Young people's “maps of hope”

Today, the daily newspaper Avvenire publishes a contribution by Mirta Michilli, general manager of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale ETS, dedicated to the theme of birth rates and generativity, starting from the perspective and narratives of the younger generations.

This contribution stems from the experience of the Desire for the future project, with which the Foundation participated for the first time in the Stati generali della natalità (Rome, 27 and 28 November), bringing not abstract analyses or slogans, but the voices, images and reflections of young people involved in an educational and creative programme in schools [see the news item Our desire for the future].

At the heart of the contribution is the idea that school can and should be a space of meaning, capable of opening up to the great issues of our time and restoring complexity without rigidifying positions. Through the “Nuove narrazioni” (New Narratives) contest, students created over fifty original videos - intimate, ironic stories and visual metaphors - to reflect on birth as a profoundly human, social and cultural experience.

The award-winning works show how young people know how to use the media not only as tools of consumption, but as languages for interpreting reality: from the dialogue between generations (1964–2024) that compares stability and precariousness, to the symbolic images of empty schools and deserted playgrounds, to direct messages that question the future of the country without rhetoric.

In her speech, Mirta Michilli recalls Pope Leo XIV's words on education as an “act of hope” and a “profession of promise”, emphasising the urgency of building an “educational we” capable of recognising young people as credible protagonists in public debate, rather than passive recipients.

“If we want to seriously address the issue of birth rates, we must start here: with a generation that demands spaces of trust, dialogue and meaning. Because the future cannot be waited for: it must be created. Together”.