Organization summary:  

Full name of the organization and short name: Italian Red Cross- ItRC 

Full Address: 

General Contact (phone, mail): info@cri.it;  

Certified email: comitato.nazionale@cert.cri.it  international.cooperation@cri.it  

Brat Contact: Flavio Ciriaci, ItRC Regional delegate for Europe_flavio.ciriaci@cri.it  

Website: https://cri.it/  

Socialmedia profiles: 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/crocerossaitaliana/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/ItalianRedCross/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/crocerossa  

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ItalianRedCross  

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crocerossa/  

Mission and Vision: 

Mission:

The Italian Red Cross (following as ItRC) is an organisation founded in 1864 and is auxiliary to the Italian public authorities.

The Italian Red Cross is a voluntary based organization that has as its purpose health and social assistance, both in peacetime and in time of conflict. ItRC is guided in its action by the Seven Fundamental Principles of the International Movement: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Volunteering, Unity and Universality.  

As per Italian Red Cross Statute, the first and foremost important objective is to prevent and alleviate the suffering in an impartial fashion, without distinction of nationality, race, sex, religious belief/faith, language/culture, social class, political opinion, hence contributing to the protection and promotion of human dignity and a culture of non-violence and peace. 

The major areas of expertise developed both domestically and internationally, relate in particular to: Youth and Volunteers development, Assistance and Protection to people on the move, Emergencies preparedness and response, Disaster Risk Reduction, National Society Development, International Humanitarian Law, Health awareness and assistance and health in emergencies and Social inclusion. 

Vision:  

The Italian Red Cross (ItRC) works alongside the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (Movement) with the aim of responding to the needs of the most vulnerable people, ensuring full ownership and sustainability of the actions on the one hand, and integrity and responsibility towards the actors involved and the public on the other, in compliance with Fundamental Principles of the Movement. 

The Mission and Vision of the Italian Red Cross in international cooperation is to contribute through not only financial resources but also leveraging from its human capital, history and expertise, which represent its added value. The Italian Red Cross can also rely on a network composed by a National Committee, 21 Regional Committees, 651 local branches and more than 160.000 volunteers.  

What we do: 

As far as Italy is concerned, ItRC has been active in the following areas of intervention:  

-Covid-19 emergency: over 160 thousand volunteers on over Italian 1000 locations and the hundreds of citizens involved in the Temporary Volunteering program have supported the vulnerable families through the delivery of medicines and basic necessities at home, the distribution of shopping vouchers and food parcels, and psychological support.  

Rresponse to the health emergency: ItRC provides outpatient services, emergency rescue, secondary transport through its network of volunteers and its important fleet of vehicles. The auxiliary corps of the Volunteer Nurses and the Military Corps carry out activities both at public and private facilities and in places of transit, such as airports, ports and stations; 

– Social emergency activities in response to new forms of poverty and social exclusion, including economic support and the distribution of food parcels. Thanks to the street units, food, blankets and pharmacological support therapies are distributed to homeless people. 

– Psychological support services and medical advice.:  ItRC, through psychologists and specialized doctors, offers a service in defense psychophysical well-being to cope with situations of difficulty, uncertainty and isolation. 

Questa ultima frase mi sembra inutile:  

In Europe, The Italian Red Cross is mainly focusing on some major thematic issues: 

– Responding to the humanitarian needs of migrants, given the population movement resulting from protracted crises in Syria, Ukraine and the Caucasus, which led to millions of people trying to reach Europe via the Balkan route 

– Social inclusion, placing emphasis on youth at risk and promotion of a culture of nonviolence and peace, to fight racism, discrimination and xenophobia; 

– Economic empowerment of women, supporting access to opportunities and reduction of discrimination; 

– Empowering Red Cross youth leadership and networks, promoting the role of youth both as agents of behavioural change in their communities and as a strong component of their National Societies; 

– Strengthening quality health services, information and education provided by the National Societies; 

– National Society Development, although transversal to the thematic areas above mentioned, will be also specifically focused on relevant issues for the National Societies such as, among others, integrity, accountability and resources mobilisation. 

BRAT Activities: 

Together with the lead partner (IPSIA), the ItRC participates in the organization and management of the main project activities, with an emphasis on ones in the field of health, training and advocacy. The ItRC supports the Red Cross Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RCSBiH) in proper implementation of the project activities. The ItRC also supports helps the RCSBiH in the organization of trainings for their volunteers on the IM and relief assistance, first aid and provision of health basic assistance, as well as on the Community Based Health and First Aid (CBHFA). Along with conducting training courses, the ItRC and the RCSBiH health experts will jointly assess the health situation and the needs of the health facilities, in order to better outline both the methodology to be followed and the goals to be achieved in the awareness campaigns. Using collected data and information, the health experts will create a baseline study that analyzes the level of knowledge about the behaviors and rules that must be respected for the protection of public health and access to services by the most vulnerable population, such as migrants. The ItRC also manages its share of the budget, linked to the procurement of 3 medical vehicles for mobile teams and 3 mobile clinics/containers for the first aid and other health activities. In addition, the ItRC follows-up the assessments and identification of needs at national and cantonal level, in terms of logistics, operational capacities and human resources.