Economic volcano in Veneto.

The volcanoes in the Italian region of Veneto have been dormant for 50 million years. But a new volcano has just erupted: the economy.

Veneto contains most of the mainland dominions of the mediaeval Republic of Venice. After World War II it was still one of Italy's poorest regions, with a high emigration rate. Now it is one of the most prosperous in the world. Production ranges from Benetton clothing in Treviso to sophisticated factory machinery in Vicenza. The Venice shipyards have just delivered the world's largest cruise ship.

Most of the success stories are family ones. Grandpa managed to buy the land he was tilling off the local count. Progress in agriculture meant that his sons had time on their hands, and instead of emigrating like their uncles they started a small factory in a disused barn. Their relatives, who had learned new skills abroad or in the industrial north-west of Italy, came home to give a hand. Now they have a medium-sized family firm with agents all over the world.

The process has been helped by a group of academics from Padua University, professionals and businessmen, who are united by common values based on Christianity. Most of them live and work around Bassano, a delightful town at the foot of the Alps. They asked me not to name them individually, for fear of overshadowing any people I left out.

One of their main aims is to give continuity to the moral values which lie behind the region's success: integrity, dedication, resourcefulness, high standards of workmanship, family loyalty and service to the community. They are concerned that moral resources, as well as managerial talents, make the delicate transition to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

In 1995 the group founded the Bassano Community Business School, which runs courses in ethics and economy for 100 students every year. The school organizes international conventions each February, mostly in Eastern Europe. The group has also started a university course for promoters of business growth based on ethics.

In 1998 the Ethics and Economy Foundation was set up to support the school, the university course and projects which put their teaching into practice. It wants to spread Veneto's economic miracle to other regions of Italy and other countries, by setting up joint ventures, which benefit both the area concerned and the quality of production.

Three projects are now under way--to create `business villages' in Crotone at the toe of Southern Italy, in Lithuania and in Madagascar. In each case young local entrepreneurs are invited to Veneto for a year. They are each attached to a firm in Veneto, where they receive training, as well as attending the Bassano Community Business School. When they return home they start a new business as a joint venture with the firm in Veneto where they trained and with local sponsorship.

The Foundation for Ethics and Economy and the Vatican Centesimus Annus Foundation have sponsored an unusual fund-raising intitiative launched by one of the businessmen in the Bassano group. Shoppers in his stores can ask for one per cent of the money they spend to be put into a fund which, on the advice of an independent panel, gives loans to budding entrepreneurs.

This scheme is one way in which the Bassano group is trying to live out ethical criteria in business--and to encourage other firms to do the same. They also refuse to open their stores on Sundays, because Sunday should be a family day, away from the rat-race of consumerism.

It is not easy to compress a volcano into a short space. If you want to know more, explore the initiative's web site at http://www.unietica.it.