The AWAKE project aims at tackling disinformation and strengthening CSOs resilience, by promoting an accurate and pluralistic information on migration in Italy, providing students from journalism schools, professional journalists, communication experts from CSOs as well as citizens, with adequate tools to fight disinformation and polarization.
It promotes a collective reflection among journalists and civil society organisations on the ongoing narrative on migration and the role that the migration discourse plays on the political agenda and in the public debate. The project will also increase public awareness of the importance of providing a reliable information.
Sara Lemlem
is a video journalist of Ethiopian and Eritrean origin, born and raised in Milan.
Over the years, she has collaborated with various news outlets, media companies, and news agencies such as Associated Press, Vogue Italia, Rivista Africa, VD. News, NuoveRadici.world, and La Via Libera.
In October 2022, she founded @dotz.media, an editorial project created to amplify the voices of marginalized groups.
Her main areas of interests are physical and mental peripheries, those margins that the African-American writer bell hooks envisioned not as places of deprivation but of possibility and creativity.
We’ve reached the grand finale of the AWAKE project!
We’re thrilled to share the final video by Sara Lemlem of Dotzmedia, as she continues her storytelling of the Filipino community. This time, it’s through the experience of Elienor Llanes, a young entrepreneur and founder of the MAIA association.
Proud of the cultural heritage that the first generations of Filipinos have passed on to the new ones, working for decades in caregiving roles in our country, Elienor has seized opportunities that have led her to succeed in broader work fields. Today, she is an important connecting figure, a bridge between different generations, and supports projects like the Kubo Collective, a group of young university students dedicated to promoting the Filipino community and spreading greater cultural awareness in Italy.
Talking about a correct narrative on migration also means to give visibility to stories that are ignored or told in a stereotypical manner. An example is the Filipino community in Italy, often associated by the media and in the collective imagination solely with domestic work.
According to ISTAT data, as of January 1, 2023, there are 158,926 Filipinos residing in Italy, of which 90,346 are women.
The Filipino community is one of the oldest migrant communities in Italy, with the first arrivals in the 1970s, when Italy was still a country of emigration.
From the very beginning, Filipino migration to our country has been characterized as a female migration mainly linked to the domestic sector.”
But the story of this community can and must be narrated differently. Sarita Lemlem, video journalist from dotz.media is doing this by giving a voice to Kath Magpantay, an artist, architecture student and member of the KUBO collective, who explores the multiple facets of Filipino female identity through her works.
Sumaya Abdel Qader
is a researcher, sociologist, and writer.
Born in Perugia to Jordanian-Palestinian parents, she has been working for over twenty years on women’s rights, promoting the active participation of the children of immigrants, and interreligious dialogue. Sumaya was one of the founders of the first Italian projectaimed at supporting and helping Muslim women who are victims of violence in their families and/or discriminated against in society.
Sumaya was also the first Muslim woman to be elected to the Milan City Council in 2016.
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They are women with aspirations, dreams, and projects, just like all women. However, in the common imagination, Muslim women are often associated with concepts such as submission or oppression. Without denying that there are women deprived of freedoms, the discourse cannot be simplified by reducing them to a single, monolithic group. This does not do justice to the women who actually suffer such restrictions—women who are often infantilized or even accused of not knowing how to emancipate themselves—and leads to ignoring the many emancipated, free, and self-determined Muslim women or those who are fighting to achieve such autonomy.
The reality, in fact, is much more complex and articulated, and to fully understand it, one must explore all its facets. Millions of Muslim women are making a difference every day, in every area of private, public, and professional life. There are women who excel as athletes, astronauts, heads of state and government, judges, lawyers, mayors, human rights activists, teachers, models, and much more.
A contribution often ignored by the media concerns their participation in crucial debates, such as the reinterpretation of religious tradition from a gender perspective. Scholar Asma Lamrabet stresses the importance of an Islamic feminism based on justice and equality, stating that “Islamic feminism is not a struggle against Islam, but a struggle against the patriarchal interpretation of Islam.” Also interesting is the multifaceted reality of women’s and feminist movements in the Islamic world, which are important generators of change.
