BIOITALIA INVESTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE

Investing in the education of new generations: the protagonists of the future who will form the true competitive advantage of Italian companies. With this vision, Bioitalia S.r.l. Società Benefit has chosen to support the mission of the Intercultura Foundation.

The collaboration between the two entities, united by the desire to contribute to the personal growth of young people, has resulted in the Intercultura Foundation offering a partial scholarship worth €5,000 for a study abroad program lasting from two months to one academic year, for deserving students born between February 1, 2007, and August 31, 2010, residing in the province of Naples, and with an ISEE up to €30,000. [https://www.intercultura.it/bioitalia]

The organization of the overseas experience is entrusted to Intercultura ODV, a non-profit volunteer association, a leader in the field of intercultural school exchanges, recognized by the President of the Republic. Since 1955, Intercultura has promoted international school exchange experiences in over 60 countries around the world, sending more than 2,000 Italian students abroad each year to live and study.

The mission of Intercultura is to build bridges between different cultures and create a more open society: a commitment rooted in its own history. The organization has a long history of solidarity and internationalism, starting in 1915 with the idea of providing aid to the wounded of the Great War, regardless of their nationality, and continuing after World War II with the initiation of a school exchange program between students from different countries, organized by an international network that today counts two hundred thousand volunteers worldwide.

Thanks to the guided support of the Association's volunteers, during their months abroad, in contact with a culture, traditions, and mentalities different from their own, these teenagers have the opportunity to develop personal and interpersonal skills to face the challenges of the working world, but also to become global citizens. Among these, valuing human dignity and human rights, cultural diversity, openness to cultural otherness, respect; analytical and critical thinking skills; linguistic, communicative, and multilingual abilities; and critical knowledge and understanding of culture and religions.

Additionally, a survey conducted by the Intercultura Foundation exploring the benefits of overseas experiences during adolescence, analyzing their transformative potential and how to optimize their impact on the entire local community, reveals that:

• 90% of students who participate in study abroad programs – and their families – report being satisfied with the experience with Intercultura (Source: Final Evaluation Questionnaires 2023, with responses from 716 students and 954 families);
• 32% of Intercultura program participants graduated with "110 and honors" (vs the national average of 24%; Source: IPSOS Research conducted by the Intercultura Foundation on 900 former participants from 1977 to 2012);
• 84% report having greater ease in finding or changing jobs (Source: IPSOS Research conducted by the Intercultura Foundation on 900 former participants from 1977 to 2012).

A study by the Human Foundation on the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of Intercultura calculated that every euro invested in the project generates a value of €3.13 for society as a whole.

Student mobility is also a key element in the internationalization process of Italian schools: 52% of schools report that at least one of their students is abroad (Source: 2023 report from the Intercultura Foundation). These students, part of the “Generation I” – international by vocation and necessity – include in their curriculum an experience that helps them develop linguistic skills, but more importantly, transversal ones, such as critical thinking, awareness of their own abilities, effective communication, and empathy. And even more, to be active protagonists of change in the society they live in.