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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh for inviting me, thanks to the public to be here to participate. And yes, as you were saying, I will talk.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I think for half an hour of this project, which is, I will share the screen.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>As you have seen them that the first title that we proposed is about leaving, staying or returning, but most which is part of this welcoming spaces project. But then I will focus more on the role of media narratives and discourses in the relationship between migrations and shrinking areas, because the project welcoming spaces is a project on shrinking areas.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>So I would like to to to show.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>What is first of all, the relationship between shrinking areas and migration this name shrinking, it's referred to marginal inner areas, peripheral areas that, for example in Italy covers 60% of national territory. And I mean only 23% of the Italian population live in these places. These are places like mountains.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Happening so remote areas in the interior part of Italy that are often characterized by a problem social, economic, marginalization, population aging, lack of services, infrastructure transports and so like the different kind of services. But it's interesting also because this is a common situation to other European countries.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>In the project welcoming spaces where I can show you the website just to show where the pro you can find.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>More information on the project. This is the page will coming spaces dot U and this project try to answer to the question how to contribute to the revitalization of shrinking areas in the European Union while also offering a welcoming space for migrants to pursue their life project. This is an orizon program and there are several.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Countries like 5 countries, the Netherland, Poland and Spain, Italy.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And then I mean there are different kind of.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Umm.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Of partners and is a project of 40 years, so again the peripheries of Italy's I was saying are not so many different for the other areas in European Union in the other country selected by the project. And what about migration? I mean usually when we talk about migration we are talking about foreign population.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The this framed by an emergency narrative by emergency discourses by an emergency imaginary. This is paradoxical because, I mean, in UK even more, but also in Italy that is quite a new country of immigration because we were more immigrants until the 80s. Now it's more than 30 years that we are receiving.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Immigrants and asylum seekers, but at the same time, the frame is always the emergency shell. One the idea is to talk about crisis, what happened in the last years. Let's just take the last 10 years. That not only there was an increase in growth of the of the foreign population in Italy, we have like 7% of immigrants.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And the most of these people went to live in the inner areas. Why, of course, because there are job opportunities. Just think about agriculture or shepherd also because there are cheaper accommodation, it's easier and it's cheaper to find house sometimes they are already working there and then there is family reunification. But also when we talk about asylum seekers.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And refugees and other reason important reason is the presence of reception system structures that are in a shrinking areas. I mean it's easier to open a place to host refugees in an inner areas then not in a big city, right? I mean it's also cheaper. And So what happened that our idea was to try to reflect on the interlink between.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The reception policies about migration and the territorial regeneration policies because when we talk about inner areas in Italy, we call it our internal. So there is like a national strategies for inland areas, it was it has been created almost 10 years ago and the idea was to use several kind of tools of instrument.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>In order to help the development of the inner areas at the same time, when we see the reception policies, we can see that also them.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The the the program of asylum has changed in that period. This was a very special period in Italy. I don't know if you remember the military humanitarian mission marenostrum after the shipwreck of Lampedusa in 2013, where more than 600 people died in front of Lampedusa. And then there was this military humanitarian mission and then Italy that year.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Cost more than 170,000 as I'm seekers, so that period was characterized by a growth of arrival and much more reception system, especially in the inner areas. We started that period with like 3000 places for asylum seekers and then we arrived around 24 thousands. But then of course, there was also a period of crisis with the change of government in 2018.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>2020 with Salvini's League N the Five Star movement. Then they changed the way of a hosting people and he had an impact.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Of course, on the on the idea of.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh, of hosting these people and try to integrate into the shrinking areas?</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Umm, let me see if OK.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I would like to tell you something more about the project because these Arizona, as I told you the first question, is about the relationship between welcoming spaces and local sustainable development of these areas. Then we went to reflect. We went to analyze what is the role the social, economic, political, cultural, environmental role of welcoming initiative at the territorial level and what commonality is, I mean among the.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Several different places in Italy and in Europe, and critical points to highlight what we have done.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>We started almost four years ago to collect data on the localities in the five countries and to do a desk research and phone interview to understand through a sort of context analysis and quick scan, which are the welcoming initiatives in Europe. Then every country selected 10 will coming initiatives after a quick scan of all these initiatives.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And then we started.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>After a quantitative work, we started a qualitative field work focusing on the three dimensions that I will show you soon well-being political, stability and economic viability, we realized interview Focus, group participant observation on the field, and we engaged in these research, migrants, policymakers, residents, local entrepreneurs association.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>In order to understand what are these kind of welcoming initiatives, how they work, and then we went to focus more on the narratives.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Now just to give you an idea, I cannot go too much in depth into the project because otherwise I mean we we need like all day but to understand.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>How for example, we analyzed this places these case studies. We focused on 3 concepts in each place, economic viability, social well-being, and political stability. I will just tell you very soon, for example, what does it mean for U.S. economic viability? It means to.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Understand from economic point of view, what are the local resources, how they are used? How is the economic sectors, jobs, services. If there are enterpreneurs, if there is an attractive.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Position from a touristic perspective. So for example, in the economic viability we went to reflect, we went to analyze.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>What is the role of agriculture?