Progetto
Made in Arbëria
A strategic proposal for the Italy of villages, culture, and new generations
Made in Arbëria is a project born with a clear vision: to enhance the identity, culture, and heritage of the Arbëreshë communities scattered throughout the villages of southern Italy, while simultaneously activating concrete processes of local development, youth inclusion, and territorial regeneration. At the heart of this project is a strong belief: inland territories are not margins to be protected, but resources to be activated. The Arbëreshë villages guardians of an ancient and living culture represent an ideal laboratory for experimenting with new models of sustainable growth, capable of combining tradition and innovation.
Who are the Arbëreshë: a living and deep-rooted community
Arbëreshë communities are the result of historical migrations dating back to the 15th-18th centuries, when populations of Albanian origin settled in Italy to escape the Ottoman advance. These communities have established themselves in various regions Calabria, Molise, Sicily, Basilicata, Campania, Puglia, and Abruzzo over the centuries preserving their own language, Byzantine religious rites, and a distinctive culture, today considered an integral part of Italy’s cultural heritage.
Currently, there are 54 municipalities officially recognized as Arbëreshë, located primarily in rural inland areas, often far from major urban centers. In addition, there are numerous people of Arbëreshë origin, estimated at over 100,000–200,000 citizens in Italy, with a large international diaspora present in Europe, North and South America, and Australia.
However, like many Italian villages, these communities are threatened by depopulation, demographic aging, and a lack of services and opportunities for young people. Their cultural survival today depends on their ability to transform themselves into attractive, dynamic places capable of generating value for their residents.
100-200k
54+
Recognized Arbëreshë municipalities
7+
Italian Regions involved
La nostra piattaforma è progettata per servire come un canale unico che collega la comunità Arbëreshë e coloro che sono interessati al suo ricco patrimonio. Fornendo uno spazio inclusivo per condividere e promuovere contenuti culturali, storici e contemporanei, supportando le imprese locali attraverso l'eCommerce. Offrendo una vasta gamma di categorie, la piattaforma mira a preservare la cultura Arbëreshë, sostenere le imprese locali, attrarre il turismo e facilitare la vendita di prodotti autentici.
The voice of young people
The data emerging from the recent research "Stay, Leave, Return" (Tecnè, 2025) are eloquent and directly concern the Arbëreshë territories:
identifies the lack of work as the primary cause of leaving
would remain if there were more professional and training opportunities
recognizes in its village a strong sense of community and identity
These data confirm the urgency of action: there is a generation that doesn’t want to leave, but today can’t stay. Made in Arbëria aims to bridge this gap, offering a platform that restores meaning, perspective, and a future to these places.
The Made in Arbëria project
Made in Arbëria is a digital, cultural, and productive platform that aims to unite the diverse souls of Arbëreshë communities, in Italy and around the world, in an inclusive and innovative ecosystem.
Promote cultural tourism in Arbëreshë villages, focusing on authentic experiences related to language, music, religious rites, and gastronomy.
Creating job opportunities in the fields of creativity, digital marketing, culture, and social innovation.
Build a recognizable "Made in Arbëria" brand that showcases the uniqueness of this identity and makes it an economic and reputational resource for the entire country.
Why It Works
- It combines digital innovation and local tradition, responding to new trends in tourism and cultural demand.
- It fosters intergenerational and community participation by networking young people, seniors, institutions, and associations.
- It responds to European objectives regarding cohesion, inclusion, sustainable development and territorial resilience.
- Strengthens dialogue between Italy and the Albanian diaspora, building cultural bridges and transnational collaborations.
The Arbëreshë villages, thanks to their cultural richness and their human dimension, can become true pilot laboratories for:
Coworking Rurale
The creation of rural coworking networks and digital work.
Production Chains
The relaunch of local production chains.
Youth Policies
Experimentation with decentralized universities and territorial training programs.
Decentralized Universities
Experimentation with decentralized universities and territorial training programs.
A project for Italy, Europe and beyond
Made in Arbëria is, in short, a project of cultural, economic, and social regeneration. It is a concrete proposal for building a more balanced Italy, one that does not leave its most fragile regions behind, but recognizes them as strategic places of innovation and identity. It is a possible answer to a real question: how can we retain young people in their villages, valorizing their history and offering them a worthy future?
To achieve this, a broad institutional pact involving Parliament, Ministries, Regions, local authorities, and the European Union is essential. Made in Arbëria is ready to serve this vision.
The widespread geography of the Arberia
The goal of “Made in Arbëria” is to promote products and brands of Albanian cultural origin, wherever they are produced, preserving and reviving the shared Albanian-speaking heritage. The name was specifically chosen to symbolize the cultural unity of Albanians beyond specific geographical borders. Arbëria refers to a historical-cultural concept that encompasses all Albanian communities (inside and outside Albania). It begins with the Arbëreshë communities in Italy and extends to other communities in the Balkans, as well as in Argentina, the Middle East, Ukraine, and beyond.
