Youth employment & school-to-work
Guiding and engaging young NEETs together with partners in Italy and Europe, following the StartNet network.
A 100% women-led social enterprise
We sow ideas and grow the future of the third sector
We promote youth employment, social inclusion, the right to education and international mobility and the sustainable development of rural areas. We support the empowerment of women and vulnerable groups through participatory processes and foster the exchange of good practices in Italy and across Europe.
Four areas of activity, one goal: social impact
Rural development & sustainable tourism
Educational and cultural activities in the lower Cilento: eco-museum, guided tours, local networks and responsible tourism.
Peace education
Raising awareness of peaceful coexistence and innovative peace-education tools, created by and with young people.
German language & culture
German courses and official Goethe-Zertifikat certifications with ICIT Latina, an accredited Goethe-Institut exam centre.
«Like dandelion seeds, good ideas travel, take root and transform territories.»
— The founders of Dandelion Social Innovation Lab
About us
A 100% women-led social enterprise
Dandelion Social Innovation Lab impresa sociale srl was founded in September 2024 in Latina. Its founders chose the social-enterprise form to give space to their skills, ideas and projects in the social and cultural fields.
Dandelion carries on the legacy of the Goethe-Institut Innovation Lab, a spin-off of the Goethe-Institut in Italy, and of the Italian-German StartNet network for the school-to-work transition, coordinated by the founders from 2017 to 2024.
With its registered office in Latina and a local unit in Morigerati (SA), inside the Cilento National Park, we work across a wide area of central-southern Italy: we create «incubator» projects in one context and then adapt and scale them in another.
Learn more- 20+years of experience
- 2offices: Latina and Morigerati
- 15+partners in Europe
- 3working languages
Angelika Bartholomäi
Co-founder and co-director
Active for over 20 years between Germany and Italy. Until 2024 director of the Goethe-Institut Innovation Lab and coordinator of the StartNet network. Expert in facilitating multi-stakeholder international networks, project management and sustainable rural development.
Stella Wirth Benedetti
Co-founder · Co-director
Italian-German, with over 15 years of experience organising major international projects and events. From 2017 to 2024 in the organisational office of the StartNet network. Since 2021 president of ICIT Latina, an accredited Goethe-Institut exam centre.
From the Cilento region to European networks
All projects ▸
Rural development
Transluoghi — Bussento contemporary eco-museum
Management, guided tours and training for the new eco-museum of Morigerati, in the Cilento National Park: a network of cultural and natural sites.
Visit the project ▸
Italian-German exchange
INCROCI project — study trip to Frankfurt
Studying the German dual system and inclusion strategies for young NEETs, with CNOS-FAP Napoli, Joblinge Rhein-Main and the Theodor-Heuss-Schule in Offenbach.
Visit the project ▸
Peace education
Peace Talks — a podcast by young people for young people
With Libersare ETS (Bari), Radio Lasagne Verdi and the YAKY movement: a podcast on peace and peaceful coexistence, special mention at the Premio Buoncampo of the Vincenzo Casillo Foundation.
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European networks
StartNet Europe — the network continues
After the closure of the Brussels coordination, Dandelion brings former network members together to co-design new Erasmus+ applications for young NEETs.
International mobility
Erasmus+ exchanges and ESC volunteering
Facilitating European youth encounters, exchanges between NGOs and hosting European Solidarity Corps volunteers in Morigerati.
Culture
«In the footsteps of Alexander von Humboldt» exhibition
With ICIT Latina, Goethe-Institut, Fondazione Roffredo Caetani and LIPU: the exhibition at the Pantanello Nature Park to inspire new generations.
Visit the project ▸
The networks and partners we grow with
- Goethe-Institut Rom
- ACARBIO
- ICIT Latina
- WWF Grotte del Bussento
- Museo Etnografico di Morigerati
- Transluoghi
- LIPU Latina
- Comune di Morigerati
- Joblinge Rhein-Main
- CNOS-FAP Napoli
- Fondazione Roffredo Caetani
- Libersare ETS
- Fondazione Vincenzo Casillo
Let's talk about your next project
Do you have a social, cultural or educational project to launch? Looking for a partner for an Erasmus+ application? Write to us: let's build the next step together.
Write to us ▸- ✉️ info@dandelionlab.org
- 📍 Via Fabio Filzi 19
04100 Latina (LT) - 🌿 Via Serino 18
84030 Morigerati (SA)
Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni