"Legality and Merit Project - 5th Edition"

Care, conscience, and dialogue. And also: protection, roots, redemption, sustainability, rebirth, and reintegration. These are just a few of the key words that emerged from the projects of Legalità e Merito: the initiative promoted by Luiss Guido Carli, conceived by its Vice President, Paola Severino. Today, Monday, June 6, in the Aula Magna on Viale Pola, the initiative celebrated the conclusion of its fifth edition with an awards ceremony recognizing the best ideas from young people who are leading the way in promoting the values of legality and merit. From active citizenship to combating mafias and organized crime, and from immigration to the process of European integration, young people from schools and challenging environments have delved into various aspects of the fight against illegality through close contact with over one hundred “Ambassadors of Legality.”

Over 120 Luiss students took part in the 2022 edition, guided by 28 coordinators including postdocs, doctoral students, researchers, and Luiss tutors. They engaged with 18 schools across the country, 5 Juvenile Detention Centers (Acireale, Bologna, Caltanissetta, Quartucciu, and Turin), and, for the first time, 3 Social Services Offices for Minors (Rome, Trieste, and Palermo). The Legality and Merit project, launched in 2017, has tackled and explored a wide range of topics. It was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of University and Research, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, the National Anti-Mafia and Counter-Terrorism Directorate, and the National Anti-Corruption Authority. Speakers at the award ceremony for the best projects and ideas, held on Monday, June 6, at the Viale Pola campus, included: Justice Minister Marta Cartabia with a message; Education Minister Patrizio Bianchi; University and Research Minister Maria Cristina Messa; Supreme Council of Magistracy Vice President David Ermini; newly appointed National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo; National Anti-Corruption Authority President Giuseppe Busia; and AS Roma CEO Pietro Berardi.

“Recognizing these young people's ideas about legality today is a source of great pride for me and for the entire Luiss community. We are celebrating the achievements of the first five years of a project that has created a generational relay, driven by civic engagement, active listening, and dialogue among young people from diverse backgrounds. They are united by a desire to bring about change and a confident belief in a better future, grounded in the understanding that respect for the rules and the promotion of merit go hand in hand,” said Luiss Vice President Paola Severino as she presented awards to the finalists of the fifth edition of “Legalità e Merito.”

This year, four projects took the podium. Each institution shared a video highlighting the value of legality and merit, using a keyword that conveyed the deeper meaning of their message. In first place was the project “Follow me, I’ll follow you,” a video produced by the young people from the Social Services Office for Minors in Trieste. It showed how, for many of them, sports served as the “PILLAR” they could lean on to rebuild and start over together.

In second place, with equal merit, were the Juvenile Correctional Facility of Quartucciu, in the province of Cagliari, with the video “The Game of Legality” – keyword “REASSESS” – and the “Raffaele Piria” High School of Rosarno, in the province of Reggio Calabria, with “The Oil of Legality” – whose keyword was “ROOTS.” In third place was the “Leopoldo Pirelli” High School in Rome with the video “Easy money for tough problems,” which explored the concept of “REDEMPTION.”

The Legality and Merit Project was supported by its main partner, Lottomatica, which awarded two scholarships to those who are admitted—with the highest scores on the entrance exam—to a three-year bachelor’s degree or a single-cycle master’s degree program at Luiss, starting in the 2022–2023 academic year. Finally, during the closing ceremony, the Guido Carli University awarded 22 scholarships to third- and fourth-year students who participated in the initiative. These scholarships are for the Luiss Summer Schools, which provide university orientation. Meanwhile, specific training sessions will be organized for each participating IPM and USSM, tailored to the unique needs of each institution.