Legality and Merit Project

What is the Legality and Merit Project?

Now in its 7th edition, the Legality and Merit Project was initiated by Professor Paola Severino and Luiss Guido Carli University. The Project involves university students and students from secondary high schools, Juvenile Penal Institutes, Social Services for Minors, and Ministerial Communities.
It aims to foster dialogue on legality and merit, promoting awareness about the importance of respecting rules and fighting corruption.
The Program sees the active collaboration of the Italian Anti-Corruption Authority with Luiss Guido Carli University, together with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Merit, Ministry of University and Research, Superior Council of the Judiciary, National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate.

                                               Presentation Video of the Project:

Topics Addressed. Through meetings guided by Luiss students, the program addresses topics such as active citizenship, fighting organized crime, gender equality, immigration and integration, hate speech on the web, preservation and protection of the country’s artistic-cultural and environmental heritage.

The Luiss students, supported by a team of tutors and university researchers, become trainers and ambassadors of the values of legality and merit among younger colleagues, through training moments and workshops. Over previous editions, the project has involved over 800 Luiss students and dozens of young students from schools, juvenile correctional institutes, social services for minors, and Ministerial Communities, promoting a culture of legality and meritocracy.

The project concludes each year with a Ceremony where the best innovative proposals dedicated to legality are awarded, and scholarships are offered for participation in Luiss Summer Schools and access to the university’s degree programs. This initiative strengthens the link between legality and merit by providing young people with concrete opportunities.

During the awards ceremony in June 2024, ANAC President Giuseppe Busìa also participated. "What legality and merit mean, you show us the path to follow", the President repeated to the young people. "In particular, you teach the method: to act and take responsibility for doing so, and the best place to learn this is school." Another aspect that the ANAC President emphasized is that "nothing is ever done alone, but is done with others." Finally, he focused on the concept of "hope,"citing Article 27 of the Constitution. "There are no predestined paths," he added, "each person discovers their own path step by step and realizes it in their own way. All the projects presented for this event are ways of explaining and realizing how to be citizens." "Connecting university and high school students, tackling educational poverty, and promoting the values of legality, fighting corruption, mutual respect, environmental and cultural protection, as well as promoting each individual's talent: this is the meaning of the Legality and Merit Project."

During the 2024 Edition awards, the ANAC President launched the idea of publishing all the videos that participated in the competition on the Authority's institutional website.

As part of the project, on the morning of June 4, 2024, a dedicated session took place, allowing direct dialogue and interaction with students, where their work was fully reviewed and discussed.

The session, Without Constraints: For an “Organized Youth” Against Mafia and Corruption, also featured ANAC Board Member Consuelo del Balzo, who gave a speech.

The idea of permanently publishing the students' video contributions in a dedicated online space was inspired by the previous edition of this commendable initiative. In fact, Consuelo del Balzo, along with distinguished representatives from other institutions, had already led an innovative morning session of the event, during which all communication projects created by students from schools and juvenile institutions were screened and discussed directly with them and their teachers.

These morning panels, now a structural part of the Legality and Merit program, provided a valuable opportunity to appreciate the quality of the projects, but more importantly, to understand their origins and the expectations of the young creators. According to Consuelo del Balzo, “This is a precious asset that deserves to be shared because it reflects a virtuous and resilient society, one that moves us, challenges us, and makes us think. There is nothing more powerful in the fight against wrongdoing and misconduct than the impact these young people, engaged in the wellbeing of us all, manage to create. through a glance, a word, a verse, or an image.”

                                              Below are the awarded videos and the videos participating in the 2024 edition: