Youth - Migrations
Italy
International meeting on youth mobility in the Mediterranean, between challenges and new proposals
2025-10-09
From 1 to 4 October, Reggio Calabria hosted a meeting of MOB In MED! the awareness campaign devoted to youth mobility in the Mediterranean involving 19 activists from the region and several local key figures committed to this issue.
Crédit : Marco Costantino
From 1 to 4 October, the Calabrian capital hosted workshops organised by Réseau Euromed France and Jeunesses Med, in collaboration with Mana Chuma Teatro, in the framework of the Mob in Med! youth mobility awareness campaign. The meeting brought together 19 activists from Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Italy, France and Spain, with the aim of identifying sustainable and inclusive strategies to address the complex challenges posed by restrictions on free movement in the Euro-Mediterranean macro-region.
Advocacy and exchanges with Institutions
The first day kicked off with an introductory session that allowed the group to meet in person after months of online workshops,
In the afternoon, at the Spazio Open bookshop, the young people presented the campaign to the municipal councillor for education, universities and equal opportunities, Anna Maria Briante, who showed sincere interest in the project and expressed her willingness to acquire new ideas useful to the provincial capital where the urban mobility plan does not always meet the needs of young people living in more peripheral areas and small provincial towns.
The following day, the Spazio Open Book Shop, hosted the encounter with Domenico Marino, Professor of Economic Policy at the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria and member of the ‘No Ponte’ movement. Marino highlighted the characteristics and critical issues of the complex engineering project that would connect the cities of Reggio Calabria and Messina. He analysed its feasibility and sustainability, while stressing the impact that such a major infrastructure would have on the territory and local populations. Marino's interdisciplinary approach enabled the group to understand that the project does not meet the real needs of the people, who are effectively excluded from a purely political decision-making process that does not take their needs into account. In both Calabria and Sicily, the road networks are still inadequate, public transport services are inefficient and the railway lines are so underdeveloped that those living in inland areas are condemned to forced isolation.
In some villages, even attending compulsory school can turn into a real obstacle. Students often have to endure exhausting journeys to get to class and face severe limitations in their choice of school, having to settle for the one that is easiest to reach. These constant logistical difficulties contribute to the phenomenon of early school leaving, which is constantly on the rise in Italy, especially in the south. Even the water system is unable to guarantee the population a regular supply of water, due to dilapidated aqueducts that require major maintenance work, which is perpetually postponed.
Some participants noted that even in their own countries, the millions invested by governments rarely reflect the real needs of the people, either because they have little impact on their quality of life or because they remain unpractical and inaccessible.
Finally, the intervention by young people from Reggio Calabria shifted the focus to the growing involvement of the younger generation in local public debate, as demonstrated by the recent protests against the ongoing genocide in Gaza. A new wave of awareness is, in fact, awakening the consciences of citizens, and in many marches, sit-ins and protests, there is a significant presence of young people taking to the streets and making their voices heard so that their region can finally emerge from its chronic immobility. Furthermore, more and more people are returning to live in the South to contribute to its change with new skills and perspectives, after completing their studies elsewhere or taking advantage of the smart working options offered by many companies based in other Italian regions.
Crédit : Marco Costantino
In the afternoon, Palazzo Alvaro, the historic headquarters of the Metropolitan City, hosted advocacy workshops on local and regional mobility. The young people discussed key aspects of the transport system in their different countries of origin, identifying specific features and common elements, with the aim of promoting more connected, equitable and sustainable mobility in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Another important issue addressed was safety, which mainly concerns women and their use of transport at night.
The problem is widespread and affects all areas, from remote rural villages to large capital cities and, above all, their overcrowded suburbs, which are still characterised by enormous critical issues compared to more central neighbourhoods, which continue to be better served and safer everywhere. Particular attention was also paid to architectural barriers that often limit accessibility for people with disabilities and to strategies that would overcome them to make mobility more inclusive.
Lastly, the possibility of creating shared transnational regulations to facilitate agreements between different governments and ensure easier and legal travel within the “Med Space” was discussed.
Towards new perspectives
On the morning of 4 October, a lively brainstorming session was held at the Spazio Open bookshop, focusing on the most effective and innovative ways to communicate the campaign’s content, including through digital tools and participatory approaches. A number of organisations involved in the issue of mobility in the Mediterranean, local networks and independent media were identified to ensure greater visibility for the project and to raise awareness among the public and institutions on the issues addressed.
The event concluded with an afternoon meeting at Palazzo Alvaro with Serena Franco, from Eurocoop Camini's “Jungi Mundu” project, Haseeb Bukhari and Shajib Mattuber, two cultural and linguistic mediators involved in the initiative. Their testimonies allowed the activists of Mob in Med! to learn about a virtuous model of reception and integration that has enabled a small community at risk of extinction to be reborn thanks to the contribution of asylum seekers, political refugees and migrants and the direct involvement of citizens.
The discussion gave rise to an in-depth dialogue on the issues of inclusion and territorial development and on the importance of addressing the phenomenon with a shared and participatory approach.
Over the coming months, the working group will integrate the recommendations with the content discussed during these days of intense live debate. Finally, four videos filmed by participants in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis, Calabria, Lebanon and Palestine will be completed with the mentoring of director Felice d'Agostino, along with an illustrated booklet by French-Egyptian artist Tiana Kader on the travel stories of 10 participants of the Med Youth Meeting, organised in Reggio Calabria by the same associations in 2024.
The publication, in French and English, aims to reflect on the difficulties and challenges they encountered in reaching southern Italy, a symbolic as well as geographical location where chronic infrastructure shortages and scarce job opportunities still drive thousands of young people to emigrate, as in every other “South” of the world.
Translated from italian by Elizabeth Grech
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