NEWSFLASH! Parma will be the European Youth Capital in 2027!

The European Youth Forum, the international youth organization, announced that Parma’s bid was the winning proposal that would stimulate youth participation and strengthen the European identity of the city. Following on from Lublin and Ghent, yet another member of the EUniverCities Network has achieved this prestigious designation!

The project described in the application aims to reduce the generation gap and improve the quality of life of young people through a series of thematic initiatives organized in eight “Squares” and four “Pathways,” promoting active participation, social inclusion and sustainability. These “Squares” and “Pathways” will be both physical and symbolic spaces to facilitate meetings, discussions, and concrete actions for a more inclusive and sustainable future for Parma – and for Europe.

From the origins of its urban creation, the Piazza has been a place for active participation and politics, but also for discussion, encounters, markets, food, and economics; diversity meets in the piazza and pathways transform the landscape. With this metaphor, Parma’s project will provide diverse opportunities for young people to experience the squares as a place of democratic and meaningful participation.

‘Parma, a great square for Europe’

The bid document, entitled “Parma, a great square for Europe” is the result of an extensive participatory process that involved hundreds of young people under the age of 30, and more than two hundred local and national associations. The proposal envisions a collaborative and inclusive approach that will extend beyond 2027, to create a permanent platform for dialogue and participation between young people and society, capable of harnessing the energy and views of the city’s youth community.

For Parma, 2027 will be an opportunity to showcase youth-related social, economic and cultural development. The candidacy process for the nomination began in 2023 and last spring Parma was selected – the only Italian city – among the five finalists for the title of European Youth Capital 2027. It was Parma’s first time in the finals, where it beat the cities of Chișinău in Moldova, Fuenlabrada and Málaga in Spain, and Skopje in North Macedonia.

MUST is born: a grand narrative accessible to all types of audiences. Opening in June 2025.

Italy’s first Museum of Naturalistic Historiography is coming to life at the University of Parma. The MUST will be a museum that is accessible to all, but specifically tailored around the needs of those with sensory and mobility disabilities.

Thanks to a PNRR grant from the Ministry of Culture, a process of complete renovation and total rethinking of the University’s Natural History Museum has begun, which will culminate in the opening of the MUST museum in June 2025.

Accessibility to the Museum of Natural History, located in the University’s main building since the end of the 18th century, has been limited by the spatial arrangement of the collections and laboratories, spanning multiple buildings over several floors. This particularly disadvantaged visitors with limited mobility.

The new project will make it possible to create a museum that is designed to be accessible by everyone, with collections set up around the principles of biodiversity, environmental protection, and cross-cultural comparisons. The project also aims to be a flywheel for intersecting museum collections, prompting debates on sustainability and the role of the scientific community in relation to society.

The collections will be integrated into a single location at the University’s headquarters, breaking down motor, cognitive and sensory barriers to enable all types of audiences to visit independently, whilst also enhancing educational activities. The restructuring consists of creating a barrier-free, self-access route on two levels: on the ground floor and the second floor.

On the ground floor, a layout will be created along the perimeter corridor, where representative materials from the collections that were previously decentralized will be relocated. On the second floor, a single entrance will be created, marked by a tactile path, with the staircase and elevator adapted for motor and sensory disabilities. Sensory and cognitive accessibility to the collections will also be improved with the introduction of new display cases at a height suitable for children and visitors using wheelchairs, thereby improving the quality of the visitor experience for everyone.