Between 30th of November 2021 and 2nd of December 2021 the 3rd study visit of the Reinser project took place in Brindisi, Italy. It was hosted by the project partner, the Municipality of Brindisi.
Together with various experts from the University of Salento, Regione Puglia, Cooperativa ULIS, Lega Coop, etc., we learned about the immigration policies of Italy, Southern Italy and the Apuglia region, as well as the strategy of integrating migrants into society through (social) entrepreneurship. Special attention was given to the social economy and cooperatives.
On site we saw the project SAI (Integration Reception System), in the framework of which we could also visit the “wood workshop” where migrants will acquire skills in woodworking in a pilot action. We also learned about the Discrimination free project, which provides training courses for unaccompanied minors. We then visited Xfarm, a social farming project for the use of land confiscated from the mafia and for quality agricultural production through the involvement of migrants in the work.
We also went to another large city in the Apuglia region, Bari, and visited Artemisia. This is a project that combines a project for the reception of refugees and asylum seekers with the creation of a B&B and a bistro useful for the work integration of migrants. The participants of the study visit also attended two workshops: ”Social impact measurement” and ”Financing instruments for the social economy, the imapct nvestment, the tools, with particular references to social impact bonds”.
We also heard interesting presentations on local good practices from Italy, Greece and Slovenia.
In Brindisi we also met interesting projects like: Sfrutta Zero, Diritti a sud, social agricalture and fight against exploitation of migrants in the production of an ethical tomato sauce; Casa delle culture (future project of the Municipality of Brindisi), project for the transformation of the current municipal dormitory into an intercultural center useful for the activation of training and job opportunities; Smiling coast of Africa and INTERSOS project for the reuse of unused land for agricultural production and job placement of migrants in a center that serves people with disabilities and S.I.P.L.A. South, “Integrated Protection System for Agricultural Workers” – aims to prevent and combat illegal work and exploitation in agriculture in the regions of Abruzzo, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily and relies on a partnership of 30 entities.
The Italian problem of migrants is known to us through the media (TV, newspapers, …) for many years. When you come into direct contact with a region like Apuglia and its institutions, organizations, initiatives and individuals from different sectors, you get a real insight into how big a system works and must work, not only for the initial reception of these people, but also for their further integration into society.
