I was born in Naples, one of the most contradictory cities of the Mediterranean area where beauty and ugliness, joy and desperation are the same face of a coin. I grew up here, took my degree in Political science here and started my professional career.
I have always combined a love for journalism and communication with a strong interest in youth policies and education. So after my degree I started to work for a little agency which is involved in lifelong learning projects as well as writing for an important local economic magazine as an expert in this field. I was happy thinking about my bright future, thinking that I was only at the beginning…
While all my best friends started to leave Naples, looking for a decent job and a different lifestyle, I believed that if we want to change something we have to start from our own environment even if the challenge is very hard to achieve. So I proceeded with my plans, taking an interesting job at the main Italian public administration agency and I believed that I was moving in the right direction to reach my personal and professional goals. But suddenly this project stopped. I didn’t know what to do next and so I started to send hundreds of applications forms often without any answer.
Then this was my significant turning point, I lived this moment with a lot of doubts, fears and insecurities. My feelings were like as I was losing my professional identity.
During the bad times I have often thought about leaving Naples like my friends and joining them somewhere in Europe, because my confidence in changing things in my local area was going down and down…so for this reason I started to look for something to do abroad.
I forced myself to find a way that could lead me into a new and motivating professional field and looking at my skills I found it in my first love, journalism. But I quickly understood that this field was not simple and above all not well paid especially in Italy! I spent a lot of time surfing on the internet using all my sources and looking for some opportunities. Finally I discovered an international group of students in journalism, FEJS, that organized every year in a different country their assembly and I decided to apply for the next event in Zagreb, Croatia.
This was a special experience that gave me a renewed self-confidence. I realized that I was able to do my job also in a foreign language, that I had the good skills to work in international group. There I won the first prize for the best article, about unemployed young people and all their problems, and above all I met a very interesting network of people and experts in investigative journalism.
Meanwhile, when I came back to Italy I was employed as an expert in Policy Mainstreaming and a scouting consultant for an innovative local Public Administration project about educational best practice in the Campania Region, called “Scuole Aperte”, that I had applied for before my Croatian experience. This gave me the confidence that I could continue to work on the projects that I have always believed important and that I could really make change in my local area.
Starting from this moment I strengthen my personality and my professional profile, because even though I was very happy to be part of this innovative project that was involved with education in my region of origin, I nonetheless, after my experience of the lack of opportunities, decided to continue my investment in “mobility” and my curiosity about how to develop my skills in an international framework. For this reason I have in the last few years had the opportunity to participate in and meet many youth networks that have developed suitable and creative initiatives in different fields. During this time I have been creating a strong and pioneering personal network. And this is my big satisfaction, because I feel connect at a great youth networks that can offer me a chance to make real connections, and gain insights from people I’d never have a chance to interact with.
This wonderful experience with my local environment, Scuole Aperte, is now finished, and we are in the middle of the economic crisis and it is not easy to find a paid job. So as you can see I consider my “transition” still in progress. Every project for me has been a new challenge, as it is for many young people. I believe that the key to achieving a good transition is not to give up, but to continue to stay true to your objectives. I have always believed in the power of the network and in the sharing of experiences in informal contexts. This has helped me to stay in touch with different groups of young people and be inspired by their activities. Using new technologies and a big dose of positivism, I have continued to work and to initiate new collaborations, such as with the Cafebabel community, Indigo magazine, European Youth Press and Youth Press Italy, EJC and the European Youth Forum with which I’ve been collaborating as a correspondent for YO magazine since 2009. Thanks to EYF I have had the opportunity to report, analyze and deepen my experience, from different perspectives, about European youth, about the problems restricting them and their splendid spirit of initiative.
Thanks to the value of my international experiences I also learn that I’m would continue working as consultant in policy mainstreaming using my skills in journalism, new media and relationship.
I grew up isolated, but my present and my future is connected. I grew up unable to have substantial interactions with anyone except a small circle of family and co-workers but now, I earn the right to interact with just about anyone. I already took a first step, something that challenged me to think differently every single day.
and I can’t wait to close the gap of my absence…