STAY in Sicily - Sustainable Territories Activating Your potentials

STAY in Sicily is more than a project: it’s a replicable model showing that staying in one’s own territory can be a choice of value. Digital connectivity, mobility, social inclusion, innovation and circular economy become drivers of development and cohesion. From Ultra-Fast Broadband to “POP” Trains, from Social Housing to innovative enterprises operating also in international markets, STAY in Sicily tells the story of a changing region that is building its future with the support of ERDF funds. The event will take the form of an Open Day , structured as a hybrid format combining thematic exhibition with seven corners, institutional sessions, participatory moments and a networking lunch.

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Tue 14/10/2025, 10:00 - 16:30 CET
Code: Side253670
12, Rue Belliard B , Brussels, Belgium

Practical information

When: Tue 14/10/2025, 10:00 - 16:30 CET
Where: 12, Rue Belliard B , Brussels, Belgium
Type of partnership: EURegionsWeek close to you
Format: Side
Theme: The Right to Stay: unlocking the potential of every territory
Language: English

Partner

Sicilian Region

Palermo | Italy

Document

stay-in-sicily_euregionsweek-2025_close-to-you

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Reporting

Session summary

The STAY in Sicily - Sustainable Territories Activating Your Potentials initiative was held at the Sicilian Regional Office in Brussels with the aim of presenting the implementation status and impacts of projects funded under the cohesion policy framework, with particular reference to the contribution of European funds to the sustainable transformation of the regional territory. The event centered on the principle of the “Right to Stay,” understood as the capacity of territories to ensure adequate socioeconomic conditions enabling citizens, businesses, and young people to develop their life and professional paths within the region, thereby reducing forced mobility and the loss of human capital.
During the event, key interventions financed by the ERDF were presented, including the expansion of ultra-broadband connectivity in internal areas, social housing programmes, initiatives promoting sustainable mobility, and actions supporting the circular economy. These topics were further examined through dedicated thematic corners focusing on digital transformation, housing redevelopment, mobility, support for local businesses, industrial and territorial development, and circular resource management.
A central component of the programme was the seminar “Connected to Stay: policies and good practices for sustainable territories”, which brought together institutional representatives of the Sicilian Region, experts from European institutions and networks, development agencies, and specialists in territorial analysis, including Francesco Molica (EURADA), Matteo Salvai (DG REGIO - European Commission), Giuseppe Lecardane (ISTAT), and Claire Charbit (OECD). The discussion highlighted the strategic role of digital connectivity, innovation, and territorial services in strengthening regional attractiveness - both in terms of attracting investments and external expertise and in terms of retaining qualified human capital, enterprises, and entrepreneurial initiatives.
Testimonies from project beneficiaries further illustrated the tangible effects of European investments on the regional socioeconomic fabric. Examples included Open Fiber’s infrastructure interventions aimed at ensuring connectivity in underserved areas, as well as the experiences of innovative companies such as Magicmotorsport, Omer Spa, and Biotrak. These cases demonstrate how the integration of technology transfer, applied research, and European funding can generate positive outcomes in competitiveness and territorial development.

Quotes

The narrative conveyed by the media is mainly that Italy is unable to spend EU funds. In reality, Italy did not lose any funds in the 2007–2013 and 2014–2020 periods, but countering this narrative, which is deeply rooted, is very difficult.

If you want to attract investors in Sicily, you need also to attract talent. And if you want to attract talent, you need to offer them good quality of life, good housing. The right to stay is also a reason to stay

Regional disparities, despite cohesion policy, have not decreased significantly; on the contrary, since the 2008 crisis, they have started to grow again. And this issue is not related to fund management, but to broader and more global trends.

We must move towards a sustainable development model, enhancing territorial identity, innovation and tradition, and above all, social and economic inclusion.

What we have essentially done is to provide Sicily with a digital infrastructure - 380,000 housing units reached across 299 small municipalities - that allows Sicilian citizens to exercise their right to stay.

People do not leave Sicily, rather, they grow here. Many of our colleagues are Sicilian and chose to return because they saw in this company an environment where they could find stimulation and real prospects for growth.

We export 65-70% of our products, serving Italian and European markets. Public funding has helped us overcome territorial barriers and, over 30 years, grow from a small local firm into - as Alstom says - the largest European producer of railway interiors.

BioTrak is regarded at the European level as one of the projects capable of valorising materials currently treated as waste (olive pomace), which have become an environmental issue in Sicily, transforming them into a resource for the feed sector.