Corrente n.3 – Without Boundaries

MELTING POT EUROPE: A PROJECT TO GIVE VOICE AND INFORM

How was Melting Pot Europe born?
Melting Pot was born looking out the window, knowing the working-class neighborhoods and the social transformations taking place, the emergence of a new labor composition that first of all demanded to be recognized and to have rights. In concrete terms, it began its activities as a legal radio desk translated into 5 languages and broadcast weekly on FM.

The broadcast also had a phone number, interested people could ask a question, and the next time the lawyer answered and the answer was translated into different languages. In addition to this, a part of the broadcast was devoted to current news and analysis.

The first evolution occurred in 2003 with the birth of the web platform that accompanies the broadcast: the demand for information for changes to the Consolidated Immigration Act following the Bossi-Fini Law and the first security packages was increasing, as was the need to propose in the public debate a different narrative, alternative to that of mainstream and institutional politics. The rise of parties that stoked fear of “immigrant invasions” was already underway, only then the nationalities to be defended against were Albanian and Romanian. From Albania, today the government asks, for a hefty fee, to take place the non-European migrants who would like to reach Italy; Romanian nationals, on the other hand, have become communitarian and have won the right to mobility in Europe without invading us and becoming a security threat.

With the website, other projects have developed, such as legal guidance desks, publications, collaborations with others, and social and political campaigns.

What are the main challenges in the field of integration?
Rather than “integration,” we would prefer to talk about the protection of fundamental rights as the primary means of fostering full social inclusion.

The challenges we face are many, starting with information, which is an important part of how phenomena are told and thus perceived. For us, this is a primary battleground, and so we would like to continue to ensure that information is complete and up-to-date, not biased or victim-blaming. 

On December 13, 2021, we put the new website online, which has maintained a structure in two main sections, “Citizenships” and “Sans-Papiers.” We try to combine information, in-depth and journalistic reports with training and updating tools for lawyers, practitioners, and people with migration backgrounds. 

We also think it is necessary to know how to listen and, at the same time, to give more and more voice and space to people who are protagonists of migration and racialized, while also valuing the many experiences of solidarity, anti-racism and support for people on the move that have arisen in recent years. 

Only from this set of social composition can change arise that can undermine the pillars of a now structural racism and produce a beneficial domino effect to broaden the sphere of rights. This is the main challenge; everything else runs parallel: will Italian (and European) society be willing to question its privileges in order to provide opportunities for social inclusion?

Melting Pot Europa
a publishing and social communication project that chronicles and analyzes the processes of transformation of the migration phenomenon in Italy and Europe. It was born in 1996 in vicolo Pontecorvo in Padua, in the premises of Radio Sherwood, an independent radio station founded in 1976, in a very important period for free radio stations.

Il fenomeno dell’immigrazione è una questione globale, conseguenza di dinamiche economiche e politiche, e spesso è connesso alla criminalità organizzata, come denuncia Save the Children che promuove un progetto di protezione e inserimento lavorativo per le vittime. A questi aspetti, si aggiunge il tema del cambiamento climatico che incide sui flussi migratori e che presto potrebbe coinvolgere anche Paesi che finora non ne sono stati toccati. 

Garantire un’economia più equa a livello globale da un lato e riconoscere il valore della mobilità come antidoto al deficit demografico dall’altro sono azioni fondamentali per promuovere l’inclusione. Le iniziative portate avanti dal collettivo La Rivoluzione delle Seppie e le molte esperienze positive di integrazione che utilizzano ad esempio la cucina, la sartoria e la musica come veicoli di dialogo e di abbattimento delle barriere tra culture differenti si inseriscono alla perfezione in questo quadro.

Il filtro della comunicazione mediatica tuttavia spesso tende a favorire la diffusione di pregiudizi, come sottolinea la campagna A “Type” of Refugees; proprio con l’obiettivo di stimolare una narrazione alternativa rispetto a quella dominante del fenomeno migratorio è nato il progetto DIMMI dedicato ai racconti in prima persona e ai diari delle persone migranti.

After the humanitarian corridors, labor corridors are born: training paths that will allow on an experimental basis the arrival of 300 non-EU people who meet the professional demands of the business and social-health world. Although there is widespread awareness of the importance of immigratə labor in some productive sectors, yet most of the Italian population believes that the arrival of altrə stranierə would entail more risks than benefits.

The emergence of second generations is a positive symptom of integration by those who choose to build a life in the host country, but the path to citizenship acquisition is not immediate: the naturalization rate in Italy stands at just under 3 percent.

Among the many initiatives to promote integration, we highlight in particular two recent experiences: a bar has reopened in Sicily that promotes integration through the contamination of culinary traditions, and in Verona the first reception center dedicated to migrants of any sexual orientation was born.

The proposed selection is the outcome of editorial workshops carried out with the 2CM class of IIS Bodoni Paravia in Turin, following research that each allievə carried out independently and within the Alberto Geisser library.

Participants in the project included:

Aya Bazzari, Mattia Bellardi, Aurora Cabula, Michelle Carioggia, Emilia Cedola, Alessandro Derosa, Sofia Galizia, Alexis Ghidini, Hakim Ibrahim, Diego Ingino, Haytam Kroumi, Maria Lucaci, Erica Nocilla, Gabriele Piro, Matteo Piserchia.

Teachers:
Rosalba Acelli, Elena Barattero, Giulia De Matteo, Vittorio Paragallo

Refugees welcome Italia

Refugees Welcome Italia is an independent organization that since 2015 has supported and promoted Family Welcoming, Mentoring, and Activism alongside refugee and migrant people, who often encounter barriers to the full expression of their potential, desires, and projects. These are both opportunities for people to meet and get to know each other, to overcome fears, stereotypes, and prejudices, and to contribute to the creation of a more curious and vibrant society.

To learn more or to offer your availability about hosting, mentoring and becoming an activist projects refugees-welcome.it

torino@refugees-welcome.it