</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>For employment opportunities or for example, what are the infrastructure and the limits of these infrastructure? I thinks about public transport roads, but also schools and other services, or about the economic sectors. What are they producing in these places? Are these places, for example, touristic places and then?</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>There is space for slow ethical tourism or artisanal jobs. What kind of?</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Networking. If there is a with other stakeholders like local entrepreneur and different business.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And then of course, depending on the places, it's completely different. If we are talking about a nice touristic place in northern of Italy or for example about a very difficult to access location in the South of Italy in an in an area which is not even touristic, then the second factor is social well-being.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh, we analyzed, for example, the situation in terms of employment, housing, health, education, civic engagement, participation and for example, here we work more on with the concept of emplacement more the integration because, you know, integration is a tricky concept, while emplacement is more to analyze.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>How these people, how these places are located in terms of this elements? These factors, for example, housing in in several places?</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Is interesting to analyze not only because they are cheaper, but for example, in this picture you can see Camille, which is the little village close to Riyadh. The famous riach of Mimmo Lucano in Calabria, and in Kamini there are 700 inhabitants and almost 200 refugees. And with this cooperatives in this place, for example, they involved the refugees.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>To regenerate the houses that were just going down the houses now are lived by the refugees us there, but also they create more than 150 places for tourist. And so it's interesting because, thanks to the asylum of this almost 200 people, mainly families, they regenerate completely their local.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh economic activities, their local development and housing, for example, was an important part of it.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>For example, the schools, I mean the mayor of Camini, was telling us that like 15 years ago, only eight children were in the elementary school, and then they were closing everything, while now there are sixty kids and from one class there are three classes, which means that also in terms of local employment of people who work in the school, not only teachers. So of course there is a sort of opportunity and empowerment.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Within this community.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Important also is the the element of social capital. Because we are talking about the small villages where the direct relations are very important and so for example.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh, several of these places focus on social capital to be reinforced by educational courses, internship in local enterprises. I mean, they train people in order to produce something in order to be part of the community and to take care also of the spaces, public spaces of common good.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Again, of course, we are not talking about ideal places when we talk about migrants and refugees and when we talk about people who live on the mountains or in in areas we are talking also about conflicts between local people and migrants, but also between different groups of migrants. Of course being.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>A younger, I don't know, guys from Gambia or Nigeria. It's completely different than being a Syrian family or a old family from Eritrea. And so for this reason.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>It is also important to understand what kind of relationship in different needs and aspiration there.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The last element is the political stability, which means that we analyze. You can see here, the Whoopi, 3, Whoopi 5, Whoopi 4, which are the several group of the Rizon project. We analyze again what is the civil society response, what kind of political participation, power relation, political response you can find in these places. For example, there is a response of civil society.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>In order to collaborate or or or they were against this this.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Yeah, initiatives, this presence of asylum seekers and migrants, what about the elderly people who were there? Sometimes they were happy because they artisanal work or in the agriculture they were.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Happy to share with the younger immigrants in order to train them, but other times, you know, there are also conflict in terms of how do you use the public space, for example, forms of political participation again, how you take care of spaces and contribute to a sense of belonging several times these people they don't have citizenship.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>It take a lot but they belong to a community. If they participate through active.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Project and of course sometimes there is also the. The problem with the.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Empowerment of people when they writes are not respected.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>That if for example this case is in Calabria, you know in Rosarno Villas Angelini, there are places where there is that the problem of the gang, master of people exploited to work in, in agriculture and very not paid absolutely. And then there is the problem that these people are within this.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The Umm.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>This system where they are host and sometimes they are managed through an emergency system, which means that they have money for the duration of the reception project, but they have difficulties in order to plan to stay longer or to have more chance to integrate with the local community.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I mean.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Then after all these analysis, we selected our case studies in Italy and then we went you can see here that there are places that are in northern of Italy Center or South of Italy and are very different places. But the common element is that they are in areas and they host migrant and they try to.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Integrate migrants.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Into the idea of local development.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I just want to dedicate the last.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Let's say 7 minutes.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>To this part that is more about the narratives, because also the last part of the project and the one that I'm more in charge, I I study media and mobility, justice, media and migration, media refugees.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>There is also an issue of imaginary of narratives, because when we talk about.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>My grandson, refugees, we are talking about foreigner people that are usually framed within an emergency margin. Mary, like a perpetual crisis. And usually the frames are the security Italian one. I mean foreign people who are OK could be a terrorist, criminals, bad, dangerous, whatever. And so the idea is.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Close the border.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Because we are invaded by these people or at the same time through a humanitarian frame, I mean the poor victims, the pity, the compassion.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Towards these people that are not seen as.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Human beings with skills, with dreams, with aspiration, with agency or a project. But just as object of our aid. So this is something that is very related to our media. And politicians portray the phenomenon. I usually say that migration is a natural phenomenon is an historical one.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I mean, we were normals before the agriculture, right? We have legs, but the definition is political and we can see.