United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

In 1997 the Italian Chamber of Deputees have approved the project “Ragazzi in Aula” with the precise scope to encourage and prize students of secondary school to truly experience the law making process, and further, to live a real day in the Italian Parliament.
After one year, thanks to a proposal from our regional council of Piedmont, this project was extended to each region of Italy allowing students to experience at a more local level a day in their regional parliament.
Since 1998 our Regional Parliament has evaluated more than 550 law proposals coming from secondary school located in Piedmont. Over 3000 students from 14 to 18 years of age have actively participated to this project. Every year the Regional Council of Piedmont, along with the Italian Ministry of Education selects an average of 10 projects, from the 2009 edition the project selected are 8, to be discussed within the Parliament building. Hence the students who have created the proposal have the opportunity to become for one-day regional councillors emulating a real regional parliamentary session discussing their law proposal. The chairman of the session is the President of the regional Council. The other councillors are invited to assist to the debate but don’t have the right to interrupt the students’ session.
All selected proposals are forwarded to all the parties involved, and more than often are chosen by councillors who ultimately arrange them into real laws.
This is a selection of law proposals submitted last year:
· Construction of nurseries and baby parking in regional companies
· Constraints concerning drinking and driving
· Norms concerning tattooing and piercing business activities
· Measures for teenage pregnancy
· Multilingual Centres construction
· Animal protection awareness
· Early issue of child benefit and alimony

On December 3rd 2008 a law proposal coming from the project “Ragazzi in Aula” was promulgated by the President of the Region of Piedmont and effectively became a regional law. Legge regionale n. 33 03/12/08 “Valorizzazione dei quadranti solari” (sundial valorization) B.U. 11/12/08, n.50, is now applicable and enforced on all the territory of the region Piedmont (4.300.000 inhabitants of the region).

Before this experience the councillors hadn’t the opportunity to know problems and the real need of young citizen, and students hadn’t the possibility to know the mechanism of democracy to make them active World Citizens of tomorrow.

“Ragazzi in Aula” – “Youth in the Law Hall” is a project based on the concept of “open government”, empowering adolescents to participate in the simulation of law-making procedures and thus to be fully

