ActiValEu (Activating European values. Cultural models and aspirations of young people in Campania) is a project promoted and implemented by the Center for European Studies. Funded by the Campania Region (Directorate-General for Education, Training, Employment, and Youth Policies) and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Department for Youth Policies and Universal Civil Service), the project is led by Prof. Massimo Pendenza (Director of CES) and involves a technical-scientific committee composed of national and international scholars.
The project will last 18 months (from September 2025) and is structured as action research, a methodology that combines theory and practice to stimulate youth participation in European cultural integration processes.

The action research is founded on three pillars.

1. The first pillar consists of producing in-depth knowledge of the cultural models prevalent among young people in relation to the regional context of Campania. In particular, the starting point for the research, which will use both quantitative and qualitative methods, is the values expressed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: human dignity, equality, freedom, solidarity, justice, citizenship/democracy/participation.
2. This knowledge will be fundamental in helping to implement ‘mobilisation pathways‘ and ‘socio-educational activities‘ at local level through the involvement of representatives of young people and schools in the area, as advocated by the EU Strategy. This is the second pillar of the action research, which aims to put the knowledge produced through qualitative and quantitative research at the service of those involved in various ways in the implementation of youth policies in Campania.
3. In the spirit of action research, the outcome of this dialogue between academia, youth representatives and institutions will be the development of greater social and institutional reflexivity, which will translate into the formulation of policy proposals addressed to the client of the action research, i.e. the third pillar of the project.