Mongibello Plus

Mongibello Plus is a youth informal group based in Nizza di Sicilia, on the Ionian coast at the foot of Mount Etna. We work at the meeting point between local community development and European cooperation, accompanying young people who live far from the main mobility circuits and who often face geographical, economic and infrastructural barriers.
The name comes from Mongibello, the affectionate Sicilian name for Mount Etna — the highest and most active volcano in Europe. For Sicilians the mountain has a double face: environmental risk (eruptions, ash, drought, seismic activity) and extraordinary richness (fertile soils, biodiversity, identity, tourism). That duality is, for us, the symbol of Sicily itself: opportunity and obstacle, potential and isolation. The “Plus” is a direct reference to Erasmus+: the will to build a bridge with Europe so that young Sicilians are not spectators of European citizenship, but co-authors of it.
The informal group was established in 2026 to channel into one structure the experience already accumulated by its founding members as participants, group leaders and partners in Erasmus+ activities. Our mission is to empower young people in Southern Italy — especially in the Etna area, the Ionian coast and the Sicilian hinterland — by connecting them with European opportunities, strengthening their competences through non-formal education, and supporting their participation in democratic and community life.
Our fields of work follow both the reality of the territory and the horizontal priorities of Erasmus+: reducing the geographical isolation of Sicilian young communities; intercultural dialogue; climate action and stewardship of volcanic and coastal landscapes; digitalisation of rural areas; participation in democratic life and EU values; mental health and safe learning environments; inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities; solidarity and community care (including the culture of blood donation through AVIS); employability and recognition of non-formal learning; outdoor education and community well-being.