Diasporic and Local Mainstream Media as a Tool for Intercultural Integration? The Case of Latin American Communities in Italy

In Italy, communication research on the impact of media on immigrants’ integration dynamics has up until now privileged the sphere of national mainstream media. This paper takes into consideration the role of diasporic media as complimentary to perspective, by exploring the disposition of the two media fields towards the promotion of intercultural dialogue. In an attempt to assess whether there is in fact an intercultural media integration process occurring in both mainstream and Latin-America diasporic media players in Italy, this paper focuses on gathering evidence from the media pertaining to the society in general and from those created by and for immigrant communities. This evaluation aims to establish the degree to which majority and minorities take an interest in each other as well as the story telling they deploy or one another. Interculturalism and intercultural media integration are the main theoretical frameworks used to understand how intercultural dialogue is operationalized at the media level. Preliminary findings suggest a local mainstream media scene out of step with the de facto multicultural society, whereas only in some cases do Latin-American diasporic media demonstrate integrative potential capable of” bridging the gap” with the host society rather than merely fulfilling its ingroup “bonding” role

the role of intercultural mediation

Migration is generally described as a process that is nationally specific and that have features common to several countries. This has been shown by several authors through comparative research that compares the migration process of the same immigrant group to several countries (among others, Engbersen, Snel, & de Boom, 2010) or which scrutinises the migration realities of different countries (Zimmermann, 2005). Most of these studies are about geographically near countries, which are part of the same political system (the EU), and that have an established (albeit differentiated) welfare system. These proximities (geographical, but also political and social) allowed the authors of these studies to conceptualise the existence of several migration models or regimes: the southern European model (Baldwin-Edwards, 2012), the Iberian model of Migration (Malheiros, 2012); the intra-EU mobility regime (Engbersen et al., 2017). These migratory regimes are intertwined by migrant integration models or by different approaches to increasingly diverse populations. Although these are often identified as ‘national models of integration’, they do not fail to integrate the developments that have been recorded in the last decades in the international contexts in which the countries are inserted. Throughout the present text, the Portuguese experience in dealing with immigrant integration is used to reflect on the development of intercultural policies and practices, and on the role of intercultural mediation. The article is structured in the following way: in the introductory section we will review the discussion on interculturalism; in a second section the Portuguese immigration context will be presented; in a third section the integration of immigrants in the country will be analysed, given special attention to the development of policies that support immigrants’ integration process. In the fourth section, the role of intercultural mediation for the integration of immigrants will be considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE AND CANADIAN MULTUCULTURALISM

У статті розглядаються специфіка викладання англійської мови як другої іноземної у контексті багатокультурності Канади. Підкреслюється значення інноваційних методик в організації індивідуального підходу та освітньої політики. Описується педагогічна майстерність викладача англійської мови у контексті міжкультурної комунікації. (The article envisages teaching English as a second language in the context of multiculturalism in Canada. The value of innovative methods of teaching in terms of individualization and multicultural education policy are underlined. The professional skills of teacher of English as a second language in the context of cross-cultural communication are embraced.

Integrating New Communities - Challenging Racism

In this report, the needs of new people hoping to settle in Ireland, and how these are responded to, provides the context in which racism in Ireland can be considered and one in which to identify opportunities where funding could make an important difference. This research considers the patterns of migration to Ireland and the likely future trends with reference to the particular groups of people who are choosing Ireland as a country in which to make a new life. Furthermore, this research explores what is known about racism in Ireland, and the initiatives currently being undertaken to combat racism are set out

Young Migrant Women Living in the Republic of Ireland Barriers to Integration

AkiDwA is a minority ethnic led national network of migrant women established in 2001 as a not-for-profit organisation in Ireland. The organisation emerged from discussions and meetings among a group of African women, coming together to share their collective experiences of living in Ireland, and in particular, feelings of isolation and exclusion, experiences of race discrimination in employment and access to services, and issues in relation to gender based violence. The organisation brings a gender perspective to issues of migration, to inform policy and practice, and adopts an advocacy based approach. This work is centred on hearing and strengthening the voices of migrant women and addressing the barriers they face in terms of integration in all aspects of social, cultural, economic, civic and political life. AkiDwA has over 2,250 individual members from some 35 counties in Ireland and has gained recognition as a leading non-governmental organisation in Ireland reviewing key legislation, policy and practice, and proposing reforms in relation to issues faced by all migrant women. In August 2012, AkiDwA commissioned Poorman-Skyers Research and Consulting to:a) Undertake a pilot study on young migrant women in Ireland on barriers to integrationb) Locate the study in some of the current literature on gender and migrationc) Identify best practice models of positive integrationd) Develop a series of recommendations targeted at government and non-governmental agencies in Irelan

“The Many Languages of the Avant-Garde”: In conversation with Grzegorz Bral of Teatr Pieśń Kozła (Song of the Goat Theatre)

How to theorise and review avant-garde Shakespeare? Which theoretical paradigms should be applied when Shakespearean productions are multicultural and yet come from a specific locale? These and other many questions interrogating the language of performance in global avant-garde Shakespeare productions are put forward to Grzegorz Bral, the director of the Song of the Goat ensemble in the context of their evolving performance of Macbeth (2006/2008) and their Songs of Lear (2012)

National Identity and Intercultural Outlook: a Critical Review of Hong Kong's Civic Education Since the 1980's

This paper argues that in the new landscape of a postmodernist world, civic education would need to nurture national identity and promote intercultural outlook hand in hand. This article reviews development of Hong Kong’s civic education development in this light. In the case of post-colonial Hong Kong, a sensible balance is most needed as the city is to continue as an international city that functions as one of China’s windows to the world.Civic education; National identity; Intercultural outlook.

The 'Dark Continent' goes north: an exploration of intercultural theatre practice through Handspring and Sogolon Puppet Companies' production of Tall Horse

This essay explores the complexities of intercultural interaction, specifically in the context of globalization. These interactions involve not only contact with, but also negotiation of cultural representations. The debates about the processes involved in such encounters are complex and highlight tensions among aesthetics, ideology, the ethics of production, voice, and authorship. The essay begins by outlining some of the key debates and issues specifically for theatre; in particular, it looks at the tension between Brook’s transcultural approach to intercultural theatre and Rustom Bharucha’s insistence on contextualized and historicized interactions. These theoretical positions are explored against the specific example of Tall Horse (2005), an intercultural production by the South African Handspring Puppet Company, the Malian Sogolon Puppet Company, a choreographer from Benin, and a scriptwriter from New York. The essay examines both the ideological issues raised in the text and the practical issues of cross-cultural collaboration and interaction to suggest an approach that may mediate between binaries that seem to dominate cultural interaction

Dance in the British South Asian diaspora: redefining classicism

This paper discusses South Asian dance forms and genres in Britain, one of the major locations of the South Asian diaspora. It addresses issues of "classicism," "neoclassicism" and "contemporaneity" in South Asian dancing, particularly important as in the British context availability of public funding depends on the artists demonstrating an innovative engagement with their own practice. The author focuses, as a specific case study, on the work, Moham, choreographed and danced as a solo by bharatanatyam artist Chitra Sundaram in 2002 and argues for the need to address issues of difference and cultural specificity, questioning the underlying assumptions of western notions of classicism, as these impinge on South Asian dance praxes in the British context