Educational and relational poverty, 1 in 3 students live in municipalities without high schools and cultural facilities

One student out of three, in Italia, lives in municipalities without high schools, while 34.1% of 11-19 year olds live in areas without cinemas, theatres and places for live performances and 13.7% of 11-19 year olds say they have no friends to confide in. This is the picture drawn up by the InClasse platform based on ISTAT data and presented today at the Chamber of Deputies during the event promoted by the Fondazione Articolo 49 in collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Italia and with the patronage of the EU Commission, dedicated precisely to young people and schools. At the centre of the day was the award ceremony for the educational projects developed through the InClasse platform in the 2025-2026 school year in which over 40,000 students participated.

In Italia, on average, one student in three lives in municipalities without secondary schools In Veneto this figure rises to 56.7%, with peaks of 93% in rural areas, and in Valle d'Aosta the percentage rises to 63%, with 91.5% in sparsely populated areas. Added to this figure is the fact that 26.4% of state schools cannot be reached by public transport (with peaks touching 50% in Campania and Calabria) and 22.5% of state schools (primary and secondary schools) have no school bus connections. Not only. Things are no better as regards the 'Educational Poverty Indicators' (territorial, social and cultural context) either. 34.1% of 11-19 year olds live in areas without cinemas, theatres and places for live performances. This percentage rises to over 50% in Molise and Basilicata and 45.1% in Sardinia. Moreover, according to the data, 1 out of 2 under 17s lives in municipalities without museums with spaces and/or activities organised for children and young people. Among the worst regions are Lombardy (62.9%) and Veneto (62.2%). On the other hand, only 15.1% of under-17s live in municipalities without libraries with spaces and/or activities organised for children and young people, but this figure shows strong territorial disparities, since it reaches 53.9% in Basilicata, 53.3% in Molise and 51.6% in Calabria. Indicators linked to young people's sociability and civic participation are also worrying: 13.7% of young people aged between 11 and 19 say they do not have friends they can confide in, while 1 out of 10 young people see their friends less than once a week. Young people's loneliness is also weighed down by their distance from politics: 50% do not engage in civic or political participation, 9 out of 10 in the 14-19 age group do not do voluntary work.

It is in this context that the educational projects of the Article 49 Foundation are to be seen, which today were the focus of the prize-giving day for 16 classes from all over Italia and also from an Italian school abroad (Egypt). The award-winning classes received a total of 8700 euro, of which 4200 euro in teaching materials and 4500 euro in educational travel vouchers. For VIVA LA COSTITUZIONE - Contest "Evviva la libertà!", which invited fourth and fifth grade primary school pupils to reflect on the values of peace, democracy, freedom and equality, fundamental for civil coexistence and active citizenship, prizes were awarded to the projects of class 5B of primary school I.C. Bozzano - Centro (Brindisi, Puglia), class 4A of the primary school of Masone (Genoa, Liguria) and classes 5A and 5B of the primary school Manta di Saluzzo (Cuneo, Piedmont). For GEA EDU - Contest "Ideas for the future", an education programme on sustainability and the circular economy dedicated to secondary schools, the winners were class 5D of the Liceo Laura Bassi high school in Sant'Antimo (Naples, Campania), class 3H and 5H of the IIS F. Patetta primary school in Cairo Montenotte (Savona, Liguria) and class 2B, 2ME and 2A of the Istituto Don Bosco secondary school in Alexandria (Egypt). For MI PIACE UN MONDO - "Good habits" contest, which invited primary school children to focus on good habits that make eating a healthy and sustainable act also for the planet, the winners were class 5A of the primary school IC di Bozzano di Brindisi (Puglia, Italy), class 2B of the primary school P. Scuderi IC Santo Calì di Linguaglossa (Catania, Sicily) and class 2A of the primary school Giovanni XXIII di San Fior (Treviso, Veneto). The three winning projects of the "#NEXT STEP" contest, which helped boys and girls in secondary schools to discover themselves and their talents and aspirations, accompanying them towards a conscious choice of study and life path, were those of class 3F of IC Michelangelo Augusto in Naples (Campania, Italy), class 2A of ICS Diaz in Laterza (Taranto, Puglia) and class 1M of IC Cassola in Cecina (Livorno, Tuscany). Lastly, for ONLINE, ONLIFE - the "Pay AttentiON" contest, which invited boys and girls from lower and upper secondary schools to explore topics related to digital safety and well-being through creative and original works, the winners were class 1A of the IC Iacampo - Matese di Vinchiaturo (Campobasso, Molise), class 1A of the IC Maria Montessori di Cardano al Campo (Varese, Lombardy), class 2B of the Liceo Scientifico Galilei di Potenza (Basilicata) and class 1E of the IC G. Cardano di Gallarate (Varese, Lombardy).

The award-winning projects enjoy the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry and, among others, the National Research Council (CNR), APRE, ISPRA, ASviS, Symbola, Forum for Sustainable Development and 17 Italian regions. The projects were developed with the support of Bitron, iN's Mercato, Q8 Italia, Almaviva and Boeing, Altroconsumo, Unirima.