Italy-TUAS-Whole different story

Despite the reduction in media coverage, in Italy as in Europe, the debate on migration continues to be highly polarized and divisive. Political discourse adopts an “us versus them” narrative, where migrants and refugees become the scapegoat for every real or imagined social problem. The narratives that gain most traction in public debate directly influence the definition of policies, so for example, if the narrative of the migration phenomenon focuses on concepts such as “invasion” and “threat”, the political response can only be reduced to the concepts of “border defense” and “security”.

ISTAT (2019) reports that today more than 1 in 10 minor residents has a foreign citizenship and 65.4% of students of non-Italian origin were born in our country. However, there are numerous episodes of bullying, hate speech and stigmatization against immigrant adolescents and 59.3% of reports of discriminatory crimes are of an ethnic-racial nature [OSCAD - Observatory for security against discriminatory acts] data also confirmed by the "Eurobarometer493" on discrimination in the European Union, which highlights that 66% of the people interviewed believe that discrimination on an ethnic basis is very widespread in Italy.

A WHOLE OTHER STORY intends to contribute to overcoming divisive narratives on the topic of migration, promoting the protagonism of young people and theeducational communities, represented by teachers, universities, associations, diaspora networks and local authorities that offer opportunities for civic engagement to new generationsin 16 territories in northern, central and southern Italy. The project strategy is based on the promotion ofGlobal Citizenship Education, in continuity with the long-standing experience of the partners involved in the field, and on the innovative approach of the kit Narrative change, a practical tool for reformulating the debate on the narrative of migration developed by the German organization ICPA ​​– International Centre for Policy Advocacy and made available in Italian as part of the initiative Never Alone, for a possible tomorrow. This approach aims to open a dialogue and involve that part of the population that is not particularly aligned or interested in the topic, defined as the fluid center, equivalent to 48% of the population, which can, if appropriately involved, become a "political and cultural balance" and generate a change in the perception and political management of migration issues.