Science engagement for social cohesion: integrating migrant communities
Find this session's presentations here.
The issues of emigration, demographic mobility and integration of people forced to move away from their countries are becoming key challenges of our times. Science centres, as key factors of community cohesion, are being called upon to address these challenges.
This session will showcase and discuss science centres' unique expertise, alongside community institutions, in the provision of support, tutoring and mentoring to facilitate the integration of migrants into host countries' culture and employment markets.
Participants will be given an in-depth insight into a wide scope of ongoing interventions to tackle the emergent social phenomena of forced migration, raging from multicultural labs, hands-on science and math workshops, co-creation of exhibits to community partnerships with research institutions and civil society organisations. Speakers have selected these wide-raging cases to stimulate an active and open discussion with the audience.
Session speakers
We will present the project Integra, a nationwide initiative to support and fund social and cultural non-profit institutions´projects that are designed to promote social inclusion activities for migrant children and young people, together with scientific and higher education institutions, museums, science centres and schools.
International Projects and Relations
Città della Scienza develop many activities and programs to promote integration and intercultural dialogue, such as temporary exhibitions on immigration with daily activities around it.
In this session we will present two examples: events on nutrition and food as symbols of mutual understanding and cultural exchange involving local migrant communities; the partnership with a local NGO which provide work experience for young immigrants in the Science Centre of Città della Scienza.
Head of Exhibitions Operations
Activities of the Deutsches Museum for refugees and migrants, with a special focus on unaccompanied youths. Currently, the museum runs guided tours and workshops designed to reflect the daily lives of the visitors, including modules focused on conveying both the German language and the content of the exhibitions. The presentation will not only highlight successes in planning and implementation, but will also report on challenges and difficulties.
The e-Crisis project, a collaboration among Greece, Austria and Malta, is an effort to tackle the challenges of the current refugee crisis in these countries, particularly by raising awareness within school communities about the challenges and solutions involved in the integration of refugees, asylum seekers and newly arrived migrants.
