“We were keen to pass through here, to visit this centre, to see what had been explained to us, the activity actually taking place here and, above all, because of the model it presents, because of the formula which is also a model for other situations”: this is how the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella expressed himself, on Saturday, 6 April 2024, during his visit to the Don Bosco Salesian Vocational Training Centre in Ashaiman, not far from the Capital, Accra, in one of the last stages of his State Visit to West Africa.
Accompanied by his daughter Laura and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli, the Italian Head of State observed the workshops and other areas at the Salesian centre, home to an important experiment of international cooperation developed in collaboration between the “Confindustria – Alto Adriatico”, the “Umana – SpA” labour agency , the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, the Salesian “Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo” (VIS) NGO, trade unions and other partners.
“I am delighted to be here”, President Mattarella began after greetings and official thanks. “I visited some departments and was able to see the activity actually taking place and the great expertise that these young people have thanks to their training” added Mattarella.
President Mattarella, an expert on Don Bosco
On the strength of his direct knowledge of the Salesian world, passed on also through his many contacts with Salesian work during his more than nine years as President, the Head of State immediately perceived the warmth and climate typical of Don Bosco houses. “I saw, as I expected, that the Salesian spirit is breathed here first and foremost. It is well expressed by this image here: Don Bosco followed by a multitude of young people. And here, as in so many other places, on every continent, there is this very close, constant, intense relationship aimed at the formation of young people, which is received from Don Bosco’s teaching.”
Mattarella spoke to the boys as someone who truly knew and admired Don Bosco, introducing the Piedmontese Saint to the young people present: “You see, boys, Don Bosco began this way in Italy: there were multitudes of boys, sometimes without even a family, without preparation, without the possibility of a future, without job opportunities. This was his commitment in Italy at the time, and he was very successful.”
Training project with Confindustria
Subsequently, he highlighted the value of the international cooperation project involving the centre: a course of education and technical training aimed at young Ghanaian students to improve their professional training in Italy, creating opportunities for job exchange and strengthening the existing relations between the two countries. Specifically, thanks to this project, 250 young Ghanaians from the technical-professional courses will be selected by the centre’s Labour Services Office (the “Don Bosco Job Service Office”) in collaboration with “Umana Spa” and after attending a language course run by the VIS, they will subsequently be included in the working fabric of Friuli-Venezia Giulia companies, in areas such as shipbuilding, construction and infrastructure, logistics and goods handling, but also hotels and the tertiary sector.
That is why, speaking of this initiative, Mattarella spoke of a “formula of extraordinary effectiveness for the training here of young people who aspire to work and training in the industries of our North East” remarking that “young people can decide whether to continue working in those companies in Italy or invest here with the preparation achieved.”
“It is a happy formula” the Italian Head of State stressed “and it is important that the new President of the Italian Confindustria, Orsini, has adopted this formula in his national program, so that it can be repeated in the other organisations in our country, in Italy.”
Start of the project
As early as May, the first 30 students will begin Italian language and civic education courses organised by VIS in collaboration with the University for Foreigners in Siena. The courses, lasting two and a half months, will allow students to take the language certification exam in Italian at level A1 and to develop knowledge and understanding of the social, economic, legal and civil structures of Italian society – an activity that aims to facilitate a gradual and positive integration into the Italian social and cultural context.
Before taking leave of the staff and students of the Salesian centre, Mattarella again stressed the value of this project and its most important significance, with a typically Salesian message and vision: “Here, as in other initiatives, we breathe the spirit of this collaboration between Ghana and Italy: that of having the awareness that our future is common and that it is entrusted to young people, and we therefore have the responsibility of their formation for their future.”
“I am about to leave for Italy, reluctantly leaving this magnificent country” he concluded. “I am pleased to spend these last hours here in Ghana, here with young Ghanaians, with the collaboration that we intend to carry out for them and which is actually being carried out here.”
The Italian President visits the Don Bosco Centre in Ashaiman