The initiative promotes a nationwide and widespread network of early childhood education services, enhancing existing facilities and creating new ones to support birth rates and female employment.

The innovative model, resulting from a pilot project involving nine major Italian companies, aims to ensure a balance between work and family life through a virtuous collaboration between the public and private sectors.

The “Cresciamo il Futuro” Foundation and the Minister for Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella, have signed a letter of intent to promote and develop, on a national scale, the innovative model of a network of widespread corporate nursery schools as a strategic tool to support parenthood and the reconciliation of work and family life.
As a first step stemming from this shared vision, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Department for Family Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers—represented by the Head of the Department, Gianfranco Costanzo—and the “Cresciamo il Futuro” Foundation, represented by its President, Luciano Sale.

The agreement is based on the awareness that the family is a fundamental element of society and that the ability to reconcile family responsibilities with work commitments is essential to promote equal opportunities, support birth rates, and counteract declining fertility. Nursery schools play a very important role in children’s development, offering an educational environment that fosters the growth of social and relational skills through interaction, play, and sharing with peers.

The initiative builds on the successful pilot project already launched by the member companies of the Foundation—A2A, Engineering, Eni, FiberCop, Fincantieri, Intesa Sanpaolo, ITA Airways, Leonardo, and Open Fiber—which have created a network of widespread corporate nursery schools, demonstrating the validity and sustainability of the model.

“The pilot experience of widespread corporate nursery schools, presented and discussed as a best practice during the recent National Conference on Childhood and Adolescence, now deserves implementation on a broader scale,” the Protocol states. It further notes: “The expansion of early childhood education services, also supported by the actions of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), represents a strategic lever to encourage women’s participation in the workforce and work–life balance.”

The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation on several strategic objectives:

• strengthening policies in support of families and birth rates, children’s well-being, and work–life balance;

• developing a national network of existing corporate nursery schools, making them accessible not only to the children of employees of the promoting companies, but also to local communities and other interested companies, in a public–private synergy perspective;

• encouraging the creation of new educational services in areas with a lower supply;

• enabling families to choose the facility that best meets their logistical needs, including in the presence of flexible and remote work models, while ensuring high standards of pedagogical quality and inclusiveness, particularly for children from vulnerable families.

The “Cresciamo il Futuro” Foundation undertakes to define access criteria, the governance model of the network, and a dedicated technological platform for its management. It also commits to complying with rigorous pedagogical and safety standards and to launching initiatives aimed at expanding the network.

The Protocol does not entail any financial burden on the budget of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and the Department for Family Policies will support the initiative through strategic communication activities aimed both at companies—to encourage participation and integration into the network—and at families, to promote awareness of the “Cresciamo il Futuro” experience nationwide.

For the Minister for Family, Birth Rate and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Roccella, this represents “a virtuous example of subsidiarity. Our government,” the Minister observes, “has placed family, birth rates, and work–life balance among its priorities since day one. However, it is clear that this challenge requires the involvement of everyone, starting with local communities and the world of work and business. The network of widespread nursery schools is a tool to translate this involvement into concrete action and to collectively give substance to the awareness that a society welcoming to children and parenthood is an indispensable element in building the future.”

“The signing of this protocol represents a moment of great value for our Foundation and for all the companies that are part of it. The model of widespread corporate nursery schools arises from a concrete need: to support families, promote female employment, and make a tangible contribution to birth rates. It is a project that combines social responsibility, innovation, and public–private collaboration, demonstrating how the world of work can be an active protagonist in collective well-being,” commented Luciano Sale, President of the “Cresciamo il Futuro” Foundation and HR & Real Estate Director of Fincantieri.