2020 | Building Peace through Heritage
particularly from North and Central Africa , both for economic reasons and for war and ethnic and religious persecutions . Migrants arriving in desperate conditions after a difficult and often unfortunate , for too many , travel by sea on makeshift boats , are temporarily housed in a first reception center , and then sorted in other locations on the continent . Only their name remains , the region of origin , a fingerprint sample and little else , while only sporadically they can have contact with the local population who also works to rescue and help them when they land on the Lampedusa island . A recent report by the Global Young Academy , Fresh Eyes on the Refugee Crisis , an interdisciplinary approach , result of an international study meeting in Amsterdam in December 2015 , highlights
“... the social , political integration of refugees as a priority for urgent attention through “ fresh eyes ” (...) The concept of solidarity needs to be revisited as a vital concern for society to reframe the refugee crisis . Member States ( of EU , ndr ) have a responsability to champion solidarity and facilitate inclusion , thereby taking into account societal concerns and the fears of all parties . This may require relatively small changes in the refugee integration system to make it more responsive , such as tasking refugees and local groups to work together on concrete issues defined by local level communities and to which all have a stake .”
As a result , the report mentions , among the possible examples of best practices ,
“... community-led initiatives designed to teach refugees 21st century skills – such as coding , visual thinking , critical thinking and 3D manufacturing . Set up in refugee camps , these mobile facilities provide cross- disciplinary , chaotic spaces designed to fuel creativity , innovation and entrepreneurial skills , complementing more traditional forms of education . Built in conjunction with schools in refugee camps and partnering with schools in local communities , these types of projects , with alumni and mentoring networks , could be highly rewarding enterprises for both refugee and local communities . There may also be opportunities to develop distance learning programmes for refugees .”
Two months before the Amsterdam meeting that produced these outcomes , in the first half of October 2015 we carried out a study mission in Lampedusa as a HanD - Health and Development association , in preparation for the collaboration between the association itself and the Municipality of Lampedusa and Linosa , represented by the Mayor , Giuseppina Maria Nicolini , the Deputy Mayor , Damiano Massimiliano Sferlazzo , and the Councilor for Culture , School , Cultural Heritage , Youth Policies , Sports and Recreational Activities , Associations and Volunteer , Rosalia Antonella Brischetto . The project , entitled Human Profiles , Inclusion and Growth , aimed to identify ways of summarising the profile of some migrant jobseekers , while fostering the culture of women ’ s work and self-entrepreneurship , so building two databases : One that can be consulted in order to find employment opportunities in the various territories of the European Union and the other useful to collect stories and life experiences of migrants arrived to Lampedusa , by creating and feeding a Migration Virtual Museum . By this way , migration , youth unemployment and social hardship can act as levers on which to promote social inclusion and development . The considerable influx of migrants , men , women , boys , girls and children , and current management patterns have prevented us from actually looking at these people to read their stories and understand their cultures . At the same time , these people come into contact with a culture completely different from their own , which they do not understand and are not even accompanied to do so . We are concerned to provide them with the first assistance , as it should be , but then they are left at the mercy of uncoordinated actions and often the feeling of hope that accompanied them during the journey gives way to disappointment and then anger ; they have robbed everything , even the lives of their loved ones and Western society appears , in their eyes , a society of waste and easy well-being . It is difficult to understand the real situation , when a migrant does not know the history , the contradictions , the struggles and the culture of the host country . It is therefore necessary to listen , to learn through paths and tools that promote the comparison of cultures by bringing out the values of the specifics of individual people . While the problem of the anonymous masses of migrants arises , on the other hand there is a sense of marginalization that pervades many of Italian young people living in Lampedusa ; the perception of the absolute lack of job prospects , that sense of abandonment and the impossibility of a change , are increasingly leading many young people towards
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