“In Bari the whole world is a country”: the anti-racism campaign promoted by the Welfare Department and the House of Cultures was presented.

The press conference to launch "In Bari the whole world is a country" took place on the morning of Wednesday 20 March in the council room of Palazzo di Città, on the occasion of the world day against racism. the permanent campaign against racial discrimination and for a welcoming city promoted by the Welfare department of the Municipality of Bari and by the municipal center Casa delle Culture. Speakers included Francesca Bottalico, councilor for Welfare, Carmine Spagnuolo, president of the social cooperative Medtraining, Roberta Cagnetta, vice president of Camera a Sud Impresa Sociale, and Joachim Agnakan Elom, one of the citizens of Bari who is the testimonial of the campaign. Also present were Emanuele Marinelli, coordinator of Casa delle Culture, Nicola D'Onchia, director of the Observatory for social inclusion and fight against poverty sector of the Municipality of Bari, and other first and second generation citizens of Bari who chose to be campaign testimonial.

“In Bari the whole world is a country” is a multiplatform campaign which, through photos, podcasts and short videos, portrays sixteen first and second generation migrant citizens of Bari, who accepted the invitation to tell a piece of their story to offer an authentic look at the diversity that enriches Bari, in the name of inclusion.

The campaign also includes notebooks, postcards and totems that will be distributed throughout the city, with a QR Code that refers tohomepage of the campaign on the Casa delle Culture website.

“Today, the international day against racism, we have presented a permanent campaign with which we want to overturn the narrative that is increasingly often made about immigration – declared Francesca Bottalico -. With this campaign we want to talk about a city, Bari, that is welcoming and inclusive; a city in which no one is a stranger and where everyone can build a new life. We want to talk about true stories, meetings, projects and identities. Of a city where everyone feels like citizens, even those who unfortunately do not formally have citizenship due to absurd and anachronistic laws: it is no coincidence that some of them are sitting here today among the benches of the City Council. A city where places like Casa delle Culture exist, one of the most innovative projects that we have wanted, designed and created in recent years. A place where, at the same time, a non-discriminatory culture is welcomed, supported and promoted. A place where migrants, applicants, women, young people, families live, grow and learn together. A project recognized at national and European level, which implements a new vision of inclusion and welcome, passing through encounters, knowledge and relationships. Inclusive Bari, in fact, is not a slogan but a set of actions, political choices, common dialogues. There are many stories that we will tell with this campaign, true stories of those who have chosen Bari as their home base, preserving their roots but also opening up to human, social and cultural contaminations. In Bari, in recent years, we have worked, in fact, to ensure that no one is left behind, but rather becomes an indispensable human heritage of this beautiful city of ours".

"I thank the municipal administration and all the people present here with us today – continued Carmine Spagnuolo -. As a Medtraining social cooperative we really care a lot about the services we are managing at Casa delle Culture. From the beginning, we have experienced it as a special space, because it contains a very important element of change. Casa delle Culture, in fact, is not just inclusion and welcome, but puts dialogue between people and experiences at the center of its activity. And this is the sign of a very important change in perspective: because multicultural coexistence is promoted precisely through the meeting between people. The campaign we present today highlights the stories of the people who live in the area of ​​our city, and this makes us even more proud to manage this space. We will continue to do everything possible to promote policies of dialogue that break the representation of immigration as a mere problem. Integration, in fact, happens in everyday life, in meetings between people. Encouraging them and making them increasingly generative is a very important act."

"We are happy to have carried out this project, and we thank councilor Bottalico and Casa delle Culture for their trust - said Roberta Cagnetta -. When we were asked to imagine this campaign we thought of starting from the expression “the whole world is a country”, which usually means that all places share the same problems. We reversed our gaze and went in search of the positive meaning of this expression, finding it in the desire to underline that human beings all have the same needs, regardless of their geographical origin. Among these, the desire to find a sense of belonging and protection in the territory in which one chooses to live. This is a desire that truly unites us all. In Bari the whole world is a country and, therefore, an incentive to look at interculture beyond stereotypes, because it is already a fact: in the squares, in the offices, in the schools and on the streets of Bari. So, with the 16 first and second generation citizens and citizens of Bari who accepted our invitation, we told small fragments of their story, to have a view that started from their own words and demonstrated that Bari, for them, is already home".

“Bari, as I often repeat, is not only a beautiful city but also a welcoming city, which has a truly extraordinary melting pot of cultures – concluded Joachim Agnakan Elom -. I told my story in this campaign: now I deal with the job placement of other people, I am a tutor. In recent years, here in Bari, I attended university, graduating, and then continuing my education with a master's degree. I had opportunities and important tools that made the difference. Being able to study and then learn a trade, in fact, is fundamental for the integration of people. For me, Bari truly meant welcome. I have always felt and feel more and more at home here, it is now my city."

The campaign therefore intends to be an opportunity to encourage meeting and exchange between citizens, enhancing the common home that Bari has become for many people from different parts of the world. All this, also to deny the stereotypes linked to multiculturalism, highlighting the normality of this reality in the daily life of the city, in the sign of the administration's constant commitment to permanently promote an inclusive and open vision of Bari.

The Day against racism will also be celebrated with the flash mob "The suspended step", in Piazza Umberto, at 16 pm, organized by the association "Il Teatro delle Bambole", and with the ethnic banquet scheduled for 18.30 pm, at House of Cultures in the San Paolo district.

Casa delle Culture is financed, with PN Metro Plus and Città Medie Sud 2021-2027 funds, by the Welfare department of the Municipality of Bari, and is managed by the social cooperative Medtraining in partnership with the Cooperativa Sociale San Giovanni di Dio. It offers temporary residential reception services for 25 adults, a desk for the socio-cultural and health integration of immigrants and a desk for job orientation and legal guidance.

The structure represents a garrison to welcome, orient, integrate, support and educate in dialogue, solidarity and reciprocity. A place where Italian citizens and migrants, adults and minors, can meet and share significant experiences and life stories together to build cultural, supportive and inclusive bridges. Through workshops, initiatives, activities, presentations, shows and exhibitions, “Casa delle Culture” aims to be a meeting point between the migrant reality and citizenship.