FOCUS ON: Trapani - how the city is building on its strengths

Trapani is a city that mixes old and new.  Though it has its challenges, the city is working as part of USE-IT to realise its many strengths.  When it comes to social enterprises and some of the USE-IT approaches being taken by the other partner cities – it's fair to say that Trapani is just starting out on this exciting road – with two interesting projects.
 
Trapani Micro Hub – In the true spirit of Social Enterprise, this project aims to strengthen the Social Enterprise sector of the local economy, by providing a space for helping to develop the business skills and ideas of local people – especially those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.  This will also include young entrepreneurs (the business leaders of tomorrow) by linking them with established business leaders. 
 
The Micro Hub Team will work with the budding entrepreneurs to develop business plans, help present proposals to funders, provide legal support and commercial knowledge. 
 
The Trapani Micro Hub will help less represented business groups, including women, young people and migrants by linking their business projects to the financial institutes that help with providing loans at subsidized rates.  This is possible due to the partnership with the Banca di Credito Cooperativo.  The Hub will also provide a place to set their firm within a coworking space for free.
 
Cappuccinelli Project – This will revolve around a ‘Mediterranean Campus’ and aims to regenerate the whole Cappuccinelli neighbourhood.  The aim here is to create a new Mediterranean Campus, through the restoration and re-purposing of an old Slaughterhouse complex. 
 
The Mediterranean Campus itself will include a Community Hub, comprising co-working spaces, laboratories and ‘fab-labs’ for young entrepreneurs and migrants, exhibition spaces, guest rooms, a vegetable allotment garden and social homes for low-income families. 
 
As a modern-link to the original use of the site, a veterinary lab could also be built – though this is dependent on securing funding.  It is hoped that the Use-It Investment Plan for Tranpani will help to connect and identify this funding and make the project a reality.  
 
The Campus itself will be the hub – and it is hoped this will spark wider regeneration in the Cappuccinelli neighbourhood, as has happened in other areas of cities throughout Italy, Europe ad across the world more widely.
 
This is the start of a new journey for Trapani – and we hope that working together as part of USE-IT and having the appropriate plans in place, these exciting ideas can become a reality.

Gabriella Arciprete, who is co-ordinating communications at Trapani City Hall says:
 
"Trapani has just started a new journey towards social development. The USE-IT TM is the opportunity we were looking for to improve our experience in urban regeneration coming from the bottom-up, from people.

It is the chance to learn from our foreign "big brothers" who can help us implement the social perspective within a bigger pattern of restoration, innovation, and refinement, by integrating an inclusive vision of the city that we will build in the next years".