On March 7, 2025, at the Palazzo della Regione Piemonte, a press conference was held in the presence of various institutions for the official opening of the 4th edition of the Master Mëstè! 2025 project, coinciding with the fifteenth anniversary of the “Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi“.

Also present in the hall were Chiara Ferraris, a glass artisan, Antonio Convertino, a Maker in Applied Circular Construction, and Michele Guaschino, specialized in sculptures and special effects. They were selected as host entities for three scholarship recipients and shared some key excerpts from the speech by the President of the “Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi“.

“Our Foundation”, said Alessandro Gilardi, President of the Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi, during the press conference, “was established 15 years ago with the idea of supporting young talents by taking a somewhat different path from most other foundations, which usually focus on healthcare and assisting people with disabilities. We chose a completely opposite path to address a problem that, in reality, turns into a valuable resource. If you support talent, if you help young people, you make an enormous investment in the future. And I must say, our investment has been very successful. Looking at the numbers over the past 15 years, we have awarded approximately 360 scholarships, amounting to about one and a half million euros. Around 90% of our scholarship recipients have found the career they dreamed of, thanks to our support, and now have stable employment. So, if we evaluate the return on our scholarship investment, the economic impact is also highly significant”.

With this in mind, the fourth edition of the Master Mëstè! program has been launched. From March 7 to May 11, applications are open for 18 scholarships, each worth €5,400. These are intended for young people between the ages of 18 and 35 who are unemployed or not currently working, offering them a complete training program. The program includes 35 hours of classroom instruction, followed by a six-month full-time internship at one of the participating host companies—11 in Piedmont, 3 in Liguria, and 2 in Valle d’Aosta.

During the presentation of the new call for applications, past scholarship recipients also shared their experiences, testifying to the support they received in achieving their professional dreams.

As of yesterday, applications for the fourth edition of Master Mëstè! are open from March 7 to May 11. The initiative aims to train young artisans, facilitating their entry into the workforce and enhancing the excellence of Italian craftsmanship.

The project includes a paid internship grant of €5,400 for six months at selected artisan enterprises, along with a week of classroom training with professional instructors specializing in art history, business administration, and communication.

The project covers various specializations, including tailoring, weaving, fashion and design, woodworking and restoration, sustainable crafts, glassmaking and jewelry, pastry and confectionery, pharmacy and cosmetics, sculpture, and prosthetics.

The list of available internships, along with the assigned tutors and skill acquisition areas, includes 11 opportunities in Piedmont. Among them are the glass craft enterprise “Chiara Ferraris Art & Glass Fusing” and the “Associazione Al Cicapui,” with tutor Antonio Convertino, a Maker in Applied Circular Construction.

• ALESSANDROSIMONI (knitwear)
• Archivio Tipografico (typography)
• Associazione Al Cicapui (sustainable craftsmanship)
• Atelier des Pampilles (furniture restoration)
• Cappellificio Cervo (hat-making)
• Chiara Ferraris Art & Glass Fusing (glasswork)
• Elena Pignata (tailoring)
• Equipe Gioielli (jewelry-making)
• Fabrizio Racca (pastry)
• Mutazioni Studio (sculpture and special effects)
• Venaria Reale

Applications for internships at Venaria Reale must be submitted through special selection processes managed independently by the Foundation or external partners.

When applying, candidates can choose multiple companies, provided they remain within the same sector.

Eligibility:

Young people aged 18 to 35 residing in Italy, classified as “unemployed” or “not in employment” as of September 1, 2025.

Program Duration:

The training and internship period runs from September 2025 to March 2026.

Application Process:

Applications must be submitted via the Fondazione Cecilia Gilardi website. Candidates must complete an online form on the Master Mësté project page, entering personal details and uploading the required documents listed in section 3.2.

Application Deadline:

Applications must be submitted no later than May 11, 2025.