«Attività laboratoriale con gli Osservatori Antidiscriminazioni dei Comuni di Venezia e di Mantova»
Filippo Voltolina , 3A reports
On Thursday 23rd January 2013, in the Bruno Conference Room, class 3A and their Italian teacher, Ms Di Lucia had the fourth meeting with experts from the Antidiscrimination Watch of Venice Municipality on the important issue of discrimination.
The aim of the workshop was to allow teenagers to encourage open and informed debate on these important, complex issues. As European societies become more multi-cultural, we need to raise awareness of the many reasons why people choose or are forced to leave their own countries.
This understanding can help to promote respect for diversity and encourage social cohesion.
In particular, more information needs to be disseminated to young people, who are the decision makers of tomorrow, but whose opinions on migration and asylum are not always based on factual and balanced information.
First we revised what was focused on the previous three meetings: the very concept of discrimination; the role games we played and the discriminatory way some journalists use when they describe ”immigrants” with misleading or derogatory words and phrases such as “hordes of immigrants”, “wildly” or “as animals”…We reflected on the fact that when we think of Michelle Hunziker, who is a Swiss-Italian television hostess, actress, model and singer, it does not come to our minds she is a non EU “immigrant”!
During the third meeting journalist Giulietto Chiesa, who coordinates the Mantua Antidiscrimination Watch, pointed out that diversity should be considered as a positive value and not as a negative problem.
Throughout history, people have migrated, often in order to improve their standard of living, give their families and children better opportunities, escape poverty, or to flee from persecution, instability and war. Migration and asylum issues have become part of our every day lives, as our European society becomes more multicultural and diverse: this is a situation that brings both challenges and enrichment to society. At the same time, problems of discrimination, xenophobia and racism have continued to surface, often causing tensions within communities. Even during football matches!!!
During the fourth meeting we performed a game of role where two groups were invited to discriminate a classmate of ours on account of the colour of her hair. We soon realized how it was easy to attack someone on vain reasons, treating her less fairly than others, depriving her of the right of speech, etc…
Class discussion followed…
What do you mean by discrimination, Giulia?
Discrimination means making a prejudicial distinction of an individual based on his or her age, ethnicity, gender/sex, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, skin colour, etc…
What are the consequences?
The exclusion of members of one group from opportunities or privileges that are available to another group, leading to the discriminatory traditions, policies, ideas, practices, and laws existing in every part of the world, even in Italy ( Giulia Antonicelli)
How can discrimination be eliminated, Nicole?
Laws banning discrimination and promoting equality are indispensable – but laws alone are not enough. We need education, culture and awareness (Nicole Renée Palma)
What did you learn, Marco?
We talked about the discriminating language of Italian mass media which improperly use the words “clandestine”, “extra-EU”, “gypsy”, etc…
Could you give us an example?
They called “gypsies” people that have been in Italy for over fifty years like the families living on via Vallenari and they discriminated all the neighbourhood because one of them had troubles with the police. (Marco Marangon)
Which newspaper did you examine, Alberta?
We examined some widely read local newspapers like “La Nuova Venezia” and “il Gazzettino” and we found that the journalists often used some words inappropriately for example a boy from Romania must not be called “extracomunitario”(non EU), because Romania is part of the European Union as we all kow(Alberta Carella).