In this first episode of our three-part series “Rethinking youth migration in the Alps,” we explore one of the most urgent challenges facing Alpine regions today: the steady departure of young, educated people from mountain communities – and the search for new, future-proof solutions.

We’re joined by Viviana Caldara from the Autonomous Province of Trento and Elisa Rapetti from the Franco Demarchi Foundation, partners of the Interreg Alpine Space project OUT4INGOV. Together, they help us understand what mountain communities truly lose when young people leave — not only economic strength, but the creativity, energy, and social cohesion that keep Alpine villages alive.

In our conversation, Elisa and Viviana place these local challenges within the wider European context – where youth populations are shrinking, rural areas are aging, and urbanisation is accelerating.

Together, we explore why traditional policies no longer work, and how a new mindset is emerging: one built around circularity of skills and positive spillover effects. Instead of forcing young people to stay or return, this approach embraces mobility while keeping knowledge, relationships, and ideas flowing back into the communities of origin. Elisa and Viviana explain how this creates a triple-win: benefiting the young person, the place they move to, as well as the place they come from.

We also discuss why involving young people directly in shaping solutions is essential. From youth councils to participatory approaches, the experts highlight how empowerment, diversity, and shared decision-making make Alpine governance more democratic, more innovative, and more sustainable. Young people, they remind us, are not only the future of the Alps — they are key actors of today.

Learn more about the OUT4INGOV project here:

https://www.cipra.org/en/projects/out4ingov-shaping-youth-migration

https://www.alpine-space.eu/project/out4ingov/

Subscribe to our podcast:

www.cipra.org/podcast

Moderation: Laura Haberfellner & Hanna Öllös, CIPRA International Lab

Editing: Janin Salzger, CIPRA International Lab

The project “New generation alpine OUT-migration Engagement FOR an INclusive GOVernance” (OUT4INGOV) is funded by the Interreg Alpine Space Programme.