Promoting body: Obiettivo Remain
The project is promoted by the social enterprise Obiettivo Remain – Economic Routes in Southern Italy and Internal Areas – which aims to intercept labor flows to be diverted to the country’s marginalized areas, fostering new, high-tech professions, and using innovative tools to enhance the rich cultural heritage of the territories where it operates.
Obiettivo Remain is registered with the RUNTS – National Register for the Third Sector. Made in Arbëria is the fruit of the love for the language and the invaluable Arbëresh heritage that inspire Obiettivo Remain’s members, people with diverse professional backgrounds, united by the desire to bring to life a project of cultural, economic, and social regeneration.
Who We Are
A cultural worker, activist, and former Albanian diplomat in Italy, she is one of the best-known voices of the Italian-Albanian community. Born in Albania and raised in Italy, she gained extensive experience in social and cultural associations in Turin.
During her six years at the Albanian Embassy in Rome, she promoted and managed cultural projects and was particularly responsible for relations with the Albanian and Arbëreshë communities. She later launched a grassroots movement to secure a pension agreement between Italy and Albania. This movement reached the highest levels of Italian institutions, leading the two countries to sign an agreement recognizing the social security rights of those who have worked in both countries.
Geri Ballo has been committed to promoting the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Arbëreshë communities for over ten years. She is an honorary citizen of Lungro (Ungra) and is now an Arbëreshë by adoption. From this experience, the idea for a cultural and social project was born, aimed at supporting the local economies of the Arbëresh municipalities, building bridges with the Italian-Albanian world in other regions of Italy and the world.
He has held numerous institutional roles, gaining solid experience in legislation, social and labor policies, and budget law. He has collaborated with Italian and European parliamentary groups, serving on various committees: Budget, Finance, and Social Affairs. At the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, he served as Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Undersecretary for Economic and Social Policy.
An expert in the Third Sector and international cooperation, he has led projects in Iraq, Syria, Albania, and Sri Lanka, addressing humanitarian crises, environmental emergencies, and sustainable development processes, as well as coordinating post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
As the son of a village located in the mountainous areas between the Marche and Umbria regions, he is intimately familiar with the processes of depopulation and marginalization. His central objective is the development of inclusive, sustainable, and locally rooted policies, with a vision geared toward the continuity and strengthening of local communities. It operates with a global perspective capable of valorizing local specificities, promoting solutions that connect territories, institutions, and international processes.
Value Provider Group, a group that brings together leading companies in the fields of BPO, training, consulting, and data protection, is one of the founders of Made in Arbëria. Through its business units, it offers an integrated approach to business growth, digitalization, and innovation:
CommerceyPMableMoonRecruitProfessionalsBotMedicsCareePrivacy
The Made in Arbëria project was also born thanks to the vision and commitment of Value Provider's co-founders, Eldisa Cirogu, Bruno Paci, and Josiana Fullani, who actively participate in the valorization and promotion of Arbëreshe culture through excellence and collaboration.
Volare is an association born from the idea that change takes shape in local communities, relationships, and concrete community processes. Its approach combines local roots with a broad vision, listening, participation, nurturing relationships, and the ability to transform needs into actions and proposals.
Over the years, it has promoted and supported campaigns born from the real-life experiences of individuals and communities, such as Au Pairs and Training Income. A particularly significant example is "Let's Make an Agreement," an initiative that contributed significantly to the creation of the Italy-Albania Convention for the recognition of pension contributions, now finally a reality after years of work and negotiation.
For Volare, the territory is not a border, but a starting point. What happens nearby speaks to the world, and every community can become a generator of change if it has a voice, tools, and opportunities to make an impact. "Volare" means precisely this: keeping one's gaze high without losing touch with the reality of people and places.
Be part of our network
Made in Arbëria is ready to serve a shared vision. A broad institutional pact involving Parliament, Ministries, Regions, local authorities, and the European Union to enhance the identity, culture, and heritage of Arbëreshë communities, creating concrete opportunities for new generations.
“Made in Arbëria” è un’iniziativa che mira a promuovere i prodotti e i marchi di origine culturale albanese, ovunque essi vengano realizzati, preservando e ravvivando il patrimonio comune albanese. Il nome del marchio è stato scelto appositamente per simboleggiare l’unità culturale degli albanesi al di là dei confini statali. Il presente documento intende chiarire in modo inequivocabile che “Made in Arbëria” non si riferisce ad alcun territorio ufficiale attuale, bensì a un concetto storico-culturale che comprende tutte le regioni e le comunità albanesi (all’interno e all’esterno dell’Albania). Di seguito presenteremo la base storica e culturale del termine “Arbëria”, nonché la visione del progetto “Made in Arbëria”, al fine di dimostrare che questo marchio non è geografico nel senso legale del termine, ma un marchio identitario dal carattere distintivo.
