A country that young people abandon, not to return, and where not enough immigrants arrive. A “demographic winter” which no bonus provided by the government can stop, because, as statisticians remind us, «two thirds of the missing children were not born because their parents were not born thirty years ago».
Yet there are no adequate policies neither to bring in more immigrants, nor to retain young peopleor to make good use of those we have: the NEETs (young people who do not study or work) have reduced, but they are still over two million, a record number among European countries.
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by Serenella Mattera
01 June 2024
To forcefully raise the question of the exodus of young people, and the need for immigration policies, yesterday the governor of the Bank of Italy Fabio Panetta, in the «Final considerations»: «Youth employment has been affected by low growth. Many have sought better job prospects abroad: 525,000 young Italians emigrated between 2008 and 2022; only a third of them returned to Italy.” «The exodus of young people – underlines the governor – It weakens our country’s human capital endowment».
Young people move to EU countries
But even more worrying numbers arrive from Turin: in the report Luigi Einaudi Center and Intesa Sanpaolopresented yesterday morning at International Festival of Economicsit is explained that since «young Italians move mainly towards other countries of the European Union, therefore under the regime of free movement of people», the numbers of the Aire, the registry of residents abroad, do not explain just the phenomenon.
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Cross-referencing them with those recorded by the statistical offices of the countries of immigration, it emerges that «the “true” number of young emigrants between 2011 (the year in which the outflow began, after the sovereign debt crisis and the recession) and 2021 is equal to over three times that of Aire members, i.e. approximately one million three hundred thousand people”.
A substantially unidirectional flow: Italy loses many more young people to Europe than it attracts, the ratio is nine to one. To fully understand what we are missing, just look, suggests the Einaudi Center, at the number of young Italians awarded for research projects in European calls for tenders in the life sciences. Italian researchers by number in 2022 were in second place with 136 scholarshipsbut as a country Italy is in fifth place, because its young people play in other teams.
To compensate for the loss of workers, an intelligent migration policy would also be needed, suggests the Bank of Italy Report: since, according to the latest Istat projections, by 2040 the population between 15 and 64 years will decrease by 5.4 million individuals«the decline would be partly attenuated if the net migration balance with foreign countries remained in line with what was observed in the last two years (267,000 people per year), above what is currently included in the projections (173,000)».
[[(gele.Finegil.StandardArticle2014v1) Centro Einaudi: “Il mondo ha perso la bussola. Italia, giovani in fuga: il boom occupazionale è solo over 55”]]
To lash out against “a demagogic attitude prejudicially hostile to migratory flows” at the opening of the International Festival of Economics, EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloniwho also pointed out that one of the ingredients of the current growth of the United States is precisely «the availability of workers at all levels, which comes from migratory flows».
Among other things, the researchers at the Einaudi Center reason, that significant share of citizens of EU countries who see immigration as the number one problem in Europe does not take into account the Frontex data, which indicate a growth in illegal entries but not a explosion (380 thousand in 2023), due to arrivals from Mediterranean routes, partially offset by the reduction in arrivals from Balkan routes.
THE STORIES
Matteo Gualandi, composer
Italian institutions were very proud when “the practice of opera singing” in Italy was inscribed by UNESCO in the list of Intangible Heritage. However, we should also ask ourselves when was the last time a public or private body commissioned a piece of music from a musician, especially a young musician. This is why Matteo Gualandi, 29 years old, Roman, composer, left Italy at 18, first to Geneva, and then to Paris, where he lives now.
Where were his songs performed?
«In Switzerland, Germany, France, Mexico, Ukraine, Finland. In Italy I was at the Venice Biennale, which is a very beautiful, but rare event. In Italy it is difficult, if you are young, for them to trust you. And in any case, there are very few organizations that integrate contemporary music into their programs.”
And what about abroad?
«Abroad there are festivals like Archipel, in which I participated, and it is easier to be recognised. Usually the entities that contribute to experimental music are public institutions, the only ones ready to bet on something that is not linked to a commercial reality.”
Apart from festivals and public bodies?
«Radio France has a program called Création Modiale, which commissions a ten-minute piece every week, and also gives you the opportunity to talk about it.
Would you return to Italy?
«I would like to, but I would have to reorganize myself between private music lessons (I play the trumpet) and an ensemble with friends, but finding space for shows is a struggle».
Caterina Franchi, lawyer
In Italy, in social science faculties, students are warned, explaining that if they don’t work hard enough, “they will all end up working in a non-profit organization”. But they work there abroad, and they are also quite happy to do so. This is the case of Caterina Franchi, 34 years old, from Pistoria, who graduated in law from King’s College in London, after the UWC of the Adriatic.
Why English law rather than Italian law?
«Because I wanted to qualify in public international law, for the protection of human rights, which is the work I do now. I became a lawyer in 2016, I was 26 years old.”
And did you immediately find the type of job you were looking for?
«Yes, I was hired by Safe Passage International, an NGO that heads the English team of abandoned foreign minors, trying to help them complete family reunification. I am head of the English team.”
But now he lives in Madrid.
«Yes, because when I came to do a master’s degree I liked it very much, and given that English law provides for two figures, the sollicitor, who studies the cases and prepares the dossiers, and the barrister who goes to court, I can work from abroad, going to London from time to time.”
Have you ever thought about returning to Italy, could you do it with your degree?
«Yes, I could return as a European lawyer. but I should study Italian law, which I don’t know. But even if I work in an NGO, and therefore earn ten times less than my colleagues in English law firms, it is still much more than in Italy. And in the UK no one has ever made me feel too young to get roles of responsibility.”
