our vision: We believe in a world where young people are central to solution-building, policy-making and lasting change. In each city, teams of Global Shapers self-organize to create initiatives that address local, regional and global challenges.

our city: Even if located in a G8 country, Puglia can be considered a developing region. The combination of these two mixed characteristics makes Bari, Puglia’s capital city, both an economically developed and a high-potential city. Bari is a top touristic destination, has a very well connected airport, hosts hi-tech companies, a vibrant aerospace district and a large harbor. At the same time, unemployment and brain drain rates are very high: students leave and attend university away from home, employers are still skeptical about hiring young and talented people in and from this place; the city even continues suffering from episodes of petty crime.

our opportunity: Bari has plenty of scope of improvement and the opportunity to show the results of its socioeconomic effort to a huge number of people coming from all over the world. In this context, the Global Shapers Community’s projects could raise the awareness of the potential of the city, have a direct impact on its economy and change the mindset of people living there. It could also be a great opportunity for many young talents to come back, a contribution to the development of the territory by offering citizens the connection with important institutions that Bari is missing.

our strategy: Building a group made of smart people having different backgrounds is crucial in order to understand which are the priorities the Global Shapers Community should deal with. Creating opportunities for interaction at least twice per month and talking collectively about the problems of the city from several standpoints will help to quickly create a general framework of action within which the Community will try to solve one issue at a time. They will be prioritized according to the GSC’s ability to solve them and to generate the most significant social impact, paying special attention to students, young entrepreneurs and public issues such as sustainability and employment.