assess actions.

Conclusion

The article discussed the concept of youth development applied to a geographical location and social context. Investing in future generations means offering good opportunities and conditions apt to stimulate the potential of young citizens. Not all municipalities have enough economic and social resources or political influence to unilaterally initiate or repropose such large-scale projects such as RECRUIT mentioned above. Still, it should not be a reason to justify a lack of local educational programmes or a limited promotion of such initiatives when they are hosted in neighbouring localities. Being part of Città Metropolitana di Bari gives the municipality of Monopoly an opportunity to join forces in many initiatives and partner with a wide range of NGOs. However, similar to the supporting local organizations, this direction have not yet been realised. 

The town projects seem to bypass young people regarding sustainable development and environmental education. Instead, Monopoli directs its resources and attention toward private companies operating in the tourism sector. In terms of youth involvement, Oratories have found ways to attract young people while providing added value to the local communities. In fact, their approach could represent a model for future projects. Their method of learning by doing could inspire a new approach in which young generations teach their peers social values and sustainable practices. At the same time, they are also involved in an educational process. 

A partial application of this method was already initiated by RECRUIT, which, as one of its causes, embraced the interchange of good practices among participants. However, because it had been directed only to local and regional stakeholders, it didn’t give any space for young citizens' involvement. This situation may change for the better, given that the Metropolitan City is planning several projects concerning the younger population, and PNRR positive outcomes are starting to surface even more (Piano Strategico Città Metropolitana di Bari, 2024).

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