The exchange between Fondazione della Comunità di Mirafiori (Italy) and the Local Community Development Foundation – Štip (North Macedonia) took place as part of the ECFI CF2CF Exchange Programme. The relationship between the two Community Foundation started after the 2024 ECFI Conference in Ghent “It’s All About You(th)”, where both organisations discovered a shared and strong commitment to empowering young people and promoting their active role in local development. Below is a summary of the lessons learned.
Overall, the exchange was not only a moment of professional growth but also a path of personal and collective learning, it showed that youth engagement is not a fixed model but a dynamic process that must adapt to local contexts alongside the communities themselves.
The main purpose of the exchange was not only to present programmes and activities developed and implemented back in our countries by our Community Foundation, but also:
- to explore and compare approaches to youth engagement, participation, and leadership in community foundations
- to exchange methodologies, identify best practices, and strengthen future collaboration through shared learning
- to understand how to empower young people as leaders, innovators, and co-creators of community development
- to create a European network of Community Foundation with the aim of empowering youth and strengthen community engagement across different countries
The exchange between Fondazione Mirafiori and LCDF was designed as a mutual learning journey, based on a combination of tools and moments of dialogue. During the exchange participants took part in presentations and discussions, site visits to key cultural and youth centers and symbolic places in both cities, direct conversations with volunteers and young people involved in the initiatives, as well as group work and small participatory exercises.
This methodological approach fostered a dynamic exchange, in which direct observation, dialogue, and collective reflection made it possible to identify similarities or differences and new ideas for collaboration. The experience showed that, despite geographical and cultural distances, the two communities share many common characteristics and challenges.
Key Learnings and Surprising Moments
The exchange confirmed the power of youth participation as a driver for community transformation. The visit strengthened mutual understanding, encouraged reflection on organisational models, and created a long-term partnership based on shared values and trust. The exchange also highlighted the importance of peer learning and intercultural dialogue. Working side by side with the local community, participants were able to reflect on their own practices while gaining new perspectives. This process of mutual observation and exchange proved to be one of the most valuable aspects of the visit, fostering curiosity and shared learning. Beyond the bilateral relationship, the exchange also contributed to the broader European dialogue on the role of Community Foundations in youth participation.
Perhaps the most unexpected result of the exchange was the ease with which the two groups recognized each other in their respective experiences: a strong common energy emerged, made up of creativity, participation and trust in the potential of young people as a driver of change.
Experience has shown that Community Foundations, wherever they operate, share the same missions and can find inspiration in each other, thus reinforcing a European vision of local and transnational collaboration. Both Foundations left the exchange with renewed motivation to empower young people, build stronger networks, and make Community Foundations a space for learning, creativity, and collective action.
There were four main areas of learning:
1. SHARED LANDSCAPE AND HERITAGE One of the most remarkable outcomes of the exchange was the discovery of how similar the two contexts actually are. Both Mirafiori and Štip are communities with strong industrial roots and a working-class identity, which are going through processes of social and cultural transformation. This shared background created an immediate sense of connection between the participants. In both places public art, especially murals, plays a central role in reclaiming public spaces and reinforcing a sense of belonging and pride within the community. This connection made the discussions more meaningful, as participants recognised familiar stories and challenges in one another’s territories. The symbolic use of art and public spaces emerged as a powerful way to rebuild community identity and pride, especially among younger generations.
2. CHALLENGES AND SUSTAINABILITY OF FOUNDATIONS
Both Fondazione Mirafiori and the LCDF face similar challenges related to the sustainability of their projects. In both cases, the continuity of the initiatives often depends on the ability to obtain short-term financing, with constant application work. In this perspective, both organizations have developed creative local fundraising strategies, such as community lotteries, which are a simple but effective way to mobilize resources and engage citizens.
Both organisations also reflected on the need to strengthen internal capacity-building strategies to make their work less dependent on external funding: sharing knowledge and methods across Foundations could be a way to enhance resilience and long-term sustainability. In this regard, both organisations recognised the value of having a strategic partner that shares a similar vision and mission. Working together on new European projects represents an opportunity, not only to strengthen our own sustainability, but also to involve other Community Foundations across Europe.
By building cross-border partnerships, we aim to design more impactful initiatives capable of addressing shared challenges and creating long-term benefits for our communities.
3. COLLABORATIONS AND TERRITORIAL NETWORKING
Both Foundations recognise the importance of collaborating with a wide network of local actors like associations, schools, public bodies, cultural organisations and businesses. This approach wants to promote the creation of a support ecosystem capable of making youth initiatives more solid and long-lasting.
Something that changes in our models is the role of volunteers: in Štip, many projects are supported by an American NGO, Peace Corps volunteers, who make available funds and staff for the implementation of projects and activities for the local community.; in Mirafiori, participation is led by local residents and civic groups who dedicate time and energy to neighborhood initiatives. But we can still say that both Mirafiori and Štip see themselves as connectors: realities that connect energies and skills to co-create shared solutions for the territory.
4. YOUTH PROJECTS: youth bank, capacity building and mentorship
One of the central themes of the exchange was the discussion about Youth Bank models focused on youth participation and empowerment.
At Štip, the Youth Bank functions as a platform to design and implement community events and initiatives, but without managing funds directly. In Mirafiori, on the other hand, the model that will be tested requires young people to have a direct role in the management and allocation of funds, strengthening responsibility and decision-making capacity. The ways in which young people are involved differ: in Macedonia, the approach is more scholastic and decentralised, with recruitment through schools; in Turin, however, the work is more territorial, developed in the cultural and social centers of the neighborhood.
Both foundations agree on the importance of investing in capacity building and mentorship: providing young people with design, communication and fundraising skills, accompanying them with adult figures who act as facilitators, not directors. Another important aspect that has emerged is the importance of the role of peer-to-peer education. Having young people who can engage their peers, communicate in their own language and create relatable role models, proved to be one of the most effective ways to build trust and encourage active participation. This horizontal approach strengthens a sense of belonging and fosters youth leadership. Conversations with young participants confirmed that what they value most is being listened to and trusted. Having real responsibilities, even if small, made them feel more committed and proud of their contribution to the community.
Future Plans, Next Steps and Challenges
Building on the insights gained during the exchange, both foundations identified several directions to continue their collaboration and strengthen youth participation within their respective communities.
The exchange laid the foundation for several future actions:
- Pilot a Youth Bank model in Mirafiori, inspired by the Štip experience, with an emphasis on youth-led decision-making and fundraising.
- Continue collaboration through Erasmus+ and other EU programmes, exploring new opportunities for youth-focused projects.
- Maintain regular communication between the two organisations, sharing updates and results from the implementation phase.
- Develop a network of European Community Foundations working on youth engagement, starting with those involved in the Piedmont region.
- Document and disseminate the lessons learned through newsletters, social media, and ECFI channels to inspire other community foundations.
These actions will be carried out with a shared commitment to experimentation and mutual learning. However, several challenges still remain to be addressed: ensuring the continuity of youth involvement during participants’ transition from school to university is a common concern, as is the need to adapt recruitment strategies to different local structures, from school models to more community-based ones. Another challenge is to achieve long-term sustainability for social enterprises and community-driven projects, as well as in developing innovative and scalable solutions to address environmental issues
