An award-winning campsite for its commitment to refugees. This is the story of the Holiday Village Florenz in Lido degli Scacchi – Comacchio (Ferrara, Italy) which will be able to boast the prestigious WeWelcomeaward awarded by UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees. For more than ten years, the campsite owned by the Vitali family has welcomed people fleeing their country. Not only does the campsite offer them a place to live, but it also trains them professionally in order to use them in their own structure. After hosting and inserting African refugees from Senegal and Gambia in recent years, today the Florenz campsite has also opened its doors to 30 people from Ukraine.
“A social cooperative here had proposed to welcome some young people from Africa for a possible job placement and so our adventure began,” says the owner of Florenz, Gianfranco Vitali, who will receive the award in Rome. “At the beginning we hosted 2 people and now we have 8. All of them immediately expressed the desire to learn a job. Among the first to arrive there was a woman who is now our cook, someone else is a waiter. We are happy because they are very serious and this makes us happy with this experience”.
In light of what is happening in the world of work, or the lack of personnel affecting the tourism sector in Italy in particular, the employment of refugees has proved to be a winning solution for the Italian campsite. “This path is useful because we can replace staff otherwise difficult to find. Refugees have the opportunity to be trained. They live here in the campsite and have also worked in winter”.
The campsite for refugees with guests from Ukraine and Africa
Shortly after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, 30 people arrived from the nation of Kiev. “In March we are usually closed, but we opened for them,” explains Vitali. “They stayed here thanks to the contribution of the prefecture and then they expressed their desire to work. Some have already started to help – they are people who did other jobs and now they have adapted. We see the desire to be part of our staff“. The new staff are mainly in charge of catering, with many newcomers trying to become bartenders or waiters. “Customers are satisfied, many wanted to express their appreciation for the hospitality of Ukrainians. There are also children: 16 have arrived from Ukraine. Now they have been placed in local schools“.
The success of the project was immediate, but for the future Vitali would prefer a greater involvement of the institutions. “Our relations are good, but it would be necessary for the appropriate bodies to take care of the job training of refugees. For the future we can expand the project if there is a need, we would gladly do it. I hope that all this is an example for other campsites in Italy and in Europe. Immigrants must be valued and must not be employed exclusively in manual jobs.”
This project with refugees is only the last step in a history of inclusive philosophy that has distinguished camping Florenz for years. Founded in 1965, it has always represented a point of reference in the Lido degli Scacchi – Comacchio area, in the province of Ferrara.
The award ceremony and delivery of the WeWelcome plaque will take place as part of the celebrations for the World Refugee Day 2022, next June 13, during a public event hosted by the Municipality of Rome in the Sala del Campidoglio.
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