The minimum income: a choice of civilization

28.3% of individuals and 32.1% of children under the age of 18 are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Those figures place Italy in eighth and seventh position among the EU28 countries with the highest incidence of poverty. This situation is the dramatic result of the combination of the Great Recession, the chronic “lack of work” in some areas of the country, as well as the weakness of policies to combat poverty, within which it stands out the absence of a national minimum income scheme.
At the sub-national level, however, the last decade saw some regions launching experimental schemes of Minimum Income to meet emergency and material deprivation rates which range between 26% in Sicily and 2.8% in the Province of Trento. Also, some alliances among different social actors emerged – trade unions, associations of the Catholic world, third sector organizations – which have launched major campaigns for the introduction of a minimum safety net against poverty and social exclusion.
Indeed, the enforcement of the redistributive measures against poverty and material deprivation is today an imperative not only to boost consumption and support economic growth, but it also appears as an indispensable choice of civilization for the societies with the highest economic development.
But how the schemes of minimum income introduced in the Italian regions work? Who benefits from them and what effects do they produce? How can be avoided that beneficiaries are being “trapped” in poverty? What are the challenges in terms of governance and coordination between regional initiatives, anti-poverty measures recently introduced by the government and the traditional municipal programs? What role is it conceivable, in this sector, for the associations and organizations of the Third Sector?

Screening of the documentary “Social Cohesion Tour 2016”

Matteo Jessoula, OCIS and Università degli Studi di Milano

Participants:

– Giuseppe De Marzo, “Miseria Ladra” campaign spokesperson, LIBERA
– Titti De Simone, Counselor to the President, Puglia Region
– Ileana Olivo, Director of Social Policies Dept., Trentino Alto Adige Region
– Elena Granaglia, OCIS and Università degli Studi di Roma Tre
– Vincenzo Colla, Regional Secretary, CGIL Emilia Romagna

– Marcello Natili, Università degli Studi di Milano

Facilitator: Luca Mattiucci 

(*) The event is valid for school credits of the Order of Social Workers. For the recognition of credits you need to register at the info point.