- Country
- Italy
- Contact person
- Costanza Bargellini
- Send e-mail to ISMU
- Website
- http://www.ismu.org/
The Foundation for Initiatives and Studies on Multi-Ethnicity (ISMU) was founded in 2001. The aim of the Foundation is to promote and support initiatives that will foster an understanding of and interventions in various aspects of a multi-ethnic society, in the historical context in which it is embodied.
ISMU is a service organization, directed principally towards public agencies and institutions, the voluntary sector, teachers, the media, workers in the sector and scholars. In particular, the core concern of the Foundation's work is migration in the broad framework of the processes now under way in the changing profile of North-South relationships, the transformations taking place in Eastern Europe, the growth of European integration and the internationalization of cultural dynamics, as well as the growing significance of local societies and cultures.
The Foundation seeks to focus attention on these topics not only among scholars but also administrators, the media and educators. The activities of the ISMU Foundation cover four principal areas:
- documentation, with the systematic collection of existing materials, both in Italy and abroad, and the careful monitoring of migrations through institutional statistics and the Foundation's own surveys;
- the promotion of research projects and studies;
- education and training, including supporting activities for qualified users in public and private organizations;
- the dissemination of information through seminars, conferences, and publications on topics related to multi-ethnicity.
In brief, the Foundation's work covers:
- the monitoring of migratory phenomena in Lombardy, in part through the Regional Observatory for Integration and Multiculturalism;
- maintenance of a Documentation Centre containing publications, videos and "grey materials";
- the institution of specific research projects to explore outstanding topics and issues;
- the organization of training and information courses for schools, voluntary organizations, public administrations and more generally all workers engaged in the sector;
- privileged collaboration with the institutions of the Lombard Region by contributing to the development of Regional policies;
- maintenance of significant relationships with other agencies, in both Italy and abroad, that are active in issues connected with migration and with the objective of assessing and promoting best practices.
