Italy

January 5, 2010

Geographical map of Europe with Italy highlightedHistory
Goodwill Italia was the first entity to be given affiliate status under Goodwill Industries International’s new international membership structure. Incorporated in 2001, it is the only secular organization that provides employment-related services in Italy. (Disability organizations in Italy generally focus on social assistance, not employment.)

Programs and Services
Goodwill Italia operates the Goodwill Restaurant and Pizzeria, which generates revenue, while providing training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. After undergoing a remodeling, the restaurant reopened in October 2007, serving authentic Italian cuisine. At least one tourist book in Rome features the restaurant.

Goodwill Italia offers three primary services:

  • Classroom-based instruction in computer literacy.
  • Paid work experience and job placement services at the Goodwill Restaurant.
  • Additional job placement services.

Strategically, Goodwill Italia aims to expand its services and locations this year to five regions in Italy, with a goal of serving at least 50 persons per location. Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh) serves as the sponsor for Goodwill Italia.

Fast Facts 2010

  • Staff: 15
  • Volunteers: 64
  • Persons Served: 35
  • Placed in Competitive Employment: 18

Contact Information
www.goodwillitalia.org

Country Profile
Name: Italy
Capital: Rome
Population: 61,016,804
Land Size: 116,346 square miles
Prime Minister: Silvio Berlusconi
President: Giorgio Napolitano
Language: Italian
Unemployment: 8.4 percent
GDP (PPP): $1.774 trillion
GDP (PPP) per capita/average income: $30,500
Statistics for Persons with Disabilities: According to the Italian Institute of Statistics, 4.8 percent of Italians have some form of disability. Of those, 19.3 percent are employed.

State of Disability Legislation
Italy both signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Italian disability legislation is also well developed. In the 1950s and 1960s, Italy began to pass laws guaranteeing public assistance to people with disabilities. By the late 1960s and into the 1970s, national legislation focused on the integration of persons with disabilities into Italy’s educational system and then the labor market. Removing architectural barriers and providing physical access to buildings became the priority during the 1980s. The Law of 1992 on Disability focused on training, employment and volunteering.  Italy has also adopted a quota for employment of people with disabilities for companies; however, most companies are not equipped with the knowledge of how to employ people with disabilities.