In the run-up to the dialogue event, several surveys had been conducted in advance involving almost 1,300 boys and girls aged 15 to 19 with a foreign background, focusing on issues such as career guidance, mental health and gender-based violence.

The data showed that access to such information on education and employment opportunities for young people needs improvement: 23 percent of respondents believed they received insufficient information on these matters, while 32 percent reported having received none at all.

In terms of personal guidance, only four out of ten said they felt supported in pursuing their goals, while half reported not having received enough support.

Meanwhile, one area of particular concern emerged: Almost half of all respondents (44 percent) said that had worked without having a contract at least on one occasion.

More work needed to address mental health issues

In regards to mental health, half of all young respondents said they feel that they were being listened to, but a significant proportion still reported experiencing feelings of exclusion: 13 percent said that they rarely felt like their concerns were being paid attention to, and one in ten said that they never had the feeling of being listened to.

Less than a quarter (23 percent) said they always feel supported, while just under half of all respondents said they feel supported only sometimes, and 28 percent said they never felt supported at all.

Little information available on gender-based violence

Just over half of all young respondents (52 percent) said they were certain about the meaning of gender-based violence. This means in concrete terms that nearly half of all boys and girls may not recognize situations of abuse or signs of discrimination due to gender.

Meanwhile, only 35 percent said they knew whom to contact for help in such circumstances.

The findings also highlight low levels of awareness of online risks among young people with a migrant background: Two out of ten respondents said they did not believe that gender-based violence can also occur in the digital sphere.

This indicates the need to strengthen education on digital safety and the prevention of online violence.

Key take-aways from UNICEF event

The steering groups established to promote this direct dialogue between peers and institutions put forward a series of recommendations to address these shortcomings at the institutional level:

Key priorities identified include the need to provide clear and accessible information, tailored to language, age and gender needs, ensuring the awareness of rights and available services; promoting training opportunities for professionals involved in pathways for unaccompanied foreign minors and young adults; and creating more spaces for dialogue and participation.

Representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the Ministry of Education and Merit, the Ministry of Health, the Department for Equal Opportunities, the European Commission Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), and the National Office against Racial Discrimination (UNAR) all took part in the event.

Nicola Dell'Arciprete, UNICEF Coordinator in Italy for the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia commented that "(t)he road ahead is long, but the presence of institutions at today's meeting represents an important moment to turn rights as well as the aspirations of girls and boys into concrete reality."

"Every time we listen to the voices of unaccompanied minors and young people living in Italy, we take a step forward in understanding their challenges and in building more inclusive reception policies that respond to their needs," he concluded.