The Covid-19 emergency has wiped out 80% of the events and activities planned for 2020 by the Pro Loco adhering to Unpli Aps, despite this, 65% of the Pro Loco have launched social initiatives to deal with the pandemic and 50% have made donations.
These are some of the data made known during the presentation of the research in the Senate “The impact of Covid-19 on the Pro Loco system of Italy in the social, economic, tourist and cultural fields” created by Cgia di Mestre-Centro Studi Sintesi.
DE POLI: “NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS ON THE FRONT LINE DURING THE PANDEMIC”
“The network of volunteers, from North to South, has always been on the front lines: 2 out of 3 Pro Loco have taken action to help those most in need, thanks to the work of 70.000 volunteers who have dedicated 700.000 hours of time, free of charge, to others. These numbers show us that without volunteering we would not have been able to cope with this emergency”, Senator Antonio De Poli underlined this morning when he spoke at the press conference, held in the Senate, on the impact of Covid on the Pro Loco system in Italy.
“Today it is even more necessary to approve the bill – of which De Poli is the promoter and first signatory – for the recognition at a regulatory level of the reality of the Pro Loco with the aim of reducing the burden of bureaucracy for local administrators and associations and above all of valorising the territorial realities and protecting the work of the volunteers”, concluded De Poli.
LA SPINA: “EVEN WITHOUT EVENTS, THE PRO LOCOS HAVE REMAINED PROTAGONISTS OF THE TERRITORIES”
Given the cancellation of 80% of events, communities have lost €1,5 billion in activated production for festivals and fairs alone; despite everything, 65% have launched social initiatives to address the emergency.
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ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY PRO LOCO DURING THE PANDEMIC
The Pro Loco have also worked to guarantee support to the population in the ways most suited to the needs expressed: 34% have distributed masks and PPE (16 thousand volunteers involved), 27% have dealt with the distribution of food (9 thousand volunteers involved) for a total commitment calculated at 700 thousand hours of volunteering and a value of 23 million euros.
“The Pro Loco have proven, once again, their ability to be present and active resources for the territories and communities they represent. They have shown that they are able to effectively and immediately channel large masses of volunteers towards macro and micro projects in full autonomy or in close collaboration with other subjects in the network that they have managed to build over time”, underlined Andrea Favaretto, director of Studio Sintesi Cgia Mestre.
RESEARCH DATA
A generous commitment that is counterbalanced by the almost zeroing of events. Suffice it to say that on the festival and fair front, the number has gone from 20 in 2018 to 3, translated into the value of activated production: from 2,1 billion euros (700 million in total expenditure and 10.500 employees) in 2018 to 550 million (180 million in total expenditure, 2.700 employees).
THEpandemic emergency it has also almost eliminated the service activities scheduled for 2020. 98% of Pro Loco have cancelled those relating to the management, direct or in co-participation, of libraries; the situation is almost identical for the same activities relating to museums (cancelled by 90% of Pro Loco), naturalistic or environmental interest sites (99%), historical-archaeological sites (98%) and tourist information offices (71%).
Also speaking at the presentation were Fernando Tomasello (Head of the Department of Culture and UNESCO and vice president of Unpli); Gabriele Sepio (jurist, third sector expert); Alessandro Lombardi (general director of the Third Sector, Ministry of Labour and Social Policies); Luigi Bobba (president of “Terzjus”); Giorgio Palmucci (president of ENIT); Claudia Fiaschi (spokesperson for the Third Sector Forum); Isabel Novoa (president of ISTO). The proceedings were coordinated by Maria Carla De Cesari (chief editor of Norme e Tributi of Il Sole 24 Ore). The presentation was streamed on the web channel of Senato Tv.
