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Group photo at Casa Naqah, Siamo Comunità

About us

A rural, intergenerational nonprofit: creating opportunities, connections and community-led change from Marineo, Sicily.

Who we are

Naqah is a nonprofit, intergenerational organisation rooted in rural Sicily, founded on 15 March 2023 in Marineo, near Palermo. We bring together people of different ages, backgrounds and skills who want to create opportunities and make a practical contribution to their communities.

Our starting point is Alto Belice Corleonese, a rural area shaped by villages, farmland and close-knit communities. It has a rich natural and cultural heritage, but also faces unequal access to services and limited opportunities to learn, meet, experiment and take part in civic life. We do not want to define our home only by what it lacks. We want to recognise what it already has, listen to people's needs and develop opportunities for those who stay, those who return and those who want to discover it.

We are a young organisation, but we are not starting from scratch. Naqah brings together years of community and professional experience with the energy and perspectives of new generations. We chose to turn those different experiences into a shared project, open to people willing to contribute with curiosity, commitment and a collaborative spirit.

Our work spans non-formal education, culture, creativity, environmental and social sustainability, active citizenship, wellbeing and European cooperation. We organise workshops, community events, learning activities, opportunities for dialogue and international mobility projects. Young people do not simply attend our activities: they help shape decisions, develop ideas and take responsibility. Adults share knowledge and experience while continuing to learn themselves. Working across generations is central to how we operate.

In 2025, we opened Casa Naqah in Marineo: a physical home for our association, where people can meet, work together and build relationships. Through Italian networks, Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, we also connect local communities with partners and experiences across Europe.

Our aim is not simply to deliver events. We want our activities to leave behind lasting relationships, useful skills, confidence, fresh ideas and people empowered to act together. That is what social change means to us: rooted in place, shaped by people and open to the wider world.

Comunità Sostenibili, activities with young people

Our story

Naqah was formally established in 2023, but some of its founders had already spent years working in community associations, culture and civic participation. Those earlier initiatives were not projects run by Naqah: they are part of the experience that inspired a new organisation. Since 2023, we have built our own path through European projects, local initiatives, continuous learning and a growing volunteer community.

  1. 2005–2015

    Some future Naqah founders help establish Provocopuscolo, a cultural association in Marineo. Its activities include a printed community magazine, a blog and a forum for dialogue with local institutions, alongside Boschetto Fest, creative workshops and early European cooperation, including Grundtvig. This is an earlier, separate organisational experience.

  2. 2016–2022

    After Provocopuscolo, its former members continue through individual work and collaborations with other organisations: cultural initiatives, music events, local heritage projects and contributions to the poetry festival In Vicoli DiVersi. They develop organisational, communication, agricultural, administrative and project-management skills that will later come together in Naqah.

  3. 2023

    Associazione Naqah ETS is founded on 15 March in Marineo. The founders choose to create a nonprofit organisation bringing together generations, skills and local partners. This is a new association with its own identity and goals, not a legal continuation of Provocopuscolo.

  4. 2024

    Our first major initiatives take shape: Voice Action, listening to young people in Alto Belice Corleonese, and the first SalvaGente community event in Ficuzza. Naqah joins Europiamo ETS, invests in training with Eurodesk Italy and the Italian National Youth Agency, and receives approval for VerdeVisivo, its first European Solidarity Corps project.

  5. 2025 · first half

    Comunità Sostenibili begins: an Erasmus+ youth participation project involving Europiamo ETS and four local municipalities. VerdeVisivo continues with environmental communication workshops using photography, lettering, reuse and visual storytelling. The second SalvaGente takes place in Marineo; VerdeVisivo closes with learning experiences and creative outputs, including the FOLLIE zine.

  6. 2025 · new connections

    Naqah joins Giosef Italy and opens Casa Naqah, a permanent community space in Marineo. Questo Corpo begins, exploring body image and wellbeing, while SYNKRO creates space for listening and co-design. A collaboration agreement with the Department of Cultures and Societies at the University of Palermo connects academic research, learning and community work.

  7. 2026 · spring

    With Sustainable Visions, Naqah hosts and coordinates an Erasmus+ youth exchange in Marineo with participants from Italy, Spain and Greece, focused on sustainability and visual communication. Activities on wellbeing, mental health, stereotypes and citizenship continue, and Questo Corpo concludes with a public closing event. The team keeps investing in its own learning.

