PROCEEDINGS | Scientific Symposium
Therefore , the role that migration museums and related initiatives can play in intercultural dialogue , in welcoming migrants and especially in the field of sustainable and conscious tourism , aimed at deepening the themes of the host company , has not to be underestimated .
Museums and migrants
The Multaka project A more than positive experience that saw the use of museums for the integration of migrants was conducted in Germany , then , given the results , imported to Oxford , Ashmolean Museum , Paris , Musée du Louvre , Madrid , Museo Arqueologico Nacional , and currently it is is trying to introduce it to Italy . It is the result of a program called Multaka . Multaka : Museum as Meeting Point – Refugees as Guides in Berlin Museums , is a project started in 2016 through a collaboration between several museums in Berlin , namely the Museum of Islamische Kunst , the Vorderasiatisches Museum , the Skulpturensammlung und Museum Byzantinische Kunst and the Deutsches Historisches Museum , with the aim of teaching refugees and immigrants from Syria and Iraq to be museum guides . Their role was to develop and lead tours for refugees in their native language . The project ( Weber , 2018 ) was attended by the Berlin museums that preserve works from the ancient Middle East , Byzantium , the Islamic period up to the most recent German history . This communicates the connection between the cultural heritage of the countries of origin of the visitors with the history of the new country that welcomes them . Through dialogue and discussion , guides and visitors choose objects that reflect their personal background . Without the language barrier , without registrations and through an equal dialogue , thousands of refugees were able to visit and explore the museums . Syrian and Iraqi refugees are trained as museum guides so that they can then provide guided tours to Arabic-speaking refugees in their native language . Multaka ( Arabic term for meeting point ) also aims to facilitate the exchange of different cultural and historical experiences . This was achieved through collaboration with the Department of Education , Awareness and Visitor Services of the Museen State and the Education and Awareness Department of the Deutsches Historisches Museum , the training for guides addresses issues of museums and issues of teaching and methodology . The Syrian and Iraqi artefacts on display in the Museum of Islamische Kunst and the Vorderasiatisches Museum are exceptional testimonies of the history of humanity . By experiencing the museum ’ s appreciation for these cultural objects from their homelands , migrants strengthen their self-esteem and thus promote the safe and constructive integration of refugees into Western society . The guided tours of the Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantische Kunst refer to the interfaith roots and common origins of the three monotheistic religions of Islam , Judaism and Christianity . Cultures in the eastern Mediterranean region have been characterized over the centuries by religious and ethnically plural societies , which today are threatened . Museums are sites commemorating a common past . The Deutsches Historisches Museum offers a platform for reflection , which allows immigrants to learn more about German culture and history , with all its crises and renewals . Most guides from Iraq and Syria have chosen this museum as their preferred workplace . By this way , through mutual dialogue and consideration of their own history , visitors become active participants . On another level , guided tours focus on historical and cultural links between Germany , Syria and Iraq , through the representation of common elements and incorporation into a broader cultural and historical narrative . Multaka therefore aims to foster active cultural participation through a process of appropriation of cultural institutions . The aim was to facilitate the exchange between different cultural and historical experiences . Visitors are aware of the high status that characterizes the objects presented in the museum from their homeland and this helps to arouse a sense of serenity in the refugees themselves as well as developing a constructive and trusting connection with the local cultural institutions . The Multaka program has been very successful . Many thousands of refugees took part in guided tours and discussed aspects of the history of the Middle East and Germany related to their experiences . “ We had - points out the director of the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin , Stefan Weber - a great coverage of the international media and the project won two awards and was included in the list of a third .”
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