Creativity, scientific thinking and innovation: young people honoured by Federchimica

From podcasts to comics, from videos to experiments, via games, storytelling and multimedia projects: there are many different forms of expression chosen by students to highlight the value of chemistry and its contribution to everyday life.

These are the key features that characterised the winning projects of the 2025–2026 edition of the Federchimica National Youth Award ‘Chemistry: the science that saves the world”, promoted by Federchimica, the National Federation of the Chemical Industry, together with its sector associations, to bring the younger generations closer to scientific culture through innovative teaching methods.

The competition, aimed at primary and lower secondary schools, invites pupils each year – either individually or in groups – to produce an original piece of work that explains chemistry creatively, whilst maintaining scientific rigour, and highlights its role in sustainable development, innovation and improving quality of life. The 2025–2026 edition saw the participation of over 3,500 pupils from across Italia, who submitted 257 entries. Of these, 54 projects – both individual and group entries – were awarded prizes yesterday at the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.

“The Federchimica National Youth Prize is one of the main ways in which Federchimica engages with the world of education, helping to promote an understanding of chemistry based on scientific evidence and to overcome the stereotypes and clichés that, unfortunately, still surround this discipline,” commented Francesco Buzzella, President of Federchimica. “Those who study chemistry have access to high-calibre career paths requiring very high levels of education: in our companies, in fact, the proportion of graduates is double the average for the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, 96 per cent of our staff are on permanent contracts. This is another reason why we invest in initiatives such as this: we wish to stimulate curiosity, critical thinking and an interest in STEM subjects, guiding young people – both girls and boys – in discovering the numerous opportunities offered by scientific careers, with direct career paths into the chemical industry as well.”

In Italia, the chemical industry will employ around 117,000 people in 2025, accounting for approximately 9 per cent of employment in the sector across Europe. Between 2015 and 2025, the sector generated 11,000 new jobs, contributing to job creation in the country to a greater extent than the manufacturing industry average.