  8. 2026 · summer

    SalvaGente reaches its third edition in the Castle Gardens in Marineo, bringing together workshops, conversations and local organisations. Naqah launches Circolare, a DiscoverEU Inclusion project helping young people from rural areas plan a European journey. Volunteers and collaborators continue training in Italy and abroad, from nonprofit management to impact assessment.

  9. 2026 · new directions

    Naqah takes part in an adult education mobility in Greece with an intergenerational group, acting as an informal partner. Through Radici Digitali, it also enters the Erasmus+ adult education field. SYNKRO 2026 brings young people together to design new local initiatives. INNESTO, developed with Arci Terra Franca to involve volunteers in caring for public spaces, is selected among the winners of Semi di Bene 2026, a CeSVoP initiative supported by UniCredit; implementation is planned for 2027.

Where our name comes from

Our name comes from a real place near Marineo: the Naca in the Valle di Sirena. It is a spot connected to memories of friendship, shared experiences and time spent together. Before it became the name of an association, it was somewhere we would meet.

In Sicilian, naca can describe a hollow in a stream bed where water gathers into a pool. As explained in the linguistic reference Parole migranti tra Oriente e Occidente, the word comes from the Arabic naq‘a(h), meaning ‘standing water’. It is distinct from another Sicilian word naca, meaning ‘cradle’, which has a different etymology.

We chose the name Naqah by bringing together the Sicilian form and its Arabic roots. We liked how a word deeply connected to one place could also evoke centuries of cultural exchange. And we liked the idea of a place where things come together, where people pause, meet and move forward again.

For us, Naqah represents exactly that: a name rooted in a small corner of Sicily, carrying the ambition to create connections and opportunities well beyond it.

Linguistic reference: Giovanni Ruffino and Roberto Sottile, Parole migranti tra Oriente e Occidente, Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani.

Naca di Sirena, Marineo

Mission and values

Our mission is to expand opportunities for participation, learning and collective action in rural communities, bringing different generations together. Living in a rural or inland area should not mean missing out on cultural, educational, social or international opportunities. At the same time, we want to celebrate the knowledge, practices and resources that already exist locally.

We work through non-formal and lifelong learning, listening, co-design, culture, wellbeing, sustainability and cooperation with other organisations. Our role is not to make decisions on behalf of communities, but to help people gain the space, tools and confidence to make their own.

Our values

Naqah is a secular, non-partisan, democratic, anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-mafia, inclusive and non-discriminatory association. These principles shape both how we work together and the kind of communities we seek to build.

Being secular means respecting freedom of conscience and different religious and non-religious beliefs. Being non-partisan means remaining independent of political parties, not staying silent about democracy, human rights, social justice or the rule of law. Our anti-fascist and anti-mafia commitments express our rejection of authoritarianism, violence, intimidation and systems that deny people's freedom and dignity.

We reject racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ableism and all other forms of discrimination. We explicitly support LGBTQIA+ people's rights, visibility and freedom to express their identities. We believe in accessibility and seek to identify and reduce barriers to participation, within the resources available and the real conditions of each activity.

We do not expect everyone to share the same opinions: debate, pluralism and critical thinking make our community stronger. But freedom comes with a responsibility to respect other people's freedom, dignity and rights. Being open to difference does not mean being neutral towards discrimination.

These commitments guide our activities, volunteering, hosting and partnerships. You can explore them further on our Values and commitments page and in the association's Code of Ethics and Values.

Our values and commitments

Experience and learning

Read the full text

Naqah is a young organisation that has developed sustained work across funded projects, community initiatives, international cooperation and team development. This has been possible because of the experience some members brought to the association, the skills developed since 2023 and the involvement of new people. We do not claim that earlier projects run by other associations were Naqah's achievements. They form part of our founders' experience; what follows is the work of Naqah itself.

Turning projects into real experiences

Through VerdeVisivo – Comunicazione per la Terra, supported by the European Solidarity Corps, we connected visual communication with sustainability through photography, lettering, creative reuse and storytelling workshops, a photomarathon and the FOLLIE zine. Questo Corpo opened conversations about mental wellbeing, body image, relationships with our bodies and eating disorders.

