The Italian government has
created a Peace Corp involving some 500 young volunteers who
will be trained to help with emergencies that could include work
in conflict zones, cabinet ministers said Monday.
The new corp could also help with environmental
emergencies, according to Labour Minister Giuliano Poletti.
"This is an innovative initiative," said Poletti.
A cabinet decree was signed last week enabling the corp,
and plans include an initial body of about 300 volunteers that
will begin work in mid-year with the rest added in 2016.
The foreign affairs ministry will help identify areas of
the world where the volunteer Italians can help, officials said.
Their work could include supporting "democratization,
monitoring respect for human rights, education, peace, support
for civilian population that face environmental emergencies,
conflict prevention, assistance to refugees," added Luigi Bobba,
labour undersecretary.
A possible model could be the United States Peace Corp, a
volunteer body that first began working in 1961 and has served
in about 140 countries.
Typically, a volunteer with the US Peace Corp serves abroad
for two years in areas from agriculture to education to
technology after three months of training.
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