COME PENSIAMO

This project was mainly focused on immigration, social inclusion, intercultural dialogue, solidarity and active citizenship and it was meant to young people wanting to contribute to a more tolerant society. The principal Activity, a Youth Exchange, took place in Italy, in the province of Foggia, a symbolic place regarding the immigration issue and the cultural diversity. In this area have been developed some ghettos populated only by immigrants, mostly marginalized by the local community.

The participants, during the exchange, had the opportunity to know this reality and learn about the daily problems of the immigrants: lack of rights and protection, violation of fundamental rights, the exploitation of labor. But they also knew associations that fight this phenomenon, such as the association of immigrants “Casa Sankara – Ghetto Out”, which manages one among the few structures for the “escape” from the ghettos and come back to dignity.

The goal of the exchange was to in-form EU citizens regarding the immigration issues and to reduce xenophobic prejudices. The aim was to increase young people’s awareness about the coexistence in a multicultural society by providing tools to make them active participants in the dissemination of information, and thus sensitize the origin communities to stimulate the practice of active citizenship.
The partners were non-profit associations dealing with migration issues, working on a multicultural approach.

We involved 30 young people and leaders from countries that are characterized by restrictive policies regarding receiving immigrants (Romania, Estonia and Lithuania), in order to develop new social inclusion practices, but also young people from countries that are experiencing the forefront of the immigration crisis (Italy, Turkey and Spain).

The project included a preparatory phase in which we planned, with our partners support, organizational and logistical details. Furthermore, we gathered information on the territory of Rignano Garganico, activity followed by a series of informative meetings conducted by our partners to the participants. Our association made lots of on-the-spot-investigations near Foggia in order to learn about the environment and its peculiarities, concentrating on the reality of the ghettos and on local associations that are working on this topic. One difficulty came from the (apparent) closure, after the presentation of the project, of the Gran Ghetto of Rignano Garganico.

Most of the project’s activities were planned around this ghetto, one of the largest in Europe, built 20 years ago. It was therefore necessary to look for a valid alternative that led to the identification of two very significant realities in this regard: Casa Sankara, a center (managed by immigrants to facilitate the escape from the Great Ghetto) closer to the Gran Ghetto area and the Ghetto La Pista, behind the Asylum Seeker’s Center of Borgo Mezzanone, now one of the largest in the area. This research allowed to increase contacts with the local realities and their representatives involved in this theme, with the consequent presence of various testimonies during the project.

During the Youth Exchange we used non-formal methods such as: theater of the oppressed, ethnography of thought, working groups, debates, learning by doing, workshops and seminars with lots of local association’ activists. The activities included:

– Educational games/tests to reduce xenophobic prejudices; discussion and analysis of the information we usually receive

– Theatre of the Oppressed: simulations and improvisations with little structured scripts, but with very specific roles, to encourage empathy

– Visits to the ghetto to collect materials (video, pictures, interviews only within the total respect, privacy and the availability of the residents) – Etnographic interviews to ghetto residents and to the local community on daily issues related to intercultural coexistence

– Implementation of the informational blog that will help promote and give visibility to the project.

Now you can read more about this project here in the BLOG.

You can also see lots of pictures  in the cloud