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
· Familiarisation with the drafting of laws, decision-making process etc. and thus bringing an important group of citizens (the youth - "our future") closer to politics, policies etc.; · Involvement of youngs and their proposals in the co-design of legal acts (some laws are named after the students) via a very sophisticated simulation exercise and with assistance of real regional Parliament members, their legal services etc.; Familiarising students with the fact that proposing and approving legal acts implies costs for implementation and therefore provokes debates; · Familiarising and involving students in discussions on the state reform, structure of competences and responsibilities between state and regional level; · High visibility and recognition in the region (national newspaper press announcements, etc.); · Clear political leadership in the project via the President of the regional Council who is at the same time President of Piedmont student/pupil association, i.e. has demonstrated personal interest in the project; · Actual topics are dealt with in the law proposal thus sensitising students with topical issues; e.g. one law proposal on the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty for the ltalian and Piedmont Parliament which is currently on hold, obviously because the Treaty is not yet in force; · The thematic areas of the law proposals are taken up by the real regional Council members and in several cases were debated. In addition an attempt is made to analyse whether they match with the regional government plans and priorities.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The idea behind the project which was inspired by a similar initiative organized by the Chamber of Deputees in 1997, has not changed in the course over time. The early years of life in this initiative has required an extraordinary commitment by Council employees to know and appreciate the validity of the idea as for teachers as Councillors themselves had to fully understand the great opportunity afforded by such an experience. Surely the patience of the responsible event organizers who have believed in the educational significance of the project, enough to offer it annually, including the change of term, made it possible to get the results that we are today. Since 1998, schools that participated were 200 with more than 550 bills tabled. During these years, "Youth in the law hall" has undergone organizational changes. with the aim of improving the quality of laws drawn up by the young and with knowledge that the project since 2008 has gone from role play to true reality. In origin the purpose of the project was to involve the students in the process of the law development spending a day in the role of Council members. All time long the project became real path to democracy. A turning point occurred in 2005 when it was decided to forward selected draft laws systematically to advisory groups. Consequently, last year one of these draft laws submitted by the councillors became Regional Law 3/12/2008 "Sundial valorisation." From there came the need to change the organization of the project starting in 2008 with an experimental phase. More precisely, we have gone from an organization that took more account of the final event of the project (the final session of discussion) to an organization that puts in place the first training-educational aspect. The process has grown from four original step (presentation - selection-training day to 60 participants - final day in Law Hall) to the following article: · Step 1 – Training session for teachers – March · Step 2 –Deadlines for applications – May · Step 3 – Selections of applications – September · Step 4 – Simulations of law drafting – October November · Step 5 . Youth in the law Hall – December Every modification in the organization were proposed by the council managers and employees according to the Council political organ. The stakeholders are the councillors and the high school students of Piedmont Region.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
Since the starting of the project more and more secondary schools have participated to “Ragazzi in Aula”. This constant attendance provide evidence on how students and their teachers are becoming ever more involved and concerned about their regional political life. From an initial two day in program, today the project is developed on three days. In addition, from a law proposal concerning umbilical cord and stem cells dating 2005 edited by a high school in Alessandria, the Regional Council took a cue for further discussing this ever more current topic in their agenda. Finally on December 3rd 2008 a law proposal coming from the project “Ragazzi in Aula” was promulgated by the president of the region of Piedmont and effectively became a regional law. Legge regionale n. 33 03/12/08 “Valorizzazione dei quadranti solari” (sundial valorization). B.U. 11/12/08, n. 50, is now applicable and enforced on all the territory of the region Piedmont. Both the regional council of Piedmont and the schools involved in the project are satisfied about the achieved results and are mutually working to improve their results. The turning point occurred in 2005 when it was decided to forward selected draft laws systematically to advisory groups. Its effects are visible in 2008. Consequently, last year we had to change the organization of the project introducing an experimental phase. More precisely, we have gone from an organization that took more account of the final event of the project (the final session of discussion) to an organization that puts in place the first training-educational aspect. The process has grown from four original step (presentation - selection-training day to 60 participants - final day in Law Hall) to the following article: · Step 1 – Training session for teachers – March · Step 2 –Deadlines for applications – May · Step 3 – Selections of applications – September · Step 4 – Simulations of law drafting – October November · Step 5 - Youth in the law Hall – December

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The project “Ragazzi in Aula” takes place in Palazzo Lascaris, a precious baroque style building belonging to the regional Council of Piedmont. The project develops in 5 phases and is carried out in the course of ten months: March – December. The 2009 edition develops on three days, one dedicated to the training of teachers, and the remaining two days to the students. Phase 1- Project Launching (March 2009) · Arranging official documents regarding the 2009 edition · School registration, submission · Educational day for teachers (day 1) · Sending invitation letters through the Italian Ministry of Education · Organization of the educational day for teachers · Definition of spokesman/ spokeswoman’s groups and final program arrangements · Meeting with councillors involved in the project. · Logistics arrangements · Hall Booking · Press release Phase 2 – Deadline for applications (May 2009) Phase 3 - Selection of applications and evaluation (September 2009) · Listing of regional law proposals participating in the event · Classification of the school submissions · Formation Committee in charge of the law proposal selection, which will be further discussed in the law hall The criteria of selection change in 2008 because becomes more important the quality of evaluated projects in spite of the quantity of projects came from the secondary schools of the eight provinces of Piedmont. This change because every application could become a true regional law. The criteria are: Ø Originality of the theme Ø In-depth research on the history of the legislation Ø Analysis capabilities in the matter. · Calendar definition for the selected School Projects Phase 4 – Simulations of law drafting (October 2009 - November 2009) Educational day for the selected schools, and revision of the law proposals. (day 2) · Organization of meetings with the selected classes in Lascaris Palace, one class per day will follow a specific workshop held by functionaries regarding governmental policies, for a total of 8-10 days. · Reception of selected students, delivery of daily badges · Breakfast · Analysis of Class specific revised proposals, and presentation carried out by functionaries concerning the law making process. Simulation of a meeting · Settlement in the Law Hall, observation only of an official meeting · Lunch · Meeting held in the Regional Library, with further specification regarding research conducted. · Farewell Phase 5 – Youth in the law hall final section (December 2009)

