Ministry of Justice, CDP Foundation and Milan Foundation launch a new project dedicated to 120 young people included in criminal circuits
Sports education and job orientation courses are planned in four cities: Bari, Catania, Naples and Palermo
Milan Foundation e CDP Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, launch the "Play for the Future" project for the social reintegration of young people introduced into the penal circuits through sports education and career guidance courses.
The project, completed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice in the presence of Minister Carlo Nordio, the President of the CDP Foundation Giovanni Gorno Tempini and the President of AC Milan and the Milan Foundation Paolo Scaroni, aims to enrich the probation programs for the young in criminal circuits, carrying out sports activities and socio-working workshops that can translate into an experience of growth, in-depth study and guidance for the life path of the girls and boys involved, as well as favoring the start of a first professional experience .
According to a study by the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice in March 2023, of the 14.198 young people placed in criminal circuits, over 97% undertake alternative paths to prison sentence alone, such as probation, a form of judicial examination through which the penal trial is suspended and the minor is entrusted to the social services to complete a re-education process.
In agreement with the Ministry of Justice, in the four selected locations of Bari, Catania, Naples and Palermo, the Social Service Offices for Minors (USSM) will select 60 young people between the ages of 16 and 22 to engage in this rehabilitation process for two seasons social alternative to prison, who will be offered the opportunity to walk until June 2024 on a double path:
- that of sports education will allow them to compare themselves with their peers, manage play spaces together, learn values such as respect for others, sharing, altruism and teamwork. All the activities will be coordinated by a team of specialized sports technicians, so as to ensure adequate involvement of the children both in sports and in socializing and getting to know each other.
- At the same time, the project also envisages the launch of a job orientation path, in the context of which each participant will be followed personally to draw up a balance of their skills and start a process of accompaniment to job inclusion. Companies, sports centers and amateur clubs in the area will be involved, assistant coaching courses will be organized and, following the orientation phase, in 2024 two beneficiaries per unit will be included in an internship at local sports associations and clubs , for an initial job placement experience, with the provision of "job grants" that can guarantee initial economic support for young people.
Carlo Nordio, Minister of Justice, explained: “Sport and work, together with culture, are the main ways to open up a new life opportunity to young people in criminal circuits. With this project, we choose to play a decisive game in the interest of the community: offering young people a training course and a concrete professional opportunity, so that they don't go back to committing crimes, means allowing the entire community to invest in their future, according to the most high constitutional requirements".
Paolo scaroni, President of AC Milan and the Milan Foundation, said: “Our project, born in partnership with the Ministry of Justice and the CDP Foundation, aims to offer new growth opportunities for young people who aspire to return to social life. An initiative that combines sports education and work inclusion, in line with the values that make up the distinctive character of the Milan Foundation, which has been committed to helping future generations for twenty years".
Giovanni Gorno Tempini, President of the CDP Foundation, commented: “Youth inclusion is a strategic priority for the CDP Foundation. In this sense, offering dedicated complementary and training activities to minors subjected to imprisonment means guaranteeing concrete opportunities to change the life perspective of these children, through important values such as sport and teamwork, which we share with the Milian Foundation. We are particularly proud to have selected four relevant companies in Southern Italy, an area to which the CDP Foundation has decided to dedicate at least half of its resources."
The project is part of the Fondazione Milan's Sport for Change programme, which aims to use sport as a tool for educating and enhancing the talent of young people at risk of social exclusion.