In the beginning, the central focus of the training and promotion activities was the provision of support by the National Centre to the implementation of Law no. 285 and of the National Action Plans elaborated by the Government. From 1998 to 2003, teams of experts of the National Centre organized local and inter-regional training courses for administrators and professionals of the social sector; the National Centre also launched information campaigns on children’s rights, actively promoted the exchange of experiences and best practices through surveys, studies and ad hoc seminars, spread promotional materials, elaborated and implemented the Agenda Planning 285.

Today the information and training activities of the National Centre focus on specific reference services, which provide basic information to external users on the functions and products of the Centre, but which also facilitate internal networking among different subjects and professionals who collaborate with different roles in the carrying out of activities.

In particular, the services are the following:

• an actual desk (front office) in the Florence headquarters (open every morning from Monday to Friday) and the e-mail address cnda@minori.it. Through these channels it is possible to make any kind of request, i.e. to receive information on ongoing activities, study projects, researches and publications, to retrieve statistical, legal or bibliographic documentation elaborated by the National Centre, to receive information on events organized by the National Centre or by other bodies concerning the field of childhood and adolescence. If necessary, requests on specific topics are forwarded to the internal staff responsible for that topic;
• the telephone numbers: in 2009 the toll-free number 800435433 was added to the main number of the National Centre (+39 055 2037343). The toll-free number is active from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1 pm, and on Wednesday and Thursday also from 2 pm to 5 pm. The software integrates a data collection system to monitor users by recording some information on the phone call. Through the toll-free number it is possible to request materials and to acquire information on the activities of the National Centre and, more in general, on children’s issues at a national level;
• the website www.minori.it has always been an important tool for communication and information purposes and for the promotion of the rights of children and adolescents. The portal, which has been repeatedly transformed in order to make it more easily accessible and user-friendly, gives the public information on the organizations with which the National Centre collaborates, gives access to materials, documents and publications produced internally and by other bodies, contains news and analyses of policies and projects targeted at children and adolescents, represents a platform of exchange for the elaboration of reports and the implementation of projects, favours the exchange of experiences and projects for the welfare of children.

Through its reference service, the National Centre provides support to the central administrations, to the Technical-Scientific Committee of the National Centre, and to entities with which the National Centre has launched specific collaborations on the basis of the tasks assigned to it by law and of the agreements in force. Furthermore, this instrument helps to constantly maintain contact with the regional and local officials of reference responsible for the implementation of policies in favour of children and adolescents.

Over the years, thanks to the gradual development of the reference service, the National Centre has acquired an institutional role of reference for all that concerns policies and topics related to childhood and adolescence, both at a national and at an international level.

The promotional activities are aimed at giving visibility to the activities of the National Centre and of the Observatory on Childhood and Adolescence, i.e. at disseminating the results of its documentation and investigation activities through the systematic diffusion of publications, reports, summaries, excerpts, agendas, brochures, etc. The activities of the National Centre are also promoted by organizing and managing information points and desks on its work and publications, and through the participation of its experts in initiatives organized all over Italy, among which the National Conference on Childhood promoted by the Ministry of Social Policy.