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The activities of the first shifts of the summer recreational centers of the Municipality of Udine will begin at the beginning of next week. The service, increasingly requested by families to cope with the difficulties of the summer period, has recorded decidedly growing numbers this year: compared to just two years ago, the families involved have increased by 60%, the number of places available has increased (+ 13%) and registrations (+19%). The investment by the Municipality, for the tender for the next three years, increased by almost 260 thousand euros compared to 2022.
“The summer centers are a service on which we have decided to focus a lot, because we believe it is a fundamental tool to support families during the summer period, as well as the natural continuation of the educational paths that are developed at school”, comments the Councilor Education and Culture Federico Pirone. “It is for this reason that we are very happy that our proposals for the next three-year management have managed to include more families, and consequently more girls and boys”.
The numbers: given the growth in applications, the CRE guarantees a place for everyone
Also thanks to the advance registration procedures, which this year were opened and concluded already in February, the applications, including overall all shifts and all the locations of the summer months, have doubled compared to 2022, going from 1617 in two years ago at 3233 this year, demonstrating the appreciation and need expressed by families for the service.
In the face of such growth, the places made available in the locations that will host the summer activities, which have also increased by 20% in two years (from 1605 to 1820), are able to satisfy the requests of families, simultaneously succeeding in the feat of broaden the range of children who will be able to use the service. A more family-friendly service, but also decidedly more inclusive. In fact, compared to 2022, there were 315 more families who were able to rely on the summer activities organized by the Municipality, 149 more than last year.
Looking at an overall overview of the service at the end of the last ranking scroll, out of 1820 total places, counting all age groups and all shifts, the confirmed registrations there are 1685, keeping in mind that for many locations the waiting list has been exhausted in the various scrolls.
In particular, the age group between 6 and 11 years old records the greatest increase. For this age, from 979 places awarded out of 1035 available last year and 863 out of 975 two years ago, we have moved up to 1052 registrations out of 1110 places this year, with an increase in confirmations of 21%. For the 3-6 year old childhood group, 511 places have been confirmed, while for the group dedicated to middle school children, between 11 and 14 years old, 122 have been confirmed.
“The numbers we have collected this year make us understand that families appreciate the service offered by municipal summer centers. This is an area in which we have invested and will invest significant resources. Starting from this year, with the innovations foreseen in the new management tender, we wanted to get even closer to the needs of families”, recalled Councilor Pirone. “We have brought registrations forward by two months compared to the past, allowing parents – he explains – to make holiday plans in time and to find valid support in organizing family time during the period in which the children are no longer at school, but we also wanted to include new professional figures in the teams of educators and implemented activities related to sport, while promoting bilingual educational projects linked to the Friulian language. Lots of new features to increase the quality of the service and improve the experience of children and young people.”
Two hundred and sixty thousand euros of additional funds and important news
Many changes are planned starting from 2024 for the management of summer recreational centers, starting from the allocation that the De Toni Administration wanted to put on the table for the management of summer activities. The funds that the Municipality will commit annually for the next three years for the construction of the summer centers are 810 thousand euros, approximately 200 thousand euros more than last year and 250 thousand more than 2022. An important investment which has led not only to an expansion of available places, but also an improvement in the overall service, aimed at resolving the main critical issues. The team of educators for the summer nursery centers will be enriched by new professional figures of socio-educational reference and support, with the aim of creating a fun, stimulating environment, but also of value from an educational point of view and attentive to needs of the little ones. From this year the collaboration with the Friulian Museum of Natural History will also be strengthened, with which various activities will be organised, including over 50 visits and workshops on the topic of climate change.
The locations dedicated to children will be Zambelli, Baldasseria Media, and from this year also Pick (via della Polveriera) and Taverna (Via Colugna). Primary school children will have at their disposal Nievo, Negri, Pellico, Girardini and, new entry, the Julia Division.
As for the middle school children, whose summer camps will be spread over two weeks and no longer just one, a new location was thought of, the Ellero school, which would be able to respond to their needs and is more suitable for hosting sports activities, to which many hours will be dedicated every day. In this way the playroom will also be available to the public in the summer. In total there are ten locations dedicated to municipal summer centres.