Through Comunità Sostenibili, an Erasmus+ KA154 project, we support youth participation in rural areas with consultations, workshops, community meetings and dialogue with local authorities. With Sustainable Visions, an Erasmus+ youth exchange held in 2026, we welcomed participants from Italy, Spain and Greece to explore sustainability and creative communication together.

With Circolare – DiscoverEU Inclusion, we are helping young people from rural communities prepare for journeys across Europe. Radici Digitali – Erasmus+ KA122 Adult Education marks a new stage in developing our team's skills in community storytelling, digital tools and adult learning. INNESTO, selected through the Semi di Bene 2026 initiative, will bring volunteer-led regeneration of public spaces to Marineo in 2027 in cooperation with Arci Terra Franca.

Alongside European projects, we develop initiatives that grow out of local needs. SalvaGente, launched in 2024 and now in its third edition, brings workshops, creative activities, public discussions and local associations together. SYNKRO, first held in 2025, creates space for listening and co-design with young people and volunteers. At Casa Naqah, we run activities on sustainability, microgreens, responsible consumption, wellbeing, mental health, language, rights and participation. Continuity matters to us: we want a successful event to become the beginning of something longer lasting.

Learning is part of our work

We invest in the people who make Naqah possible. We take part in Training and Cooperation Activities (TCAs), national seminars, Project Management Meetings (PMMs), training courses, youth exchanges and international learning programmes. We see these not as badges to collect but as opportunities to improve project quality, manage resources responsibly, facilitate groups, evaluate outcomes and learn from other organisations.

In 2024, our learning activities included:

  • Eurodesk Italy project-design workshops on youth participation, Erasmus+ youth exchanges and European Solidarity Corps projects; some team members also received Open Badges.
  • The Italian National Youth Agency's Focus Lab on youth participation and civic engagement in Rome.
  • Cult Funding, part of Cult Keys, with sessions on European project design and funding opportunities for culture.
  • An ESC30 Project Management Meeting in Rome and the national seminar ‘Quality Elements in the Design and Implementation of European Solidarity Corps Projects’ in Turin.

In 2025, we continued with:

  • The ‘Jed-AI’ training course in Athens on disinformation, media literacy and the ethical use of AI, attended by one of our collaborators through HRYO.
  • ‘Support System in KA1 Youth Projects’ and the Erasmus+ Youth PMM in Rome.
  • ‘Greener Erasmus+’ in Rispescia, exploring greener projects, GreenComp and Human-Centered Design.
  • A national seminar in Pisa on managing European Solidarity Corps projects.
  • Internal training on non-formal education within Comunità Sostenibili, with an external trainer and the support of Eirene – Idee in Rete.
  • ‘CIC Lab – Collective Intelligence for Communication’ in Obón, Spain, focused on group facilitation, nonviolent communication and collective intelligence.
  • ‘Dissemination, Exploitation and Follow-up’ in Rome, on sharing Erasmus+ results and supporting their long-term use.
  • CONNEXA – Building Bridges Across Erasmus+ Sectors in Palermo, encouraging cooperation between Youth, Adult Education and VET.
  • The ‘4B – Breaking Barriers, Building Bonds’ Tool Fair and final conference in Portici, focused on inclusion, gender and LGBTQIA+ rights.
  • Another ESC30 PMM in Rome and peer-learning opportunities within Giosef Italy.

In 2026, up to October, our team took part in:

  • A national Italian Youth Agency seminar on evaluating and monitoring TCA activities, documented at the start of the year.
  • ‘Youth@Work – AI and the Future of Youth Employability’ in Florence, on employability, artificial intelligence and digital skills.
  • The ‘How to Build an Inclusive Youth Mobility Project’ TCA in Pesaro, on accessibility and young people with fewer opportunities.
  • A national European Solidarity Corps Coach Training Course in Cagliari, focusing on how to support youth-led groups.
  • ‘R.E.T.E. – Managing a Social Enterprise/NGO’ in Wałbrzych, Poland, on organisational and financial management and long-term sustainability.
  • ‘ESC LAB – Impact in European Solidarity Corps Projects’ in Rome, on indicators, monitoring and impact evaluation.
  • An Erasmus+ Adult Education group mobility in Greece, between Athens and Argos, with 19 participants and Naqah as an informal partner, exploring green skills, outdoor education and experiential learning.
  • An Erasmus+ KA122 Adult Education project-management seminar organised by INDIRE in Florence as Radici Digitali got under way.

