They are looking for descendants of Italians who want to live and work in Calabria

08/30/2021 10:19 AM

• Clarín.com

• Travels

Updated 08/30/2021 10:19 AM

The Associazione Unione Italo Discendenti nel Mondo (UID), in collaboration with Casa Calabria, the University of Calabria (Unical) and the Calabrian municipality of Maida, launched a

project

that aims to

promote the return

to Italy of

Italian-descendants

, considered as a force with great potential for repopulation.

For this, a series of

measures were established,

ranging from support for the reconstruction of citizenship to the search for work, accommodation and the revalidation of university degrees.

This pioneering project is carried out by participating with the

municipality of Maida

, in the province of Catanzaro (Calabria), where about 4,600 inhabitants live

e>

It is a town built on a hill, famous for a battle between France and England at the beginning of the 19th century, and because the ancestors of the American journalist Gay Talese, one of the fathers of the "new journalism", left for the United States.

"

Italy needs its Italian descendants

, and Italians in the world," Andrea Pacia, president of the UID, told ANSA, "because it is an aging country, and after the pandemic everything changed completely. But it is necessary to

create the conditions for their return.

: we have

21 million Italian-descendants in Argentina,

42 million in Brazil, we can practically rejuvenate Italy whenever we want "

Overcome obstacles and facilitate

"The project of invitation to repopulate towns and small municipalities, and in particular the issue of the entry into Italy of generations of Italian descendants, especially from the crisis areas of Central and South America, or more generally with a development inferior to ours, assesses the main limits and obstacles to its integration ", Pacia specifies.

And such obstacles are identified in the

scarce knowledge of the Italian language and culture

;

the fact that many descendants of Italians obtain citizenship from their ancestors but later

settle in other European countries

, and the unequal attraction of the socio-economic system within Italy, with preferences directed to the north over the south and the islands

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Unione Italo Discendenti (UID) (@ associazione.uid)

"Italy is the only country in the world where there are no limits to the recognition of citizenship - observed Pacia in dialogue with ANSA - but this recognition increased considerably over time with the sole purpose of moving to European Spanish-speaking countries or Portuguese, and even to North America and other European countries "

In particular, between 1998 and 2006, 600,000 Italian citizenship certificates were granted by descent: of them 40% in Argentina, 20% in Brazil and, in Europe, especially in France 54% of the total of the continent) and in Switzerland (25 %)

Applicants for citizenship in Argentina and Brazil - added the president of the Associazione Unione Italo Discendenti nel Mondo - are from the

middle and upper middle class

, with a high level of education.

But preferences go towards Spain, a figure confirmed by the 550% increase in the Italian community in that country, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​where half of that percentage are Italian-Argentines

The objective, then, is to create the conditions for the Italian-descendants to return and remain in Italy.

With this objective, the UID spoke with businessmen, with municipalities, with Unical and other associations:

"What does the Italian-descendant who returns to Italy need? Something that gives them a good reception,

that the municipality knows how to guide them

to the recognition of citizenship, that they find accommodation.

And work

"

"The employers made themselves available; in addition, now it is possible that the person who processes the recognition of citizenship obtains a work permit while waiting

Because recognition is a right from birth: until the law changes, the children of Italian citizens are Italian.

That law was not even changed by the founding fathers of the Republic;

it means that it should stay that way. "

Terms

The project will begin in September, and

around 15 applicants

who write to the UID will

be selected

, who will have to

guarantee a six-month stay

in the municipality of Maida and will be able to take Italian courses.

In addition, Unical will evaluate the conversion of foreign study degrees into Italian degrees, Pacia said.

"We will ask how many there are, what they want, we will also evaluate if they want to stay. They will have to stay in Maida for six months and they will be offered work in the

agricultural sector

- the harvest of olives, grapes, among others - or in the different areas of

tourism

. The Italian-descendants, who speak Spanish, Portuguese, English, have precisely because of that advantage, "he stressed

"We started with Maida but we would like to

replicate this project in all regions

: not only Calabria is depopulated, but also regions such as Friuli-Venezia Giulia, because people do not want to live in the mountains, they lack accommodation and infrastructure. We privilege anyway if they are of Calabrian origin, but we are open to all, "he added

Maida in particular aspires to obtain funds from the European Union to promote repopulation, which will allow it to make the necessary modifications to become an attractive place of residence for new inhabitants.

And finally, Italy favors the return of Italians abroad through facilities and tax exemptions, both for those who seek to develop a work activity and for those who are retired and seek a new horizon to enjoy their retirement years.

Graciela Cutuli / ANSA

Look also

The Argentine who fulfilled everyone's dream: he won a contest to live for free in a small town in Italy

Secrets and ghosts of the past: 10 towns with history to surprise us on vacation