Country
Naples, Italy
Actors involved
social economy organisations, private companies, public entities, intermediaries, citizens
Thematic areas of SI
urban regeneration, education, welfare and work
Description
FOQUS is a project of urban regeneration in Naples that started in 2014 with the restoration of the Montecalvario Institute in the Quartieri Spagnoli, a degraded neighbourhood in the centre of the city. The restored building has provided a space where public and private institutions can develop their programs to strengthen the socio-economic context of the neighbourhood, by offering social services, founding new company and creating new employment. In particular, the FOQUS program aims at increasing entrepreneurship and self-employment for youth and women by creating an economically productive community of cultural and creative industries, social cooperatives and start-ups. The different realities of FOQUS offer a set of activities, including training, education, child care programs and urban services. All of this contributes to boosting the development and the social mobility of the community.
FOQUS is a private project funded exclusively through private funds and resources. It is a collaboration model based on the constant cooperation of public and private companies that promotes networking and deep involvement of all subjects participating in the project in order to improve the interaction through competitiveness and specialization. It proposes a new way of understanding social politics and promoting the principles of cooperation, sustainability, civic entrepreneurship, and shared social responsibility. The underlying conviction is that the best way to prevent social exclusion is to foster consciousness, knowledge and training as the essential skills for development, independence and social mobility.