Last February 23rd took place in the Italian Parliament in Rome the FPSC Seminar “Unaccompanied Minors. Italian and international dramas”

This Seminar addressed a reality exponentially exacerbating the hard situation minor refugees live, as when they are not accompanied are in risk of suffering serious ways of exploitation, illegal labour, prostitution and sexual abuse.

It gathered experts from Italy and Europe in order to deepen on an extremely serious topic, offering an opportunity to create dialogue that was useful to better understand the situation of those unaccompanied minors refugees or migrants. It was an active debate where ideas to improve the situation were explained.


Among the speakers were Jumana Trad, President of Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture (FPSC); Carmen Seoane, from FPSC’s Humanitarian Aid Department; Sandra Zampa, Vice president of the Bicameral Children’s Commission; Livia Turco, Inmigration expert; Raffaella Milano, President of Save the Children;  Luigi Vignali, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Magda Di Renzo, from Reception Crisis; and Lia Quartapelle, from International Adoptions; Prefect Angelo Malandrino; Serenella Pesarin, Juvenile justice expert; and Maria Rita Munizzi del Moige, Magda Di Renzo and Pierluigi Bartolomei, from ELIS Professional School. The moderator of the event was Paola Binetti, President of Ethics and Democracy Association and Trustee of FPSC.

Throughout the seminar, the experts expressed different ideas fitting in today’s drama of unaccompanied minors who are refugees or migrants, as well as the main needs and challenges that must be faced to relieve its causes and negative consequences; “one in three refugees is a child. 10.000 children have disappeared” (Jumana Trad, FPSC);“a wise country has to invest in those entrepreneur and able minors” (Sandra Zampa, Vice president of the Bicameral Children’s Commission); “the priority is to guarantee minors have psychological and school assitance” (Raffaella Milano, Save the Children); “to dialogue with the minors’ home countries to save lives” (Luigi Vignali, Ministry of Foreign Affairs); “to invest in education In the home countries to lessen the migration phenomenon” (Lia Quartapelle, International Adoptions).

Link to article in Avvenire