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>How a different definition of what is going on completely impact the life of the people and the policies? Because the public agenda, the media agenda influenced the public opinion and of course the policymakers who are politicians who talk to the belly of the electors change also the the the policies, the law, the regular mess in order.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>For example.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh, for for the electoral campaign here you can see, for example, the change between the arrival in the first years and here. The representation was about being a angels of the sea being a humanitarian people helping.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh migrants were suffering and hosting them during this marenostrum for example, humanitarian mission. But then before with minute in 2017 and then with Salvini de Mayo still, until now there was a change.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And there was what we can call a sort of normalization of fear, a sort of fotografia, because the perception of migrant has always the being depicted as a security threat.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>We can see these also if we connect the election results. In this case the European election. But two weeks ago there were.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The regional election in in Italy and we can see that, for example, the the new populist parties warn also on these narratives against migration, and they want specifically, I mean even more in this shrinking areas where I'm not talking about the case studies with selected, I'm talking in general about the inland.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Areas where I think it was the same with the Brexit, I mean in London or in big cities where people have a direct relationship with foreigners and live in a cosmopolitan atmosphere, you scare less, you know, diversity, you get used to diversity while in areas where you don't really have presence of migrants but you.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Perceive them through media, through the politician discourses. Then you can I mean perceive them as criminals or just as threats, because they are stealing your jobs or whatever. And then, for example, we can see how the political campaigns where.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Where also related with the idea of fear or crime and security.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>And how the reception system changed a lot depending also on the period and on the politicians.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>To conclude about this idea of the narratives, I think it's important to recognize, for example, that last year I mean this year. Now it's almost one year of the war in Ukraine, right in Italy, arrived almost 200 thousands Ukrainians people, but no one was screaming about emergency, about criminals. We were not treating them.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Through the the frame of securitization was and fear.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>On the contrary, for the first time we use the law that was created for the Balkans that during the the boys, the the Bosnia War.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>In order to recognize the status of refugees or just the the the the humanitarian protection for two years and here we can see how the reception depending on who are also the migrants, if they are racialized or not, how they are perceived. And also we can see for example what happened with Riyadh, which is I mean which was one of these.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Welcoming initiatives. A little country in in a Calabria where the mayor Mimmo Lucano was awarded for 15 years as one of the most innovative person solving the crisis and creating opportunities hosting hundreds of refugees in this little town and working with houses with empowerment, with agriculture, but then with the change of government.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>It was put in prison and steel.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Is there is suffering in terms of a trial process and whatever? Now the reception on the local scale, what we have seen, if it's not like the extraordinary reception what we call the cast change the Koreans astral Ordinaria, which means that you take a place, a big place and you put like 50 a hundred 150 people in a little village. It doesn't work and it was.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>A measure that was created directly by the government by the prefect, and they created a lot of problems with also the majors and with local communities, which is completely different. The reception in the local scale. Why, for example, these people are host in small numbers less than 2% of the population and through a innovative projects.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>You integrate.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Uh dam, because especially in this shrinking areas, they contribute that they can give to revitalize the local economy. It's potentially very high to conclude some final considerations, some final remarks.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>When we talk about narratives of migrants and shrinking areas.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>We have to think that also about shrinking areas. We have a sort of dichotomy in the imaginary because shrinking areas are usually perceived as a problematic areas. Mt areas where you lack everything where you miss services, transport, schools, hospitals, whatever. But at the same time, there is another part of the imaginary, especially with the COVID.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>That is focusing on this area as sort of paradise. You know where you can breathe with the nature, with the green, with the idea of space. And so there is a sort of romantic narratives.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>To us, we have to go beyond the security, Italian and the humanitarian frame for the migrants and recognizing them as human beings with the projects, with urgencies, with resources that could be integrated or in placed in these areas at the same time, this marginal areas can become.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>The center of different projects, I mean there are also young people who decide to move in these marginal areas, not just because our empty, but because there are different opportunities and they can maybe create.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Other opportunities.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Again to integrate migrants or to manage migration, the idea is to go beyond the humanitarian, secure Italian frame and beyond the idea of utility, because usually we are managing these human beings in terms of our needs.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>But the idea is to work with their individual aspiration with their needs, but also with their dreams, with their aspiration.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Do do these. The idea is to go again be beyond the frames that we were focusing and for example the the project now is producing not only policy.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Recommendations and other documents for policymakers, but also some kind of.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Ohh of initiatives like exhibits or public events to to to try to have an impact on the imaginary linked to migration and inner areas with the idea of proposing alternative frameworks which have to be frame around rights, human rights of people.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I think that I stopped also because I'm sorry about today. I'm not very good with my voice and so I'm sorry if I was not really.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Clear but.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I expect your comments.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Thanks very much.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I'm also curious to know what are your impression and if you have.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Questions about that I just tried to give you like a big picture of the project, of course, four years is not easy to.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>Is I cannot hear you but.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I think that if you open your microphone and you talk.</v>

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<v Pierluigi Musarò>I know bad today.</v>

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<v WALL, HELENA (PGR)>Thank you very much for that. Pierre Luigi, I am going to end the recording now for the discussion.</v>