The document discusses examples of good practices implemented in Genova, Italy to promote positive public perception of diversity and migration. Several initiatives are highlighted, including: 1) Festivals, exhibitions, and cultural events organized by organizations such as Palazzo Ducale Foundation and Galata/Museo del Mare e delle Migrazioni museum to showcase diversity. 2) Research conducted by Centro Studi Medì to measure public perceptions and inform policy. 3) Community mediation programs to defuse tensions, such as those used to train police. 4) Annual events like the SUQ festival and BarCamp discussions to engage the public on migration issues. However, the document also notes some areas for improvement, such as developing a

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2. Public commitment to an inclusive and diverse city
The city actively communicates its commitment to the city’s diverse future and the city as a
welcoming place.
Example of good practice
Genova has an approach to the diversity issue as a community not only as a municipal business.
Cooperative climate on diversity is part of Genova’s heritage and history.
Drastic political changes, at local level, would be a challenge to these activities on diversity but,
would not automatically determine a stop on activities.
Commitment by mayor is published on the media quite frequently.
Within the administration, guide-lines and strategy plans mention the diversity issue.

3. Planning and strategy
The city makes building a shared and inclusive local sense of belonging and identity for all
citizens and tackling discrimination in the city key strategic aims, which include working with
other local, regional, national and supranational institutions as appropriate.
Example of good practice
Genova cooperates with a regional anti-discrimination office.
Which is a product of a cooperation among several actors and organizations. More than a
centralized planning, the city (through the office in question) produces a coordinated and
multi-level activity among different actors.
Within the administration, guide-lines and strategy plans mention the diversity issue.
Some criticized these plans not to be enough articulated and concrete. In fact, it does not
specify who is in charge for relevant actions, times and resources.

4. Coordination and governance
The city has assigned responsibility for implementing its work on enhancing public perception
on migration and diversity goals to a specific person or department/section/body who has
enough authority to ensure delivery and coordinate the different actors involved.
Example of good practice
There is not such a reference in our city’s organization.
Our new city’s cabinet has a politician in charge for the issue which is building an office (or a
department) that should act as a reference. The work is in progress.
Over the years, the lack of a specific person/office/department has produced a common
coordinated effort to work on the issue. Local associations act with very strong vitality,
challenging and stimulating the municipality and the local community on the subject of social
inclusion of migrants, anti-racist activities and the such.

5. Needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation
The city measures public perception of migrants and diversity consistently and regularly and
uses the results to inform new initiatives and practice.
The public perception strategy is regularly monitored and evaluated.
Example of good practice
There is not a consolidated practice on the subject.
A local research agency (Centro Studi “Medì”), run by a consortium made out of various non-
profit organizations, is a point of reference for most of the local actors on social, cultural and
political inclusion in Genova. Over the years, the issues of public perception have been dealt
with. In 2005, a research/action has been launched in Genova on local teen gangs.
Migrant youngsters has been both, researched and involved in a action in order to change
negative perception on migration and negative representation of migrants by media.

6. Raising awareness and challenging prejudices about diversity, including
migration and migrants: a key communication aim
The city has a core policy aim in all its communications of providing a balanced and
positive picture of the contribution and importance of diversity and migration to the city.
Example of good practice
Festival SUQ
Palazzo Ducale Foundation
Galata/Museo del Mare e delle Migrazioni
Centro Studi Medì
Teatro Cargo theatre (Odissea Project)
BarCamp on rights and differences

7. Involvement of local communities including migrants
The city has an appropriately resourced plan to involve local communities, including migrants
themselves, in increasing awareness, challenging prejudices and promoting positive
perceptions of migration and diversity.
Example of good practice
There is not such a plan in Genova.
Efforts are given to build a draft of it at the moment.

8. Engagement of non-governmental stakeholders including media
The city works with local and national media, opinion-formers and others outside the city
authority to engage them in enhancing the public perception of migration and diversity.
Example of good practice
Terms, approaches and prejudices on migrants are a point of discussion in our country but,
no specific intervention were produced lately in our city.

