Integration, security and immigration: a challenge for Italy

With current statistics on immigration to Italy to hand, participants at this meeting sought to identify strategies and formulate proposals to regulate migratory flows here and throughout Europe. Local administrators, politicians from both ends of the spectrum, religious figures, academics, businesspeople and unionists all offered their own experiences and points of view. In particular, participants touched on difficulties in assimilating diverse cultures in the integration process – difficulties suffered both in the hosting countries and in the immigrant communities. There was broad consensus about the importance of immigration for Italy’s development, and general agreement that local administrations must work to insert immigrants in the nation’s workforce. Several specific proposals included: aiding those who wish to return home, better cooperation among Europe’s various police forces, overcoming national obstacles to a common database. In sum, if we are to speak of a “European model”, the accent must be on a common European education and civic sense, on a constructive dialogue between diverse communities and on the central nature and critical importance of protecting the rights of the individual.