Conference Program

This paper examines the role of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (FAMI) and its evolution into the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) within the framework of Italian education, training, and guidance policies addressed to young people with a migrant background. The presence of foreign youth, either born abroad or belonging to second generation migrant families, represents a growing share of the resident population and constitutes an essential component for demographic rebalancing and for broader processes of social and cultural transformation in Italy.

In this context, the educational inclusion of young people with a migrant background poses significant challenges for the Italian education and training system, including language literacy, the prevention of early school leaving, access to education and vocational training pathways, and the development of effective orientation systems capable of supporting informed educational and professional choices.

Through the analysis of the legal foundations and the evolution of the regulatory framework in the 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 multiannual programming periods, the implementation modalities of the Fund are examined with particular reference to initiatives aimed at fostering the integration of young migrants and assessing their impact on the Italian school system.

The governance structure highlights the multilevel dimension that characterises the implementation of the Italian National Programme of the Asylum and Migration Fund, whose coordination is entrusted to the Ministry of the Interior as Responsible Authority in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Merit, regional administrations, local authorities, and third sector organisations.

Adopting a descriptive analytical approach, the study identifies the main areas of intervention supported by FAMI or AMIF within the Italian education system, including language literacy programmes aimed at strengthening Italian as a second language competencies, school inclusion policies, teacher training initiatives, and the development of integrated guidance and vocational education and training pathways.

The analysis of the territorial distribution of nationally funded projects supported by the Fund makes it possible to identify the principal lines of intervention implemented, including initiatives for the enhancement of linguistic competences, actions accompanying educational and guidance pathways, measures aimed at promoting inclusion and educational success, and school support and reception services.

In the overall assessment of the Fund impact, the analysis highlights several structural and operational criticalities that emerged during the implementation phase, mainly related to administrative and procedural complexities affecting project activation timelines, the fragmentation of initiatives across territories due to uneven planning capacities among institutions and local networks, and the sustainability of interventions in the medium to long term. Additional challenges concern territorial differences in access to resources and in the effectiveness of adopted measures, as well as the persistent difficulty of integrating funded actions into mainstream education and social policies across diverse regional contexts.

Nevertheless, despite these implementation challenges, FAMI/AMIF should not be regarded solely as financial support mechanisms but rather as policy instruments endowed with transformative potential capable of influencing educational and social policies for young people with a migrant background.

From this perspective, the Fund contributes to inclusive models of citizenship and participation effectively.