Neukölln, Torino and the Reggio Emilia: Orangelog presents three concrete projects promoting an intercultural way of life in European cities.
Berlin Neukölln is a multi-ethnic city district of 300.000 inhabitants, coming from over 160 different nations. Jean-Philippe La Ville said: “I’m from Neukölln but I’m not here as a representative of the community of my city. I’ve been sent in order to explain and to share our works about the intercultural city project. We have a private foundation, based on the voluntary work of citizens, who develop projects in collaboration with the city of Neukölln. Our private financing can realize some concrete projects to develop interculturalism and to work with and involve immigrants. For example, one of our most important projects is a French-German kindergarten: an example of how we can involve immigrants of Neukölln without creating some kind of ghettos. The city has a lot of people coming from different nations and in the primary school we have 90% of immigrants. So we can try to keep, for example, French and German children in the same school, in the same classes. This project, launched 5 years ago, works and this is also a way to attract families to stay in Neukölln. In fact, some families, are not leaving Neukölln. This is a small project but it is an example of how we are trying to allow everybody to stay in one place and to avoid ghetto formation. I want also to repeat that we don’t have public money, but we are all volunteers.”
“Torino is the ‘Pugliese’ city outside the region of Puglia,” said Ida Curti, Counsellor of integration issues. We have 180.000 immigrants coming from this region and for us immigration is a litmus test of democracy. Our goal is to transform this extraordinary dimension in an ordinary one, in order to give to all citizens, to all people living here, public services, mutual respect of rules and of relationship with services. Our mission is to invest on the second generation of immigrants (the immigrants’ sons). They have to become economically and socially active. For example, our public initiatives are organized in public spaces for to try to erase all kinds of ghetto-systems. For us, immigrants are people, not just communities and to take care of all of us, it doesn’t mean to subtract something from other people.
Franco Corradini, Counsellor of Culture, wants to compare the intercultural dimension of the Reggio Emilia, to the figure of a priest who has his arms open but keeps his head up. Rights and rules for all. “We have 95% of the children, from 0 to 6 year, attending the primary school, without any distinction of origins. We want to give to all the same rights and the same rules about social and health services. The immigrants have to be involved in the city’s decisions. Immigrants came here for work and we have to assume our responsibility not only for their work but also for their social life and integration with other citizens. I’m proud of our national history but this doesn’t means that I’m closed to the other people and culture. In the past we had also an intercultural festival and our discussions about holy places of other religions have been always clear,” Corradini said.
