Unione Comuni Garfagnana

UCG (Garfagnana Union of Municipalities) is a local authority associating 14 small municipalities of Garfagnana area (Lucca province, Tuscany region), part of the Apennines National Park. The area is characterised by its strong rural identity, by its remoteness and by a past of massive emigration. UCG is the unique institution providing public services to citizens of the member municipalities, and it is the public actor of reference for youth policies definition and implementation at local level. According to its mandate, UCG coordinates and support financially and technically the initiatives promoted by local actors of the youth sector (mainly small associations active in the fields of sport and culture and associations of young entrepreneurs).
UCG staff is composed by 39 units, of those 19 are appointed in the Education, Youth, Civil Society Organisations and Culture Department. Being the Department’s activities run in collaboration with local schools, social cooperatives, sport and cultural associations the involvement of under 30 actors is massive.
UCG has a large network of partnership at regional (Toscana and Emilia Romagna Regions...) national and international level (Italian consulates in various countries, associations and ONG in South America, USA and Australia...) that was developed in the frame of international projects implementation. Of a special interest is the partnership with the Apennines Italian National Natural Park (Apennines Park).
In fact, since 2008 UCG is the coordinator of the project “Apennines Park in the World”. In the project frame, 70 young people from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Belgium, USA and Australia took part to international meetings run in the Apennines Park area, and became “ambassadors” of the Apennines community in their respective countries. These young ambassadors share their Italian origin and are active members of the Italian descendants associations in their respective countries.
In march 2013 the young ambassadors from FAIC (PP2) organised a large international event in Cordoba-Argentina, and invited UCG and Apennine Park representatives, regional authorities, local chamber of commerce and representatives of the Quebrada del Condorito National Park in Cordoba province.
There was a large participation of under 30 members of Italian culture associations from Argentine, Brazil and Uruguay (about 60 people). We report that the subscription of a partnership agreement between the Apennine and the Condorito Park is currently in progress.
The meeting focused on how to exploit the potentialities of the Park in the World international network for supporting youth employability and business initiative, starting from current low employment perspectives of young people, especially the ones from geographically marginalised areas. Thematic workgroups composed by under 30 were organised and resulted in young people being very much interested in ecotourism and green jobs as employment opportunities for marginalised areas of high environmental value. The majority of participants had just a general ideas on what can be done and how, but many Italian and European success stories are available in this field and can be fruitfully introduced to stimulate debate.
Trough this project UCG intends to support the request expressed by local youth to develop skills, exchange ideas and build an international framework for promoting youth creativity, entrepreneurship and employability through ecotourism in protected and rural areas. The agreement between the Apennine and the Condorito Natural Park is the natural background of this activity.
UCG has adequate experience of management of EU funded projects, and can thus ensure project proper management from both technical and administrative points of view.
Please note: following the Tuscany regional law 68/2011, the former Comunità Montana della Garfagnana (CMG, local authority grouping 16 municipalities), established in 1975, was required in 2011 to turn its name into Unione dei Comuni della Garfagnana UCG (Union of municipalities of the Garfagnana area). The new UCG fully assumed CMG commitments, institutional mission and governance responsibilities and its geographical coverage remained substantially unchanged. UCG is the public authority in charge of promotion, coordination and management of all youth-related activities run at local level such as:
- Non formal education initiatives for connecting schools to socio-economic environment
- Vocational guidance and curriculum counselling services
UCG is responsible for implementation at local level of Regional Youth Programmes.

Among the main project run by the applicant in the years 2010-2012 we recall:
- “Tuscany Region programme for scholar wellness: helping pupils to be successful and fight social distress and dropout” (since 1994). In 2010-2012 the programme involved respectively about 3.500 students. As part of the methodology, every single group of pupils was responsible over the production of their own deliverables. Among these last we recall videos, drama, newsletters posted on various relevant web site and paper dissemination material.
- “Reduce, recycle, reuse!” non formal education programme for waste reduction and recycling. In 2009-2010 the project addressed 7.000 students 5 to 18 years old. The programme deliverables have been leaflets videos and booklets.
- “For a healthy way of life”: project promoting reflection on drug and alcohol abuse and adoption of positive attitude (run in 2009-2010) and “Youth participation and creative action in society” (run in 2010-2012). Both editions targeted 200 high school students and applied the peer-education methodology. 60 peer-educators were trained in the framework of the 2 editions. The 2011-2012 edition focuses on “Network of creativity: youth wellbeing and participation” and on “Youth expertises and traditional craft”. This last intends to ensure a future to valuable local traditional crafts by introducing them to young people.
- “Multimedia Centre and Memory and Identity Bank” (since 2004). Aim: preserving local cultural identity and keeping memory of emigration. The program is run in collaboration with schools, professional organisations and associations, Tuscan Public Universities and consists in documents acquisition, promotion of studies and researches, organisation of cultural events, establishment of contact with Italian emigrates. The multimedia documentation centre is located at the UCG premises. Products: more than 50 books published, about 6 concerts and events run/year.
- Info Desk on vocational guidance and curriculum counselling services. The desk provides information on public and private recruitment and on post high school available training. The desk is a permanent service run by UCG.
- “Park in the World” project, targeting the area of the Apennines National Park (IT) (from 2008 on). UCG administrative area is included into the National Park, and the UCG takes overall responsibility over project management. The Apennines National Park area was characterised at the beginning of the last century by the massive emigration of its residents, that moved to South American countries, USA and Australia. The project, funded among other by Emilia Romagna and Tuscany Regional authorities, aimed at retracing worldwide descendants of emigrated families and at re-establishing contacts among emigrated and resilient communities. In 2009-2010-2011 a youth exchange brought to appennines 56 young people from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Chile, Belgium, USA and Australia. The project got in touch with consulates and emigrants associations (93 in total), chamber of commerce and public authorities in different countries (29 in total). Project products: news on the project were reported 110 times on press (local press in IT, BR, AR, UR, radio in AR, IT and BR, TV in AR, BR, IT, plus Rai International), facebook group “orizzonti circolari”, web site www.parconelmondo.it including two blogs managed by a Jacutinga and a Californian “ambassadors”, 3 annual reports, fliers, posters, various video posted on you tube, a 15’ documentary. Hundreds of “affective citizenship certificates” were delivered since 2008.
- 2013 international meeting of young “Park in the World” project ambassadors in Cordoba-ARG. The meeting involved representatives of Argentinean economic operators, professional associations, public institutions together with representatives of the Italian chamber of commerce and public authorities. As already introduced in the applicant’s profile, the meeting focused on the future of the “Park in the World” project
- Astor Piazzolla celebrations. In February 2013 the UCG launched a project on Piazzolla, the musicians originated from the Appennine area. The project will organise a set of cultural events both in Italy and Argentina. It is run in collaboration with the Piazzolla Fundation in Buenos Aires. Travel agencies and tour operators are involved for offering thematic trips to the Appennine.

UCG routinely runs a set of cultural activities for youth and non youth residents such as concerts, musical education courses, open air film festivals.

The contact person Martina Moriconi is 33 years old and was chosen because of her continuous and effective involvement in the “Park in the World” project. Since 2008 she is part of the team implementing the project, and she is in constant contact with the partner associations in the different countries.