Skills we bring to partnerships

These experiences strengthen the capabilities we use every day: Erasmus+/ESC project design and management; administration and reporting; facilitation and non-formal education; visual communication and storytelling; environmental and food sustainability; group engagement; wellbeing and inclusion; event organisation; and community partnerships.

Our team draws on backgrounds in communication, law, finance, agriculture, education, psychology and food studies. Not everyone has the same responsibilities or professional qualifications in each field. Our strength lies in how different perspectives and skills come together to make complex projects possible while leaving room for learning.

For us, experience is not just the number of activities we have organised. It is what we can create together, how we take responsibility and how willing we remain to learn.

See our projects

A training course attended by the Naqah team

Our organisation profile

Read the full text

Founded in 2023, Naqah has already developed a substantial body of work through projects we coordinate, local initiatives, European programmes and continuous learning. Our organisation profile is available right here on this page, offering a clear picture of what we have done, the issues we work on and the skills we bring to our communities and partnerships.

European projects we coordinate

  • VerdeVisivo – Comunicazione per la Terra (2024–2025). An ESC30 solidarity project connecting sustainability with visual communication through workshops, a photomarathon and the FOLLIE zine.
  • Comunità Sostenibili (since 2025; ongoing). An Erasmus+ KA154 project on youth participation in rural communities, combining needs analysis, co-design and dialogue with local authorities.
  • Questo Corpo (2025–2026). An ESC30 project addressing body image, mental wellbeing, stereotypes and discrimination through opportunities for awareness-raising and dialogue.
  • Sustainable Visions (2026). An Erasmus+ KA152 youth exchange hosted in Sicily with participants from Italy, Spain and Greece, focused on sustainability and creative communication.
  • Circolare (since 2026). An Erasmus+ DiscoverEU Inclusion project supporting young people with fewer opportunities from rural areas in preparing for European travel experiences.
  • Radici Digitali (since 2026). An Erasmus+ KA122 Adult Education project developing our organisation's learning practices and capabilities in lifelong education.

Initiatives rooted in our community

  • SalvaGente (since 2024). A festival dedicated to participation, sustainability, culture and active citizenship, developed with young people, volunteers, local organisations and institutions.
  • SYNKRO (since 2025). A co-design seminar and process to listen to ideas and needs, build relationships and develop new community initiatives.
  • Casa Naqah (since 2025). Our operational base and community space for training, workshops, meetings, volunteering and local dialogue.
  • INNESTO (selected in 2026; activities planned for 2027). Selected through Semi di Bene, a CeSVoP initiative supported by UniCredit, and developed with Arci Terra Franca to promote volunteer-led care and regeneration of public spaces in Marineo.

Areas where we have built experience

Project design, coordination and management. Building partnerships, planning, managing activities and budgets, documenting work and sharing results, especially through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps.

Education and facilitation. Non-formal learning, participatory activities, focus groups, World Café sessions, workshops and learning experiences across different ages and backgrounds.

Sustainability and place-based work. Environmental learning, sustainability communication, responsible consumption, sustainable food and agriculture, care for common spaces and appreciation of local resources.

Wellbeing, rights and inclusion. Dialogue around mental wellbeing, body image, stereotypes, gender, language and rights, developed with qualified people and partner organisations.

Culture and communication. Developing events and festivals, visual communication, photography, storytelling, creative publications and accessible ways of discussing complex issues.

We keep learning

Our team continues to develop its skills through AIG, INDIRE, Eurodesk and other Italian and European training opportunities, including TCA activities, project management meetings, training courses and mobility experiences. The Experience and learning section above presents the documented training we have undertaken from 2024 to 2026.

Experience before Naqah

Some founding members were previously involved in Provocopuscolo (2005–2015) and later cultural or local initiatives. That experience helped shape our approach, but we do not present those earlier projects as activities run by Naqah.

For details of each initiative, including partners, timelines, publications and verified outcomes, explore our Projects page.

Governing bodies

Naqah is guided by its Board of Directors, renewed on 18 March 2026. Its four members hold distinct institutional responsibilities and bring complementary professional experience. All association offices are unpaid.

Alongside the Board, collaborators, professionals and volunteers contribute to individual activities and projects. Formal governance responsibilities are separate from day-to-day project and operational roles.

