THE PROJECT

Since 1999, a special youth exchange programme has been activated by the Autonomous Province of Trento, aimed at fostering mutual acquaintance between young adults of Trentino heritage, resident abroad, and their peers living in Trentino.

The regulations of the programme require that partners and their families offer reciprocal hospitality, which must be provided for 2 weeks. The exchange programme will take place over two distinct time periods (step 1 and step 2).

In order to achieve an extended hospitality network, in each phase - whether in Trentino or abroad - in addition to the host partners, the participation of other entities of the respective local community (municipalities, local authorities, associations, youth groups, student groups, etc.) will be encouraged.

Step one = Trentino

In addition to the initial briefing, the Organization will provide some group activities to be shared for connecting with the Trentino heritage: meetings with local Authorities, cultural/educational guided tours throughout the territory (e.g. Trento and main towns, University, Lake Garda, the Dolomite Mountains).

Participation to “official scheduled days” is mandatory for the guests, while optional for host partners, depending on their study/work commitments.

Besides the official schedule, guests will also have free time to share with their local partners just living situations of normal everyday life (shopping, household chores, meeting friends & relatives, practising sport…)

Local partners are encouraged to make time to accompany their guests on visits to their homeland (e.g. contacting local associations, visiting the church, meeting with relatives/ accompany their guests on visits to their homeland).

Before starting step one, the Office of international partnership and interventions abroad will organise informative meetings for all host partners to provide them with a more detailed picture of the opportunities offered by the initiative and to ascertain the expectations of all participants, in order to encourage a more globally shared involvement in this cultural experience.

Step two = your Country

The year after step one, the young descendants and their families will host their respective partners for a period of 2 weeks (to be agreed between partners).

In the period leading up to the visit abroad of the guest from Trentino, host partners are required to introduce to the Office of international partnership and interventions abroad a brief schedule of possible activities they would like to share with their guests, identifying cultural and natural itineraries linked with local community, institutions, family emigration history, …)

PARTICIPANTS

For young adults of Trentino heritage resident abroad
The visit to Trentino will be a chance to discover or rediscover their roots and the traditions and values handed down from their emigrant ancestors. It will also be an opportunity to get to know Trentino as it is today, to meet its people, experience its communities and understand how the social and economic aspects of the province are structured.

For young adults resident in the province of Trento
Living for a period with a Trentino family abroad, the initiative will be more than just an opportunity to discover what life is like in that particular country. It will also mean being able to better understand, through the authentic first hand accounts of  the Trentino emigrants they come into contact with, the realities of the phenomenon of Trentino and Italian migration in that country.

For all participants
The experience will offer a valuable opportunity to compare their values, lifestyle and expectations with those of their peers, with whom they will be able to build and consolidate relationships of mutual understanding, trust and friendship.

To date, the past editions of the initiative have involved participants from followig countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Bosnia Herzegovina and Spain.

Host partners living in Trentino may reside in main town such as Trento and Rovereto or in smaller villages set in remote valleys of the provincial area.

WHEN

Step one
Trentino
2 weeks
from July 19th to August 3rd, 2025

Step two
Your Country
2 weeks at a date chosen by the participants (during the year after step one)
the period will be agreed upon by the two partners, with the supervision of the Office of international partnership and interventions abroad

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Age: between 18 and 35 on the date of submission of the application
• Being born and residing abroad
• Having Trentino heritage

AVAILABLE PLACES

• 15 places for young adults residing abroad
• 15 places for young adults residing in Trentino

For each edition, only one application per family unit will be considered. 

BENEFIT

The Autonomous Province of Trento will subsidise the expenses of all participants in the programme by:

• reimbursing up to 990,00 euro of travel expenses (from/to NO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES) and insurance costs (accident and illness) for the official duration of the visit
• reimbursing up to 450,00 euro of travel expenses (from/to EUROPEAN COUNTRIES) and insurance costs (accident and illness) for the official duration of the visit

Board and lodgings will be provided reciprocally and entirely by the families of the respective participants, as defined by the regulations.

HOW TO APPLY 

You must send (in pdf or jpg format) the documents below from January 1st to February 28th, 2025 to: ufficio.partenariati@pec.provincia.tn.it:

• Application form that includes privacy policy, both signed by the person concerned (available on this page from January 1st to February 28th)
• Medical certificate, certifying the updated state of psycho-physical health
• Copy of identity document or passport

The ranking list of admitted applicants to the programme will be published on April 1st, 2025.