Purpose:
The goal of this project is to promote the participation of migrant women into the Italian Language courses organized in the city of Novellara.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The local administration of Novellara has always had the will to create new chances for dialogue and inclusion. In the spring of 2017, a new project has been launched, aimed at enhancing the integration of the numerous foreign communities that live in Novellara. The idea was to create a project that would involve closely the local population, which is an important part of the integration process, since they interact with the migrant citizens on a daily basis.
Process:
In the fall of 2017, a new pilot project dedicated to women has started. Women, especially in some cultures, are often considered second class citizens whose main role is to take care of the household and the children. This often causes their marginalization, that last longer than the one of men, since they don’t have occasions to learn the local language and they are not able to take part in the city life in any way. Language barrier, lack of knowledge of social and cultural services they have access to eventually cause them to leave the house less and less, resulting in women who do not speak Italian even if they have been in the country for many years.
A few special attentions helped and encouraged women to take part in the project. The students have shown sign of progress (the course started in October 2017 and ended in mid-January 2018) and have been responding positively, which led to another series of initiatives that have turned the course from simple language class to a 360° civic education course, with seminars dedicated to safety, childcare, recycling and conscious food shopping.
Impact:
The success of the courses is already visible: the women have bonded and are happy to spend time together, and the knowledge of the language, no matter how small, helps them integrating in the city and living more consciously in the community of the town: the A2 class took part in the celebrations in honour of the Italian flag with some readings. The goal of the project is to keep the women involved in the town life even after the end of the Italian courses, with meetings, sawing and cooking classes.
Key reference documents:
