Trentino: the family wins because it focuses on “us”

ANDThere were 400 – counting only the bipeds – the participants in the first Stroller Marathon which took place a month ago on Lake Terlago, in Trentino. Five kilometers of route suitable for children, parents and grandparents, and a medal for everyone upon arrival. «A beautiful day, with so many young families like ours, an opportunity to get together and find each other» says Enrico Gadotti, proud winner of the prize “for the family with the most legs”. «Besides me, my wife Caterina, my daughters Elisabetta and Sofia, we also brought our two dogs. It was a success.”

The Pushchair Marathon was organized by theSocial Cohesion Agency,the former Agency for the family, which for 10 years has been promoting and networking all active policies in favor of the family in the province of Trento, from a positive point of view as a resource to be exploited. “The debate on this issue is too ideological” says the director, Luciano Malfer. «Istat data show that in Italy there is a gap between children wanted and children had: young people want to have children but give up, for many reasons. Here, we give them the tools to carry out their life projects, and we put their children at the centre”. No crusade to carry out against the enemies of the hearth but a lot of concreteness. And not only to try to shake up the fertility rate which has fallen to 1.24 children per woman (with only 392,000 children born in 2022) which sees Italy in the last places in the world, but also to attracting young people, saving areas at risk of depopulation, making less frequented valleys known and open to tourism. A perspective, as Malfer says, “holistic”. Which should be looked at carefully.

Helping young people get out of the house

Today 94 per cent of the inhabitants of the province of Trento live in one of the 104 Friends of the Family Municipalities, 20 per cent of workers are employed in a company with the same stamp, 1000 organizations – public and private – adhere to local networks. In addition to this cultural boost – there are restaurants that have changing tables in the men’s toilets, and it’s a good message – there are of course economic incentives. The last one, launched at the beginning of May, is a €5,000 bonus (based on income) from the third child onwards, for those born in 2023.

But the most substantial investment, also this recent one, concerns the so-called Financial endowment: it started in the autumn of 2022, and for 2023 the Province has already invested 800 thousand euros (but the figure is destined to rise), compared to 65 applications received so far. «It helps to push young people between the ages of 18 and 40 – who form their own household – to leave the house. Compared to the Swedes, our boys come out 11 years later» explains Malfer. It consists in this: the interested party applies for a bank loan of up to 30,000 euros. If in the following 5 years he has a natural or adopted child, the province reduces the mortgage by 15,000 euros; if another is born, it resets it.

Among those who have applied is Lorenza Modena, who lives with her partner Roberto and the 4-month-old twins Nora and Delia, near Rovereto. «We read about the Financial Dowry in a local newspaper. I was pregnant, we went to the bank. The beginning was tiring, she knew little about it. After giving birth we applied, the money will arrive in days. We will invest them for the growth of the girls: cots, car seats, whatever is needed in daily life. I receive the single national allowance for dependent children and a provincial contribution. Having children is expensive, but the desire to grow the family was stronger and we didn’t wait. I just hope I can find a place in the nest for Nora and Delia; I’m waiting for now.”

In Trentino an adult pays, everyone travels

Among the work/life balance measures, there is theopening of nursery schools in July; this is the third summer that this experiment has been repeated and it works well. There are already 9,000 children registered, and more will come. Among the “zero cost” measures in Trentino, Malfer puts the Family Card, which allows parents, children and grandparents to travel on buses and trains by paying a single ticket, and the same goes for museums and castles. «They are free of charge because we saturate existing services during the hours when they are not used very much». As for the ski resorts, in the 7 participating resorts all minor children ski for free with an adult Skipass. And that goes for tourists too.

It must be said that, after 10 years of commitment, the fertility rate of Trentino women, equal to 1.38, remains slightly higher than the national rate (and lower than the 1.72 children per woman of Bolzano). For Mariangela Franch, professor of Service Management at the University of Trento, «the demographic impact cannot be measured in 10 years, you need at least 20-25. Meanwhile, in the last decade large families in Trentino have increased by 30 per cent».

