Romagna solatia, dolce paese / cui regnarono Guidi e Malatesta; / cui tenne pure il Passator cortese, / re della strada, re della foresta.
In this famous poem, Pascoli paints his (and our) region as a prosperous, thriving and teeming with life land, where the poet, far from it, hoped to come back to.
This is the same portrait emerging from the report of the Italian Alliance for the Sustainable Development (ASviS) which includes Emilia Romagna at the top regarding the achievement of the goals established by the 2030 UN Agenda.
Overcome poverty and enjoy good health
Considering some of the 17 goals established by the abovementioned agenda, against which the Italian situation seems to be extremely ailing, the position of Emilia Romagna is different: in fact, this region presents some performances that are above the European average.
For example, in reference to the goal 1 (overcome poverty), looking at the data, we see that in Emilia Romagna the percentage of the population at risk of poverty and social exclusion is around 17,2% compared to the 28,9% in Italy (European average 22,5%). Taking into consideration the SDGs 3 (good health), the life expectancy at birth in Emilia Romagna is 0,3 higher than Italian one and 3 years longer than the European one, around 83,7 years old.
Risk of poverty or social exclusion (rischio di povertà o esclusione sociale)
A quality education
The results of the Invalsi examinations, that have highlighted the enormous gap between the north and the south in our Country, thus causing a bleak debate on the educational and formative issue, have benne pointed out a lately discussed topic: the data collected by ASviS with reference to the goal 4 (quality education) reveal that here too the situation in Emilia Romagna looks better than in Italy and the European average. Among 18-to-24-years-old living the education and training system the percentage is 9% in our region against 10,6% in Europe and 14% in Italy. As well as 15-to-24-years-olds who don’t work, don’t study and don’t attend training courses in Emilia Romagna are 12,3%, against 20,1%, the national average.
Economic growth
In terms of economic growth and of good employment (goal 8), here too our region reaches degree of excellence compared to the rest of the Country: Emilia Romagna has an employment rate of 73,3%, an unemployment rate of 6,6% (of 3% for the long terms one). So, we can certainly declare that the governance model of Emilia Romagna is successful also in social-economic terms. This is also reflected in the reduction of inequalities: Emilia Romagna has about 35.300€ per-capita GDP, so this region achieves the top spot against the European (29.200€) and the Italian (28.200€) average.
The genesis of these successful records.
All this shows that our region has a successful economic-social framework, and the community makes the difference in it. The industriousness of people living in Emilia Romagna, their ability of welcome, their ability to roll up their sleeves in the face of difficulties and to enjoy the taste of life in all its shades: together with a good government of the territory and with brilliant and able entrepreneurs who have shared their own experiences and their own desire to undertake, all these aspects mean that today, thanks to a practical implementation of the goals of the Agenda 2030, that is reflected in higher well-being for citizens, this land is the locomotive of Italy and of Europe.
Besides, we are the land of engines: Lamborghini, Maserati, Ferrari, Ducati; we are the land of the wellness valley, of the tasty food arising from a more and more increasingly eco-sustainable agriculture, the land of the metalworking, of tourism and welcome “with our soul and our smile”, or not!? Really a “sweet Country”.