Audiovisual Napoli Hub: Lights, camera, action!

On Saturday, 24 January 2024, the Audiovisual Napoli Hub project was launched, offering free training and a programme of integration for young people not in education, employment, or training (“NEETs”) who also come from backgrounds at risk of social, cultural, and economic marginalization.Audiovisual Napoli Hub will involve 80 young people between the ages of 18 and 29 resident in Naples city or province. They will be joined by 20 Social Science students from the University of Naples Federico II. The Federico II University has refurbished over 200 square meters of space made available by its Department of Social Sciences in Vico Monte della Pietà to house the project.

The project was conceived and promoted by Altra Napoli Ef and Apogeo Ets, community associations, working with the Department of Social Sciences of Federico II University and receiving funding from private companies and foundations, including Fondazione Bracco.
Major players from the world of audiovisual production such as Prime Video, Sky, Netflix, and Cinecittà have committed themselves to providing concrete support, while the project also enjoys the patronage of the state broadcaster, RAI.

The Audiovisual Napoli Hub project not only holds significant social value but is also an offshoot from the remarkable growth of audiovisual production in Campania. As the demand for professionals in the sector is constantly rising, the training course offers its participants a real opportunity to enter the workforce.

At its most practical level, the training course offers participants the opportunity to gain professional experience at renowned national and international companies in the cultural, artistic, and audiovisual sectors, such as Prime Video, which will offer six internships on the sets of future local Amazon Original productions. Prime Video, together with Sky, Netflix, and Cinecittà, will also contribute to the education and training by sending some of their executives to deliver a series of highly valuable masterclasses that will also be open to university students.

The Bracco Foundation, a long-time investor in top-tier training courses through its multi-year and multidisciplinary "ProgettoDiventrò” programme, is lending strong support to the project. Access to knowledge is indispensable not only for the development of the single human but also for the balanced advancement of an entire country, and culture is a strategic sector in which to invest energies in furtherance of this aim. Accademia Teatro alla Scala, of which the Bracco Foundation is a Founding Member and Main Partner, is providing the project expertise and training.

The press conference announcing the initiative heard from the Rector of the University of Naples Federico II, Matteo Lorito, and the Mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi. The meeting, moderated by Mirella Paolillo of the Department of Social Sciences of University of Naples Federico II, was attended by: Ernesto Albanese, President of Altra Napoli EF; Andrea De Rosa, President of Apogeo ETS; Stefano Consiglio, President of Fondazione CON IL SUD; Francesca Sofia, Director General of Fondazione CDP; Virginia Antonini, Group Chief Sustainability & Institutional, Communication Officer of Reale Group; Lello Savonardo, Coordinator of a university degree course in Public, Social and Political Communication. Guest speaker: film director Edoardo De Angelis. Concluding remarks by Dora Gambardella, Director of the Department of Social Science at University of Naples Federico II.