"Enterprise" peripheries: Chamber of Commerce and Municipality for Zen

The spread of the culture of work, enterprise, and innovation among students and teachers of the schools in the Zen neighborhood of Palermo, with Pid Camp – Project New Generations to contribute to the contrast of educational poverty, school dropout, and digital divides and promote social inclusion, gender equality, the promotion of the culture of work and enterprise as a factor of economic development and social cohesion, conscious orientation, and bringing closer to the world of work and the business system. The president Alessandro Albanese for the Chamber of Commerce Palermo Enna, the mayor Roberto Lagalla, and the councilor for Public Education Aristide Tamajo for the Municipality of Palermo, signed this afternoon, at Palazzo Palagonia, a memorandum of understanding to create a stable bridge between schools, institutions, and businesses, in a territorial context characterized by socio-economic fragility.

“The signing of the protocol for the “Pid Camp – Project New Generations” represents a significant step for our city – emphasize mayor Roberto Lagalla and councilor Aristide Tamajo –. Choosing to launch this initiative from Zen means decisively investing in one of the neighborhoods where the municipal administration is carrying out a constant commitment to strengthen legality, culture, and concrete opportunities for young people. In Zen, we are building a path made of institutional presence, educational interventions, and social inclusion actions. Projects like this demonstrate that the regeneration of a territory does not only come from works, but above all from training, orientation, and the possibility of imagining a different future through work and enterprise. Such an ambitious action can only be carried out if there are institutions alongside the administration that choose to participate concretely. For this reason – conclude Lagalla and Tamajo – we thank the Chamber of Commerce of Palermo and Enna for believing in this path and for the operational support it will provide through the Digital Business Point.

“We want to offer the city a contribution in the field of promotional activities related to economic development and the business system, and we will do so thanks to our Digital Business Point” – explains Alessandro Albanese –. Current events have prompted us to deeply reflect on what the Palermitan production system can concretely do to free the youth of Zen from marginality. Businesses and schools must collaborate to bring out the best energies from one of Palermo's suburbs. We will do this through the dissemination of the culture of enterprise, work, innovation, and digital transformation in educational contexts, by strengthening the connection between the school system and the local business system, and by developing digital and entrepreneurial skills that are consistent with the needs of our companies. The goal is to bridge educational and digital gaps, restoring to education its role as a lever for active citizenship. Zen will be a “pilot” experiment – concludes Albanese – but our aim is to bring the same initiative to other peripheral neighborhoods.

The Chamber of Commerce Palermo Enna is promoting the enhancement of student centrality through an educational action integrated with the territorial context to build a “guiding educational community”. The memorandum of understanding aims to promote collaboration, integration, and dialogue between the education and training system and the world of business, combining the educational purposes of schools with the labor demand coming from society and the job market. To realize “Pid Camp – New Generations Project”, the Chamber of Commerce Palermo Enna will involve the parish of San Filippo Neri, the consultation of professions with professional orders and trade associations, businesses, public and private entities, law enforcement, the Sicilian Region, and other institutions.

“This project represents for the Chamber of Commerce not only a training initiative” - states the general secretary Guido Barcellona - but a strategic and value-based choice. We will make available our highly qualified professional resources from the Promotion Office - Digital Business Point and the know-how gained in supporting businesses to guide students and teachers in a concrete path of education in youth entrepreneurship and digital culture.

The project consists of a multidisciplinary pathway aimed at students and teachers of the schools in the Zen neighborhood and includes: training modules on the value of work, entrepreneurship, and the trades of the present and future; courses on the conscious use of technology and on digital innovation applied to business processes; coding activities and the development of computational thinking; meetings with entrepreneurs, representatives of trade associations, and local professionals; educational visits to companies and entities within the local production system; institutional events. Additionally, the establishment of a Multimedia Classroom dedicated to enhancing digital skills and innovation applied to business processes is planned. The Chamber of Commerce will purchase the computer and technological equipment necessary for the technical setup of the classroom for the exclusive use of students, teachers, and trainers.

The following have joined the project Confcooperative – Palermo territorial office, Confcommercio Palermo, Ance Palermo, Consultation of free professions Palermo Enna, Confartigianato enterprises Palermo, Casartigiani Palermo, Coldiretti - Provincial Federation Palermo, LegaCoop, Confagricoltura Palermo, Confesercenti Palermo, Cidec Palermo, Cna Palermo, Anec Palermo.