INTERCULTURAL MEDIATION IN THE SERVICES OF THE REGION EMILIA-ROMAGNA Bologna 2010, November 24

Intercultural mediation in Ferrara C.S.I.I. and the experience of the Provincial Repertoire of Intercultural Mediators (Re.media) Provincia di Ferrara

Model of management of the Re.Media Repertoire Centre of Integrated Services for Immigration Provincial point of connection To coordinate To propose and share projects To support With other public and private bodies that work for immigration The priority objective of the service is to follow the process of interaction between public services and non-Italian citizens principally with the help of intercultural mediators

Birth and forming of the Repertoire Date: 2002 The project was planned and fulfilled by the Social Cooperative Society Camelot of Ferrara It is composed by 200 people belonging to 35 linguistic areas. 75 intercultural mediators of well-established professional training in various fields like - schools - social and health services - information - legal and penitentiary services - social mediation and conflicts

Bodies involved in the organization of Re.media Province of Ferrara Municipality of Ferrara- Institution of Schools and Educational Services for the Families (Organizing Unit for Integration) Municipalities of the province Centre of Employment- Observation on Immigration USP- Provincial Educational Office Every type of schools Local Hospital and Health Centre “S.Anna” (Welcome and Mediation Office) Various associations in the territory

Objectives To support the immigrants' welcome and integration in the social structure of the province To consolidate the presence of intercultural mediation for the welcome at school and in educational and social services To predispose hearing and support to intercultural communication in health centres To define and establish the profile of the intercultural mediation as an action set up on the synergy among people, bodies and services To reinforce the intercultural mediators' skills of the specific sectors and develop their specific interaction in the territorial services To promote and realise, in collaboration with other bodies and services, the training and updating of the mediators

Functions To manage, coordinate and enlarge the Repertoire To answer the demands of the schools and other bodies and services for linguistic and cultural mediation To establish intercultural libraries To give advice to the operators of public and private social services (teachers, headmasters, social workers, etc...) To promote Italian language courses(L2) for foreigners and language exam certificates testifing the language competence of the mediators To define a code of professional ethics for the operators who work in the field of intercultural mediation To monitor and prove by documents the work carried out To set up a list of the taechers of Italian L2

Necessary qualification for the admission in Re.media Complete mastery of a language and culture different from Italian, certified by appropriate documentation Complete mastery of Italian certified by graded tests and good knowledge of the Italian culture and the italian socio-economic situation Possession of at least a secondary school certificate or equivalent level Motivated interest and inclination for social work with the capacity of relation and communication

Valuation methods of mediators and classification Valuation of the mediator's training professional profile A comparative analysis of the acquired skills Valuation of the performed mediation experiences Periodic updating of the classification

Mediators in educational field and schools Schools of every type and level in the Municipality First welcome and insertion Orientation for the new-comer families and facilitation to the access at the educational services Intervention in conflictual situations

Starting up methods of the interventions Municipality of Ferrara: Re.media collaborates with the Institution of Educational Services, Schools and Families Municipalities of the province of Ferrara: Re.media directly collaborates with schools

Summary of the data Re.media from 2002 to 2010 in schools

Number of classes per school year

Number of foreign students per school year

Number of lessons per school years

Mediators in social-sanitary field The project of the Cooperative Society Camelot for intercultural mediation services for the local Health Authority and University Hospital S.Anna Services distributed on the whole territory in the province of Ferrara from Monday to Saturday in 320 hours per month in ordinary and planned activities Welcome and Mediation Office in S.Anna Hospital

Intercultural mediators in social mediation and in conflicts They intervene in urban clashes to reduce problematic aspects of the cohabitation in certain zones They favour social cohesion and dialogue, collaborating with social mediators and italian staff responsible for conflicts In collaboration with: Municipality of Ferrara-Council Department of the Policy for Immigration and Safety Intercommunal Police Corps Housing Company Emilia Romagna The Police of Ferrara The civilian society

Mediation in juridical field The Police Headquarters Office The Court of Law District Penitentiary

Training courses for mediators From 2001 until today... In collaboration with: - bodies and associations of the Third Sector - local boards - professional training centres

Conclusive reflections Fundamental role of formation Integrated courses of formation involving various bodies and services Definition of a general professional profile of the mediator and “the certification of skills”

CSII - Centro Servizi Integrati per l’Immigrazione Via Copparo, 142 – Ferrara Tel Fax How to contact us: