Regional authorities in Puglia have scheduled the next stop of their ‘Migrazione Condivisa e Sostenibile’ (MiCS) road-show for 12 October in Bari, and on 7 October published the full programme and background data. The initiative—co-funded by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (FAMI) and coordinated by the NOVA social-innovation consortium—aims to crowd-source policy proposals for Puglia’s forthcoming Regional Migration Plan. Stakeholders ranging from mayors and prefects to trade unions, NGOs and academic experts will gather at the city’s Rossani Library for a day of themed workshops on labour inclusion, housing, healthcare and civic participation. Puglia’s migration office released fresh statistics to frame the debate: Bari now hosts 49,111 foreign residents (up 7.2 % YoY) and 8,036 non-Italian school pupils, making it the region’s primary hub of immigrant settlement. For employers, the labour table is particularly relevant; discussions will explore how the national ‘Decreto Flussi’ quotas translate into local hiring pipelines, how to recognise overseas qualifications and how to combat unregulated seasonal work in agriculture and logistics. Outcomes are expected to feed directly into budget allocations for language courses, skills-assessment centres and anti-exploitation task-forces in the 2027–2029 regional plan. The MiCS process exemplifies a bottom-up governance trend in Italian migration management, where regions—constitutionally competent for social services—seek tailored solutions rather than one-size-fits-all national schemes. Companies with sizeable migrant workforces in southern Italy may wish to attend or submit position papers; funding opportunities for pilot projects on worker housing and community transport are likely to emerge from the plan’s final text. Puglia’s approach is being watched by other regions facing similar demographic shifts. If successful, it could provide a template for integrating EU funding streams with local public-private partnerships, ultimately influencing how Italy balances economic demand for foreign labour with social-cohesion objectives.
Source: IntegrazioneMigranti.gov.it
