Tell me your story

Italy is one of the countries most affected by the migratory phenomenon, her particular geographical position in the Mediterranean makes Italy both an important area of transition/passage and fundamentally a permanent plan of the migratory project for people coming from Africa or Asia, with a marked increase of immigrants from Eastern countries.

Data reported in the latest dossiers on immigration by "Caritas" in Campania show a rise in the number of migrants there in line with the national average.

The second province in terms of community size is that of Salerno with over 38 thousand people, followed by Caserta, Avellino and Benevento, the provinces with the lowest number of foreign presences.

The migratory flow shows a greater incidence of the presence of citizens from Eastern Europe and a significant increase in Chinese and Sri Lankan citizens.

An increase in flows from Africa is also evidenced, but if the increase in the presence of Maghreb citizens, who represent the oldest and most rooted community in our territory (a higher number of registrations is reported), Significantly, the arrival in our region of new groups of migrants from the southern Saharan area is also noteworthy. The registration by birth and the number of foreign minors is of particular interest in the province of Salerno, where the presence of foreign residents is more extensive. However, immigrant minors present in Italy find themselves having to face difficulties on a daily basis as concerns integrating into their territory of residence, in particular with regard to schooling, a place of socialisation par excellence, schools notably often do not actively mediate in the encounter between the culture of which the foreign minor is the bearer and the national culture represented by the school. Consequently, this results in the creating of inevitable conflicts. On the contrary, it is fundamental to heal social and relational difficulties and to raise awareness of intercultural issues within the local territory, bodies and institutions.

THE PROJECT

The S.O.Solidarietà association, for years involved in both development cooperation projects in Nigeria and integration and inclusion activities in the province of Salerno, starting from the end of June 2017 in Salerno, has renewed for six months the project TELL ME YOUR STORY.

The project proposal TELL ME YOUR STORY provides for the strengthening and innovation of the association's activities. It aims at the implementation of a system/model of intercultural proposals using "the lab" as a reference, educational tool and context, whose main objective is to prevent social hardship and marginalisation of immigrant and non-immigrant minors. With this in mind, meetings and encounters, participation in recreational/educational activities and training/informational and intercultural/interreligious meetings are planned.

TELL ME YOUR STORYM intends, at the same time, to activate paths of social awareness and interaction in the community to encourage and strengthen the culture of welcome in our social fabric, especially following the most varied world events we are witnessing.

Specifically, the activities include the following:

• MUSIC.LAB, the activity includes musical workshops in an attempt to mix the music of origin of various territories to promote the integration of young people and provide basic skills in the musical field to the young participants;
• in order to facilitate the access of foreign minors to sports activities, activity workshops will be organized with the aim of promoting, through sport, the inclusion and social integration of foreigners;
• CITIZENS.LAB, active citizenship workshops aimed at the families of foreign minors to raise awareness and knowledge relative to Italian legislation and their rights and duties
• PUBLIC/AWARENESS-RAISING EVENTS addressed to the local community to promote discussion on the issues of inclusion and integration, starting with the need to promote the welcoming of accompanied and unaccompanied foreign minors.

AIM OF THE INITIATIVE 

The workshops are designed as a place of positivity for participants and an opportunity to develop worthwhile relations and cooperation while working.

The project encourages interested parties to:

• Relate to the work group without competing

• Help classmates in need

• Listen to the experiences of classmates and express themselves by means of different communicative codes

• Ask for the collaboration of the teacher and/or assistant

• Seek integration with adults and peers

• Communicate with the body to establish emotional and affective relationships with others

• Develop a sense of responsibility and the ability to cooperate with others

• Follow the basic rules of the group, relate to others without engaging in undesirable behavior

• Encourage healthy lifestyles through sport and music

• Promote discussions on inclusion and integration issues