Volunteers need to cooperate in order to live. In 2010, 15 years ago,“ Doctors in Africa” had organized a conference to bring together Associations working in Africa. On that occasion and to give continuity to the initiative, many participants wanted to establish a Consortium that they called SPeRA, Solidarity Projects and Resources for Africa (currently bringing together more than 50 Volunteer Associations).
From the moment of its creation, SPeRA, in addition to carrying out the classic activities of the Consortium, gathered the world of Italian Volunteering in Genoa every year. In 2020 the Covid pandemic forced the suspension of the Convention. When it resumed in 2021, it was transformed and the telematic links that had become customary were widely used between different Italian and African venues. In addition, the collaborations that had always been present, between the Volunteers and the world of the Church, Universities and Business gained relevance and autonomy within the Convention. SPeRA became a new reality, an opportunity for the most important pillars of the Italian presence in Africa to come together (1,000 volunteer associations, 51 universities, 1,500 businesses, 36,000 clergy are the Italian entities operating in Africa).
The 15th edition of the SPeRA 2025 Conference will be based in Genoa but The conference proceedings will be held simultaneously in several connected venues Brescia, Bologna, Messina, Palermo, Rome and Villalba di Guidonia as well as links to African venues. All the activity will be open both to the public present in the halls and to all those who wish to follow via streaming.
The conference will be held in 5 sessions, with the support of AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) and the collaboration of Il Sole 24 Ore.