  • V

    Vincenzo Salerno

    President and legal representative

    Coordinates the organisation, projects, partnerships and communication, drawing on experience in graphic design, visual communication and cultural and social initiatives.

  • A

    Antonio Cangialosi

    Vice-President

    An agricultural entrepreneur contributing local knowledge and experience in environmental work, agriculture, sustainability and community relations.

  • C

    Carmelo Butticè

    Secretary

    A lawyer who supports the association's institutional, documentary, legal and administrative work and its compliance responsibilities.

  • G

    Giuseppe Li Castri

    Treasurer

    Brings accounting and tax experience to financial oversight and budgeting, alongside practical and organisational skills from varied professional backgrounds.

Governance and transparency

Naqah is a nonprofit Italian Third Sector organisation (ETS), registered in the RUNTS national register, under the ‘Other Third Sector Entities’ category. Our resources support our statutory purposes; we do not distribute profits.

Our association is governed by its Statute, decisions of its governing bodies and internal policies. We aim to make responsibilities clear, manage funding carefully and document our work. Transparency is about more than publishing figures. It means giving people a clear understanding of who we are, how we operate and what makes our projects possible.

Our Transparency page brings together official organisation information, details of our governing bodies and the documents and public-funding disclosures available for publication.

Go to Transparency

Our team and collaborators

Naqah is much more than its four Board members. A group of collaborators and people involved in our projects brings different experiences in education, wellbeing, communication, sustainability, facilitation and cultural life.

Collaborations may be ongoing or tied to individual activities and should not be mistaken for permanent staff appointments.

Our volunteers

Volunteers are essential to Naqah. Today we are a group of nearly thirty people of different ages and backgrounds, freely contributing their time, knowledge and energy. We do not all have the same expertise, and that is an advantage: we learn from one another and can develop very different kinds of activities.

Volunteers help shape ideas, welcome participants, prepare spaces, communicate events, facilitate groups, document activities and care for shared places. Some are involved regularly; others join for specific periods or initiatives. Volunteering at Naqah is freely chosen and unpaid, and must be compatible with study, work, family and personal life. We value responsibility for the commitments people choose to make, not unlimited availability.

We also see volunteering as an opportunity to gain skills, meet people, practise cooperation and have a say in community life. We are not simply looking for extra hands: we want a place where people can contribute ideas and grow together.

Become a volunteer

Networks we belong to

Networks help a rural organisation avoid working in isolation and access wider experience, knowledge and opportunities. We are part of Europiamo ETS and Giosef Italy – Giovani Senza Frontiere. We are accredited with CeSVoP Palermo, the local volunteer support centre, and take part in Patto per Restare. These connections take different forms, but all can open up peer learning, training, cooperation and new relationships.

Our partners

We believe different organisations can achieve more by working together. In October 2025, we established an academic and cultural cooperation agreement with the Department of Cultures and Societies at the University of Palermo, connecting research with community work. We work with the municipalities of Marineo, Bolognetta, Godrano and Cefalà Diana on local participation and dialogue, including through Comunità Sostenibili, and with Europiamo ETS on project cooperation.

Organisations we have worked with include Arci Terra Franca, Eirene – Idee in Rete, Narrabosco, HRYO – Human Rights Youth Organization and other local associations, cultural groups and educational organisations. Not every relationship is the same: it may involve a European partnership, a workshop, a public event or a longer community initiative. What matters is a shared purpose and a meaningful contribution from everyone involved.

Collaborations

  • In Vicoli DiVersi

Who has funded us

Naqah's projects have received support from the European Union through Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, administered through the relevant Italian National Agencies: the Italian National Youth Agency (AIG) for Youth and the European Solidarity Corps, and INDIRE for Adult Education.

In 2026, INNESTO was selected as one of the winning projects in Semi di Bene, an initiative promoted by CeSVoP ETS with the support of UniCredit. We distinguish between funding bodies, programme promoters, managing agencies and project partners: they play different roles, each important in turning ideas into meaningful experiences.

Get to know us better

This is the story of the people and choices behind Naqah. To explore our activities in detail, find out how to work with us or read our official documents, continue here.

Projects and impact

Explore our projects, community initiatives and outcomes, including work that is still under way.

Partner with us

Have an idea or represent an organisation? Let’s explore what we could build together.

Transparency

Read our Statute, governing-body information, official details and published funding disclosures.