9. Developing shared activities and shared spaces
The city seeks to enable migrant and non-migrant citizens to work together frequently and
regularly in their common interests and to develop the habits of sharing spaces well.
Example of good practice
A critical and crucial debate is in progress at the moment in Genova.
In fact, land was bought and a budget was created in order to build our city’s central mosque
for the vast local Muslim community.

10. Defusing tensions and mediation
The city is able to identify possible sources of tension and provides appropriate mediation and
other resources to deal with conflicts.
Example of good practice
Some area within the city are perceived as critical in their need for mediation.
Specific interventions in the field of social mediation have been organized in the “Ghetto”
area, within the historical centre of Genova.
A training on community mediation has been given to city’s policemen and, as a results,
violent events among the police and migrants had a drop.
What’s is commonly known as the “Argentina’s school of community mediation” has been
thought to local police.

11. Staff development
The city develops the understanding and knowledge of its staff about the importance of
migration and diversity and incentivises their transmission of this to all with whom they come
into contact in their official roles.
Example of good practice
Most of staff pay for their own training.
Most of city’s staff training are organized at department level.

12. Using purchasing power
The city uses its purchasing power to promote positive perceptions of migration and diversity
and uses its communications strategy to point out the role played by migrants in providing vital
services.
Example of good practice
National regulations on public purchase make sure that migrants businesses and firms receive
the same opportunities in dealing with the public sector.
Generally, public sector is still looking for a remedy to the lack of competitiveness that still
affect public sector procurement.

13. It shows the migration phenomenon starting from when we were the migrants till to what
happens today.
The City runs the operation counting on tickets revenue.
Among other things, a display is organized in the Museum, in which visitors are offered the
chance to be a migrant arriving to an italian shore.
How it feels to be questioned by police, how people point at your wet and dirty clothes, how
it feels to be in a situation in which you mother tongue is not spoken.
Galata/Museo del Mare e delle Migrazioni

14. Palazzo Ducale Foundation
It is engaged in deepen the immigration and diversity issues since 2008.
It is ran by an organization established by the municipality and other actors.
It received resources from both, public and privat funds.
Some of the resources are produces by entry tickets sold for performances and art exibitions
that receive media attention world-wide.
One of the main focus is promotion of cultural, political and social diversity.

15. Festival SUQ
It is an annual event organized in a city’s premium area where it receives thousands visitors each
year, since 1999.
It lasts 15 days or so, it consists of copy of a arabic market place where many local etnic
restaurants, shops, and performers offer their services to the city (poems are read, etnic music
and dances are performed, testimonials coming from other countries are given the say, debates
on anti-racist, asylum and migration issues are organized).
Some of the activites are run all year long with visits to schools and theatre performances…

16. Centro studi Medì
It is a research centre that assesses and monitors immigration with specific focus on local and
regional trends, since 2003.
It supports the city at measuring perception of migrants and diversity, giving hard data and
analysis, funding is provided by no-profit, local institutions and corporate responsability.
It produces a yearly report on local dynamics of migration, both, at local and regional levels.

17. Centri regionali antiscriminazione
It is a network made out of centres that promotes actions of prevention on discriminations,
since 2012.
Its ambitions are: to promote human rights, enhancing social inclusion and fighting against
racism and discrimination.
With It produces a yearly report on local dynamics of migration, both, at local and regional
levels. It is a good example of cooperation among, national, regional and local levels.

18. Cargo theatre - Odissea Project
They arrived in Italy alone after
an indescribable travel.
They are minors.They are
foreigners.They are a force of
nature. After a long process of
work they staged their Odyssey.
Its aim is to enhance to the perception of migrants youth, with their active role, since 2012.

19. BarCamp on rights and differences
An event has been organized with local associations and individual citizens on the enrichment
given by Genova’s cultural diversity. We proposed a “concept” of what “diversità” brings to our
city, in terms of enrichment, openess, and “new ideas”.We asked partecipants to suggest subjects
in which they wished to proposed new projects and ideas. From those ideas, we selected 10
issues on diverent fields, like difference in religion, culture, sexual preferences, neighbours and
such. Projects has been develloped through internet “ad hoc” forum where partecipants could
share views in advance and make use of the meeting for a group interaction.
Most of the ideas that where shared in the event received attention by both, ther Municipality
and the local communities.

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