SCIENZA MIGRANTE 2.0: We kick off on 18 July!

Science has no borders, but all too often it has to overcome cultural, social and political barriers… Yet the advancement of knowledge depends on the ability to exchange between colleagues from all over the world, and the key to progress is sharing. From these two assumptions – welcoming by breaking down barriers and encouraging the circulation of ideas – comes ‘Scienza Migrante 2.0’, the project by UNITO in collaboration with Associazione A Pieno Titolo, Associazione CentroScienza onlus, Pastorale Migranti Arcidiocesi di Torino, Refugees Welcome Italia, Rete delle Case del Quartiere di Torino, ASAI, RKH Studio, INFN – Sezione di Torino, Università della Valle d’Aosta, Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale.

‘Scienza Migrante 2.0’ focuses on the inclusive power of science. The idea is to create opportunities for sharing and exchange – fun, playful, informal – between scientists, researchers and ordinary people, to build a community within which science can truly be a bridge between individuals, inspiring change.

The entire project revolves around the concept of the migrant scientist, which is not limited to defining a researcher who has decided to leave his or her own country driven by a serious social or political impediment, but rather any scientist who finds himself or herself working abroad. Those who have left their country bring with them a wealth of cultural and scientific knowledge that is often hidden and unexpressed; they sometimes have difficulty seeing their qualifications recognised or find it difficult to integrate into the new social context. But solutions can arise from the encounter.

New for this edition will be the involvement of some Italian researchers who have emigrated abroad, who will bring their experiences to the format with the aim of contributing to the debate on the importance of integration for social progress.

Science is sharing, and it starts on 18 July, at the Casa del Quartiere in San Salvario, Turin, with a kick-off party to mark the project’s relaunch and the first ‘Aperitivo Migrante’ (free and open to the public) to be held in the entire network of Turin’s Case del Quartiere, a convivial occasion to meet the project’s protagonists, talk and listen to their stories, talk about research, culture and immigration in an informal and entertaining way, and co-plan together the activities that will officially start in September.

Science must speak a universal language and in order to involve a wider audience a new special series of episodes of the podcast “Prof Fantastici e dove trovarli” will be produced, in collaboration with Frida UNITO.

Migrant Science will enter primary and secondary schools with a format dedicated to them. In an increasingly multi-ethnic society, encounters with migrant scientists will inspire children and young people and enable them to reflect on important issues related to immigration and inter-ethnic coexistence.

The Cineforum, in collaboration with the Cineteatro Baretti in San Salvario, will use the universal language of cinema to stimulate debate on the project’s themes.

“Scienza migrante on Tour” will feature migrant scientists in events like Notte dei ricercatori, il Salone del libro, Ricercatori alla spina, GiovedìScienza in Torino. Moreover, the collaboration with UPO and UNIVDA will make it possible to extend the organisation of events across the territory: Aosta, mountain municipalities, Alessandria, Novara, Vercelli, VCO.