Social media can make a difference in empowering new Italian citizenships, that are already part of society, economy, politics.
A conference held on the occasion of Milan Social Media Week tried to explore these potentials. The meeting was organized by Yalla Italia, the blog of second generations of Italians with an Arab background, and by Extrabanca, the first bank in Italy that mainly serves foreigners residing in Italy.
Much food for thought was given at the conference, like: self-narration as an essential mean to acquire rights, the notion of identity that doesn’t have to be related with the concept of nationality and the important issue of self -definition.
“Second generations, new Italians, generations 1.5, children of immigrants …. are all very outdated expressions that are not able to capture how rapidly and dynamically the Italian society is changing. Such definitions are not able to show the thousands identities that represent Italy’s secret fuel, the real country” (from Yalla Italia’s website), indeed: the new generations of Italians, whose roots are in the Arab culture and whose trunks and branches grew in Italy.
A very powerful call for responsibility was also launched: “If Italy is going downhill the responsibility and the duty is also of immigrants” . It is necessary that they also actively engage themselves, as they represent a large part of the Italian society (4 million and a half out of a population of 65 million people) and often tend to blame other people for the current hardships and not to be self-critical.
Speakers at the conference, moderated by Randa Ghazy, project manager at Yalla Italia, and by John Shehata, editor at Yalla Italia, were: Aldo Bonomi, sociologist and Director of the research Institute Aaster, Alessandra Coppola, Corriere della Sera journalist, Don Roberto Davanzo, Director of Caritas Ambrosiana, and Edda Pando, Charter Member of the association Todo Cambia.
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