Auser

Auser (an acronym for autogestione servizi, or 'self-managed services') is an Italian non-profit association network founded in 1989 on the initiative of the CGIL trade union and its pensioners' union SPI-CGIL. Its stated mission is to promote active ageing and to value the role of older people in society, while opening dialogue across generations, nationalities and cultures. Auser describes itself as a network of voluntary and social-promotion associations, all registered in the Italian Registro Unico Nazionale del Terzo Settore (RUNTS). The organisation's associative offer is aimed primarily at older people but is open to intergenerational relationships. Its declared objectives include improving quality of life, combating social exclusion and discrimination (particularly toward migrants and women of all ages), supporting frail people, spreading a culture of solidarity and participation, and developing solidarity and exchange with younger generations. Auser operates through a large national footprint. According to its own 'Chi siamo' page, it counts more than 260,000 members, 30,000 volunteers and 1,685 offices among structures and affiliates across Italy. Wikipedia's Italian entry reports that in 2015 Auser had 304,899 members, 45,263 volunteers and 1,500 offices throughout Italy. To carry out its mission, Auser has structured itself into a National Network participated by two entities: Auser APS – Associazione nazionale per l'invecchiamento attivo ETS, and Auser ODV – Associazione Nazionale ETS. In 2023, together with Auser ODV, it founded the new national entity Auser Rete Associativa Nazionale. Auser's activities span socialisation, cultural promotion, mutual aid, anti-violence services, management of assets confiscated from organised crime, and support for frail and isolated people, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also engages in advocacy and research, such as the Third Report on the housing condition of older people presented at the CNEL in Rome in September 2026, promoted together with SPI CGIL, Abitare and Anziani. The organisation is governed by a statute and regulations, with democratic assemblies at base, territorial, regional and national levels, elected presidencies, and guarantee bodies. Its national congress is held every four years. In September 2026 Enrico Piron was elected new national President of Auser, succeeding Domenico Pantaleo.

Auser was founded in 1989 on the initiative of the CGIL, Italy's largest trade union confederation, and its pensioners' union SPI-CGIL. Its original name was 'Associazione per la promozione e lo sviluppo dell'autogestione dei servizi della terza età' (Association for the promotion and development of self-management of services for the third age), from which the acronym Auser derives. The founding intuition is attributed to Bruno Trentin, then General Secretary of the CGIL, who in 1989 argued that the union needed concrete experiments in associated activity that would realise, not merely claim, solidarity around the exercise of fundamental rights, and that Auser represented a spearhead in that direction by bringing retired workers back into active and civic life. In 1994 Auser was among the promoting bodies of the demonstration 'La solidarietà non è un lusso' (Solidarity is not a luxury), from which the National Forum of the Third Sector would be born in 1997. In 1995 Auser was recognised as a national body with charitable purposes (Ente Nazionale con finalità assistenziali). On 9 October 2002 it was entered in the national register of social-promotion associations under Law 383/2000. In 2003 the national federation was created. Over the following decades Auser expanded into a nationwide network of voluntary and social-promotion associations. By 2015, according to Italian Wikipedia, it counted 304,899 members, 45,263 volunteers and 1,500 offices across Italy. Its own current 'Chi siamo' page reports more than 260,000 members, 30,000 volunteers and 1,685 offices among structures and affiliates. Auser Toscana and the municipality of Florence organise the annual 'Filo d'argento' award, conferred in June by the Auser president in the sixteenth-century hall of Palazzo Vecchio; by 2014, 170 personalities from entertainment, religion, art, sport and culture had been honoured in Florence with the Florentia Mater medal, a work by Master Roberto Ciabani. During the COVID-19 pandemic Auser carried out support initiatives for the most fragile, lonely and elderly people. A charity single, 'Il nostro tempo', part of the 'Nemico invisibile' project conceived by Annalisa Minetti and Mario Biondi, was released on 20 April, with proceeds donated to Auser. In 2023, together with Auser ODV, Auser founded the new national entity Auser Rete Associativa Nazionale. To carry out its mission, Auser is structured as a National Network participated by two entities: Auser APS – Associazione nazionale per l'invecchiamento attivo ETS, and Auser ODV – Associazione Nazionale ETS. Governance is set out in the statute and implementing regulations: democratic assemblies of members at all levels, assemblies of territorial, regional and national delegates, and steering committees at every level; executive bodies are the presidencies and presidents elected at all levels, with National Presidency members serving until the next congress and for no more than two full terms or eight years in total; guarantee bodies include national and regional guarantee commissions, boards of auditors, a national inspection board and a statutory board. The national congress is held every four years, with lower-level congresses electing delegates to the next level, and the national assembly meets at least once a year. In September 2026 Enrico Piron was elected new national President of Auser, succeeding Domenico Pantaleo, who had sent a farewell message to the community in July 2026. In the same month, Auser, SPI CGIL, Abitare and Anziani presented the Third Report on the housing condition of older people at the CNEL in Rome, arguing that Italy is ageing but its homes and cities have not yet adapted to a longer-living society.

• 2026

  Enrico Piron is elected national President; the Third Report on the housing condition of older people is presented at the CNEL.

• 2023

  Auser and Auser ODV found the new national entity Auser Rete Associativa Nazionale.

• 2015

  Auser reports 304,899 members, 45,263 volunteers and 1,500 offices across Italy.

• 2003

  The national federation is created.

• 2002

  On 9 October, Auser is entered in the national register of social-promotion associations under Law 383/2000.

• 1997

  The National Forum of the Third Sector is born from the 1994 demonstration.

• 1995

  Auser is recognised as a national body with charitable purposes (Ente Nazionale con finalità assistenziali).

• 1994

  Auser is among the promoting bodies of the demonstration 'La solidarietà non è un lusso'.

• 1989

  Auser is founded on the initiative of CGIL and SPI-CGIL as the Association for the promotion and development of self-management of services for the third age.

A non-profit, membership-based Italian association network for active ageing and social solidarity, rooted in the CGIL/SPI-CGIL tradition and open to all generations.

• Volunteer social and companionship services

  Programmes to improve quality of life and support frail and lonely older people.

• Anti-violence help desks

  Free, confidential and protected help desks against gender violence, such as the one inaugurated in Vanzaghello (MI).

• Social centres in confiscated assets

  Management of assets confiscated from organised crime as socialisation and solidarity spaces, such as 'Preso Bene' in Brindisi.

• Advocacy and research reports

  Reports such as the Third Report on the housing condition of older people, promoted with SPI CGIL, Abitare and Anziani.

1. 1Auser – Associazione per l'invecchiamento attivoauser.it
2. 2Chi siamo – Auserauser.it
3. 3Storia – Auserauser.it
4. 4Organizzazione – Auserauser.it
5. 5Auser – Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
6. 6Auser – Wikidatawikidata.org