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The early years of life in this initiative has required an extraordinary commitment by Council employees to know and appreciate the validity of the idea as for teachers as Councillors themselves had to fully understand the great opportunity afforded by such an experience. Surely the patience of the responsible event organizers who have believed in the educational significance of the project, enough to offer it annually, including the change of term, made it possible to get the results that we are today. Since the starting of the project more and more secondary schools have participated to “Ragazzi in Aula”. This constant attendance provide evidence on how students and their teachers are becoming ever more involved and concerned about their regional political life. From an initial two days in program, today the project is developed on three days. During these years, "Youth in the law hall" has undergone organizational changes. with the aim of improving the quality of laws drawn up by the youngs and with knowledge that the project since 2008 has gone from role play to true reality. In origin the purpose of the project was to involve the students in the process of the law development spending a day in the role of Council members. All time long the project became real path to democracy. A turning point occurred in 2005 when it was decided to forward selected draft laws systematically to council groups. This turning point has been realized because both the managers and the politicians at the top of the Regional Council have understood the validity of the project.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
An average of three employees of the Regional Council for the organization, other three for the technical support. These Council employees usually follow the making law process activity and in the meantime are involved in this project. The same happens to the Councillors that take in charge the applications and transform them into real law projects. For the realization of “Ragazzi in Aula” three elements are paramount: the students, the council employees and council members. As far as the resources utilized, the cost for the current edition is of € 17,000 allocated as follows: 1. Travel expenses for 2 days (for the entire class in the first day and for the signers in the second day) 2. Restoration expenses: meals and lunch for all participants for both days 3. Certification given to each student attending the project 4. Editing and revision of the law proposed 5. Making of a promo video

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The project “Ragazzi in Aula” is addressed and open to all secondary school students in Piedmont, virtually involving more than 150,000 students of the region. For two days, councillors, administrators, politicians and students, meet face to face to discuss selected law proposal previously edited by the students. Through this project, students learn and experience the law process making, efficiently producing a law proposal, which eventually will be adopted by the councillors of The Piedmont regional Council. This is a true example of collaboration and direct involvement of citizens, actually young citizens, with the governmental life. The cost of such a project is minimum compared to the benefits achieved through the project. Involving citizen in governmental activities at a tender age is a successful way to form a better and more aware citizen that can be definitely replicated by other governments of all level. For instance we have received information requests about our project coming from some European countries in their different organs: local, regional, national. The project received the award nominee in the theme "Citizen Involvment" like the only Italian candidate to the prize "European Public Sector Award" -EPSA 2009.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Since the starting of the project more and more secondary schools have participated to “Ragazzi in Aula”. This constant attendance provide evidence on how students and their teachers are becoming ever more involved and concerned about their regional political life. From an initial two day in program, today the project is developed on three days. In addition, from a law proposal concerning umbilical cord and stem cells dating 2005 edited by a high school in Alessandria, the Regional Council took a cue for further discussing this ever more current topic in their agenda. Finally on December 3rd 2008 a law proposal coming from the project “Ragazzi in Aula” was promulgated by the president of the region of Piedmont and effectively became a regional law. Legge regionale n. 33 03/12/08 “Valorizzazione dei quadranti solari” (sundial valorization). B.U. 11/12/08, n. 50, is now applicable and enforced on all the territory of the region Piedmont. Both the regional council of Piedmont and the schools involved in the project are satisfied about the achieved results and are mutually working to improve their results. The students obtain a certificate valid for the scholastic credits. We want to underline the core achievement: This experience allows those who make laws to know problems and the real needs of young citizens and on the point of view of the students to educate themselves to the mechanism of democracy to make them active world citizens of tomorrow.


Institution Name:		Region Piedmont
Institution Type:		Public Organization
Contact Person:		Daniela Bartoli
Title:		Communication and Participation Manager
Telephone/ Fax:		+39.011.5757508
Institution's / Project's Website:		+39.0115757425
E-mail:		daniela.bartoli@consiglioregionale.piemonte.it
Address:		Via Alfieri, 15
Postal Code:		10121
City:		TORINO
State/Province:
Country:		Italy

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information