What is clear, however, he argues, is thepositive impact of social cohesion policies on the territory. «The internal migratory balance, i.e. movements between regions and provinces, is higher in Trentino than in the entire North East. This means that Trentino is attractive. Not only that, the total population balance ) is more positive in Municipalities certified Family Friendly: people choose to go and live where there are services, such as inter-municipal nurseries, Tagesmutter, or municipal office hours that respect those of families, and where there are tariff concessions or measures of conciliation”.

Coliving attracts young couples

In Cembra Lisignago, which has just joined the Family Friendly network, we are moving in this direction: «We would like to attract families who work in Trento, we are not far away» says the deputy mayor Laura Tabarelli. «We try to provide capillary services in the valley, we coordinate the management of the nursery schoolswe organize meetings on well-being, we encourage dialogue between generations, we give importance to reading and music. We are a mid-mountain village, not very touristy, but we have so much to offer».

Maria Lazzari chose to leave the Region of origin, who together with her husband Samuele and their three children Olivia, 12 years old, Sebastiano, 10 and Adele, 7 participated in the tender for the Coliving of Canal S. Bovo, in val Vanoi, where she moved for a year now, in the hamlet of Caoria.

“THEl Coliving is a measure that aims to contribute to repopulation, using empty public houses» says Antonella Rovri, manager for housing policies in the province. «Whoever joins gets a free apartment for 4 years, and in exchange undertakes services for the community, so as to better integrate into the territory. We made two announcements, in Luserna and in Canal S.Bovo. There were 2 children in Luserna, now – with the arrival of 5 new families – there are 11 and above all there has been an important fallout from tourism, Spanish TV has also arrived. 25 people have moved to Canal S.Bovo, where the addition is more recent».

For Maria and her husband, leaving Castelfranco Veneto was a life choice: «We were looking for a smaller, more peaceful community surrounded by nature. The announcement came at the right time. We quit our jobs and – without a network – we moved. I had had an interview, Samuele was out for a walk. But the priority was the transfer. Now we both work in Fiera di Primiero, the valley next door, and we are calm. The school bus stops in front of the house, i our children are pampered by the neighbors, all of whom are quite elderly. They have new grandparents. We get along well with the other colivers, we all participate in the life of the community. We are members of the Pro Loco, of the Alpini, we would like to create a cooperative to launch the valley. Every time we go to visit relatives in Castelfranco we return to Canal S.Bovo more and more convinced that we have made the right decision».

With Cohousing you focus on collaboration

The province has mapped the available properties and is encouraging the Municipalities to join Coliving and, new, Cohousing. “The formula is a little different,” explains Rovri. «Cohousing promotes social relations within a building. In Scandinavia, where it is widespread, everyone takes turns cooking. I don’t think we’ll get there, but it’s still a collaborative way of living, where each family has its own apartment but there are common areas that are managed together. For example, an elderly man makes himself available for homework help to the children of the neighbors who, for their part, accompany him to the doctor. It is the cohousers who decide their availability, which they will put on paper in the internal regulation. The first experiment will be ad Albian: the 5 families involved for 10 years will have the rent reduced by 50 percent. In this case it won’t just be young couples with children, there will be a mix of generations». It will be a new way, different from the traditional one, to experience the family. A way that focuses on the “co”, that is on the “we”, on collaboration and solidarity. © REPRODUCTION RESERVED

Trentino: the family wins

Lakes, castles, fairy tales, farms, workshops: in the Valle dei Laghi trekking and activities for all ages

There are eight itineraries in the Valle dei Laghi, in the south-western part of the province of Trento, to be read and downloaded from the website familypaths.com. These are easy routes, which can be done by children aged 5 and over, all marked and geolocated. The simplest is the “infinity” path, in the shape of Lake Terlago: it winds along the banks and is also perfect with strollers thanks to a comfortable wooden walkway that crosses the wood. You can admire the pike fishermen while the older ones can practice wakeboarding. A little further along the path of the two “green pearls”, the lakes of Lamar and Santo, 6 km to be completed in about 3 and a half hours: you can also swim, sunbathe on the beach and get to know the animals up close of an educational farm.

For each route, the site indicates the services available, the map but also a dedicated fairy tale, mostly reworkings of popular beliefs. In Cavedine you pass by a Roman fountain and an equipped wall which is also accessible to children. The setting up of educational bulletin boards will start right from the Cavedine path, with the aim of installing them on the other seven paths as well. © REPRODUCTION RESERVED

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