Revival of the Mediterranean program in Bella Italia: The restart in the Mediterranean region brought the program to Italy and was done with a key goal in mind: developing and increasing the value of Italy’s cultural heritage as well as boosting regional development together with Ashoka Fellows.

 

A key characteristic of Ashoka Italy proved to be its superpower: Ashoka’s deep knowledge of social entrepreneurship across the country, thanks to the Fellowship’s presence in all of Italy bringing more and more social entrepreneurs and their initiatives into the network. In spring 2021, the Italian team got to work and started shaping the new Visionary Program in the Mediterranean. To use the power of its network, the program would consist of sessions taking place in the whole country with social initiatives as local partners, allowing participants could dive into different realities. It was kicked off in December 2021!

 

During a module in Palermo, Sicily, the participants visited mafia-free touristic places during a no-mafia tour, the urban regeneration area Cantieri Culturali Alla Zisa housing 32 spaces of creativity and international culture, and migrant-led projects like the social enterprise Giocherenda with its African team creating handcrafted objects and games. Just imagine how many ground-breaking initiatives and changemakers you can still choose to discover!