«NI can’t forget Leonardo, who has a coffee and asks for paper and pen to draw. He had a difficult life and was never able to get back up again. Or Maddalena, Romanian origins, victim of trafficking. She, like the others who frequent the Centre, wants to be listened to.” Francesca Angelucci, a student at Dams in Rome, has just finished her year as a volunteer for the Universal Civil Service. He did it with i Salesians for social workand was involved in the listening center of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, point of reference for many homeless people in the vicinity of Termini station.
Francesca is one of the 62 thousand young people who were selected with the latest call for SCU volunteer operators (Universal Civil Service) at the end of 2024, against a total allocation of over 330 million euros. There were 135 thousand applications, 17.9 percent more than the previous yearand for many no place was found. «The next call, at the beginning of 2026, will be in continuity with the numbers of previous years» anticipates Giuseppe Pierro, Head of the Department for Youth Policies and Universal civil service of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. «The challenge of reducing the gap between applications and funded places is still open, but we are working in this direction. The objective is to stabilize resources and bring the civil service closer to its original vocation, making it truly “universal”, so as to offer it to all those who want to do it.”
Aspiring volunteers are many and increasing: despite the winds of war and the rumors – including Italian ones – of a possible return of military service, boys and girls want to actively engage in the territory to give a concrete meaning to solidarity and non-violence. A need that was well intercepted by the CEI: in the recent pastoral note on peace, the Conference of Bishops asked, in addition to the reduction of military spending, that civil service, defined as “an investment” for the future, becomes mandatory.
A Civil Service volunteer in the courtyard of the Salesian Redentore oratory in Bari. Courtesy Salesians for social issues
Established in its current form with Legislative Decree no. 40 of 2017, the civil service is open to young people between 18 and 28 years of age and more than 60 percent are girls. It lasts one year and, for a commitment of 25 hours per week, you receive a monthly allowance of 507 euros. Furthermore, from 2023, a reserve of 15 percent of the places available in public competitions has been established for those who have finished their service. The volunteers work in different sectors: «Support for vulnerable people, education in schools, protection of greenery, valorisation of museums and archives, emergency interventions and projects abroad on cooperation and human rights» explains Pierro. «The common thread that unites the projects is the concrete contribution to the community and the guarantee of a unique experience of training and active citizenship».
In this journey, the kids are never alone: «We do training, we see that many are initially looking for their path, and little by little they clarify themselves and their mission» says Micaela Valentino, head of the planning and volunteering area of the Salesians for Social Affairs, a network to which 600 independent entities are associated. «It is a year of service, but also of searching for meaning” continues. «There are those who come from other volunteering experiences and those who will do it later. The civil service allows everyone to compare themselves with their abilities, discover sides of themselves that they didn’t know. It is an orientation towards life choices.”
After civil service, many volunteers remain
There are currently 1000 volunteers involved in the network in Italy and 60 abroad. The focus of the Salesians for social issues is the protection of minors, the fight against educational poverty, the protection of young migrants. But we also work on a broader scale, as demonstrated by Francesca’s experience alongside the homeless. Another very strong network in the area of universal civil service is that of LegaCoop: currently has 600 volunteers engaged (against 2000 applications) in 70 projects, in different areas: «Assistance to people with mental health problems, cultural promotion, social services, community animation, but also activities in schools» says manager Sabrina Mancini. «Everyone has a diploma, many have a three-year degree. At the beginning they are accompanied by a tutor, gradually they acquire more skills.”
LegaCoop has a long history in the sector: «We began to welcome conscientious objectors in 1985then we followed the regulatory changes. Until today.” Conscientious objection, which allowed young people in compulsory military service to serve their country without weapons, was recognized in 1972. Then came the 2001 law that established the national civil service, in 2005 compulsory military service was suspended, 2017 is the year in which the SCU was born. LegaCoop, like the Salesians for Social Affairs, is also asking for more funds, because the demand is strong, both from the communities and from young people.
«The strength of this experience does not end at the end of the year of service because many kids stay with us as volunteers, others decide to work in the third sector» claims Micaela Valentino. Sabrina Mancini confirms: «25-30 percent remain in the cooperatives, either as volunteers or as members. For us it is an added value».
Christmas among the children of Punto Luce
Also Francesca Sangermano, coordinator of the Civil Service program of Save the Childrensays that many young people remain linked to the organization: «They often become our operators» he says. Save the Children has been creating specific projects for the civil service for three years: «Punto.COM takes place in our Punti Luce, the centers we have in the peripheral neighborhoods of various cities, focused on combating school dropout and educational poverty. The second, A testa alta, is aimed at unaccompanied foreign minors. Finally, the last one, A high voice, is held in our Youth Space in Rome, and teaches how to build awareness campaigns”.
Maria Rosaria Ercolini arrived at the civil service after a volunteer experience in Poland and a degree thesis in International Relations on the reception circuit for unaccompanied foreign minors. During his year with Save the Children, which ended in early 2025, he collaborated on the afternoon workshops at Punto Luce which is located among the popular buildings of Ponte di Nonain Rome: «I did theatre, creative reading, photography, always with children. It was a difficult but exciting experience. I received much more than I gave” remember. Now Maria Rosaria is doing an internship at the Telethon Foundation, in the volunteer management office. But he hasn’t forgotten “his” children, he couldn’t do that. «I go to visit them whenever I can and I’ll be there at Christmas too. We will play together, we will have fun.”