“MARIO PRIMICERIO SCHOLARSHIPS”
For the formation of youth engaged in the promotion of peace and dialogue in the
Mediterranean area
- Context and motivations
Nowadays the Mediterranean area constitutes a crossroad of meetings, exchanges and
tensions. Immigration, environmental, economic, cultural and religious challenges call for
new figures endowed with vision as well as the capacity to create dialogue and solidarity
networks.
Rete Mare Nostrum, drawing inspiration from Giorgio La Pira’s “concrete utopian vision”,
proposes a program for scholarships destined to form a youth equipped with the skills
needed to build bridges between the two sides of the Mediterranean basin, which La Pira
envisioned as the “wide Tiberias lake”: a symbolic place where encounters, fraternity and
peace can take place.
The scholarships have been created in the name of Prof. Mario Primicerio, a prominent
figure of reference that treasured Giorgio La Pira’s moral and political inheritance. As well
as his contributions in the academic field, Primicerio was also one of the main
collaborators of La Pira when he was the mayor of Florence, and later on he tirelessly
promoted La Pira’s vision both in the years in which he was serving in his administrative
role and later on when he was the President of the Fondazione Giorgio La Pira. He also
contributed to the constitution of the Mediterranean Youth Council. With these
scholarships we intend to celebrate his intellectual and civil contribution, paying tribute to
the essential role he played in promoting the transmission of La Pira’s thought to the new
generations. - General objective
Forming a new generation of Mediterranean youth engaged in the promotion of peace,
intercultural and religious dialogue, sustainable environmental projects and cooperation
among the people inhabiting the area. - Specific objectives
– Offering to such gifted Mediterranean students the opportunity to have access to
quality university education in Italy
– Promoting the academic, linguistic and intercultural competences required for
leadership roles in the Mediterranean context
– Favoring the creation of a Mediterranean community of young professionals
inspired by Rete Mare Nostrum’s vision
-Siding the beneficiaries with a relational, psychological and cultural support aimed
at fostering a harmonious integration path.
- Recipients
Young people aged 18 to 35 originating from one of the Mediterranean countries (or
countries linked to the Episcopal conferences or Mediterranean synods) holding:
– A secondary school Diploma or Bachelor’s degree (depending on the scholarship level)
– Documented academic merits
– Documented interest in the themes of peace, dialogue and cooperation
– Willingness to actively collaborate with Rete Mare Nostrum.
- Scholarships features
The 4 Mario Primicerio scholarships fully cover:
- Enrollment at the University of Florence
- National Health Service coverage
- Didactic support (materials, transport, contributions to academic activities)
- Board and lodging with the Rete partners’ structures or the selected host families
- Intensive Italian course, with final certification
- Formation and labs for intercultural and peace building work
- Mentoring provided by Rete Mare Nostrum.
- Programme duration
- 1 renewable year for Bachelor’s degrees or Master degrees, till the completion of
the academic path (max 3–5 years).
- Selection and candidates prerequisites
Selection criteria will take into consideration the candidate attitude and interest pertaining
the values of dialogue, fraternity and peace in synergy with the Rete Mare Nostrum’s
mission and the validity of the academic project.
In order to promote one’s candidacy the proponent must send:
- a motivational letter highlighting his/her academic and life project;
- a reference letter by a member of the Mediterranean Youth Council;
- Curriculum Vitae;
The selection will be made after an online interview. in Italian or English, with a
commission named by the Rete Mare Nostrum. The criteria are the following:
- A socio-economical state of vulnerability
The commission will attentively evaluate the financial, family and personal context of the
candidate, paying particular attention to situations denoting frailty, risk or eviction as well
as reasons directly relating to conflicts in the country of origin. - Merit, motivation and solidity of the academic project
Analysis of the quality and credibility of the academic path proposed, the candidate’s
motivation and the competences needed to bring to successful completion the academic
endevour chosen by the candidate. - Coherence between the educational path and the opportunities offered by the
programme
The commission will verify the congruence between the educational objectives pursued by
the candidate and the opportunities granted by the scholarship ensuring that the project is
realistic, adequate for the student’s profile and feasible from the perspective of the
available financial resources. - Openness to dialogue and collaboration
The commission will evaluate the candidate willingness to engage in a multicultural
environment and contribute to create paths for dialogue, mediation and active
partecipation. - Geographical and gender equality
Attention will be paid to equality in the distribution of scholarships, favouring a balanced
representational selection in terms of geographical area and male/ female ratio.
The selection will be carried out by the commission nominated by the Rete Mare
Nostrum and is non appealable.
- Candidacy procedures and deadline
- Candidacies can be sent with the required documentation, see point 7, and the
candidate contacts to info@giovanimediterraneo.org strictly before the 31th March
- The selection online interviews will start on the 15th April 2026. The candidate will
be contacted via the mail provided prior the date of the interview. Selection results
will be communicated by the 15th May 2026. - For any enquiry or info request you can send an email to the address given above
info@giovanimediterraneo.org.