Abstract:

In the last few decades globalization, networking technology and above all strong migration streams played a decisive role to turn Italy into a multicultural society that has to face social and cultural diversity and to work intensively on the promotion of intercultural values among young people. The efforts, endured by the school system to urge the adoption of an intercultural teaching approach, can lead to good results in promoting understanding between members of minority and majority cultures, in spreading tolerance and in fighting discrimination, segregation, xenophobia and racism but they cannot assure effective and successful integration of young people offering them the conditions for thriving of the diversity and for establishing stable cross-cultural interactions.

Studies on migration contexts show that local or ethnic social networks (Pitchiler 2010; Scott 1999) play an important role in integration process especially when adolescents are concerned. Young people that move to another country often have problems in finding supportive social networks with consequences on their integration level. In today’s contemporary society teenagers look to social media for starting and keeping contacts, sharing information, finding support, enhancing self esteem. This spread use of social media opens up a possibility to use social network sites for developing intercultural competence along with building social connections that can support young migrant people during their integration process.
Within this framework this paper presents and discusses a research project that focuses on the development of a social network site where teenagers and young people can share their intercultural knowledge, are involved in informal learning and peer teaching activities, in spreading aspects of their culture and in expanding their relationship. The site, where Italian will be used as communication language, aim at extending the possibilities of interaction between users of different cultures, going beyond the opposition between the hosting dominant culture and the weak minority cultures, appraising multiculturalism and equipping young migrants with knowledge and abilities that will allow them to benefit from their diversity.

References:
[1] Baraldi C., 2003, Comunicazione interculturale e diversità. Roma, Carocci.
[2] Bećirović S., 2012, “The Role of Intercultural Education in Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding, Epiphany, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 138-156. D’Ignazi P., 2005, Educazione e comunicazione interculturale. Roma, Carocci.
[3] Pichler E., 2010, Junge Italiener zwischen Inklusion und Exklusion, Berlin, Ebner & Spiegel.
[4] Scott M. Myers 1999, “Childhood Migration and Social Integration”, in Adulthood, Journal of Marriage and Family,Vol. 61, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 774-789.

NESSE network of experts, 2008, Education and migration strategies for integrating migrant children in European schools and societies
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/documents/education_migration_nesse.pdf

Keywords:

Interculture, informal learning, social media.