The contributions in creative sectors, such as fashion and design, are also ignored. Many Muslim women are redefining aesthetic and stylistic standards, addressing both those who wear the hijab and those who do not. The hijab is often at the center of public discussions, but almost always narrated in a partial or instrumental way. Reducing Muslim women to just the hijab is an erroneous simplification. For many of them, the hijab represents a path of faith and a spiritual exercise that deserves respect, just as the choice of those who decide not to wear it should be respected. Moroccan sociologist Fatima Mernissi wrote that: “If a woman believes that the veil is a sign of faith and her conscience reassures her on this point, then there is no contradiction between Islam and democracy (in the sense of freedom, too). The obstacle is not the veil, but the inability to accept the plurality of choices that women can make.” Additionally, as Leila Ahmed, one of the leading scholars of Islamic feminism, observed, “what matters is recognizing women’s individual experiences and allowing them to express their choices without imposing external judgments.” This should be the approach to better understand who Muslim women are, in their plurality, knowing how to distinguish between the various conditions they find themselves in and respecting their choices and reasons.
It is estimated that there are about 600,000 Muslim women in Italy (ISMU ETS elaborations on ISTAT-ISMU data), and they are also an important and varied presence worldwide, belonging to deeply different cultures, traditions, and lifestyles.
Words Matter
Every day, through television news, the press, and social media, we hear about many issues.
Some of these issues, more than others, capture the public’s attention and spark debates, leading citizens to strong polarization and division of ideas and opinions. This is influenced by how certain matters are presented to us, but above all by the language used.
If we consider the use of the term “immigrant,” this word is often loaded with negative connotations and associated with other words or phrases that emphasize its derogatory meaning. Think of terms like “invasion,” “clash of civilizations,” “they’re taking our jobs,” “they bring diseases,” “the criminals are coming.”
The importance of word choice lies precisely in the fact that words help shape our imaginations, thoughts, and ideas. These imaginations, thoughts, and ideas, influence and direct our actions and, again, our words.
Among the topics that have sparked debates in Italy is the issue of
citizenship.
In recent years, several legislative proposals have been made to update a law that is now outdated and no longer aligned with the country’s social reality. In particular concerning the younger generation, the children of immigrants, who didn’t choose where to live but found themselves as part of their parents’ journey, who embarked on this path to improve their lives.
Thus, thousands of boys and girls are born and grow up in our country, alongside their native peers, becoming an integral part of the “social fabric” day by day. These young people become “Italians de facto,” and Italy becomes the country where they live and dream of their future. Yet, they find themselves citizens with fewer opportunities and rights.
One of the main issues with the current law is that obtaining Italian citizenship is not a right that “automatically kicks in” if certain requirements are met (such as being born here and residing for 18 uninterrupted years), but remains, in fact, a concession, with a certain degree of arbitrariness. This makes everything slower and more difficult.
Why is it important to recognize Italian citizenship?
Certainly, those living in Italy, regardless of citizenship, have the right to healthcare, education, and other fundamental rights. But some important rights and opportunities are excluded: people without citizenship
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cannot vote, cannot participate in many public competitions, and cannot be employed in certain public roles;
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students may face restrictions or difficulties for trips or study programs abroad;
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and those who practice competitive sports cannot participate in competitions where they represent Italy.
Recognizing citizenship to those born and/or raised in Italy means closing the circle for those who already have a bond and a sense of belonging to our country.
Citizenship guarantees full participation in the democratic life of the country.
Investing in young people means building a stronger, more cohesive society capable of facing future challenges.
A few numbers
In 2023, Italy granted 199,995 new citizenships, a figure reflecting the steady growth of migration and integration into the Italian social context.
About a third of the new citizenships were granted to minors, most by transmission from a parent.
This data highlights how the right to Italian citizenship is often passed down within the family, consolidating a legal bond between generations within migrant families. Despite the significant number of people who manage to acquire Italian citizenship, the number of students without Italian citizenship in the 2022/2023 school year was 914,860, an increase of 127,000 over the last ten years. Of these, over 65% were born in Italy.
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Where do the new citizens come from?
The new Italian citizens primarily come from a small group of countries, including:
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Albania: 271,000
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Morocco: 242,000
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Romania: 100,000
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Brazil: 66,000
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India: 62,000
These numbers reflect a consolidated migration trend from countries with strong historical, cultural, or economic ties to Italy. Albania and Morocco, in particular, represent the largest communities, strengthening their presence in the country.
The debate on citizenship: ius soli and ius scholae
One of the most discussed issues in recent years is the recognition of citizenship for those born in Italy to foreign parents or for those who arrived in the country through family reunification. Traditionally, Italy follows the principle of ius sanguinis, where citizenship is primarily acquired through descent.
Temperate ius soli
Among the proposals presented to reform citizenship laws, temperate ius soli has been central to the debate. This principle grants citizenship to minors born in Italy, but only under certain conditions, such as the regular residence of the parents or their legal status. It would be a compromise between ius sanguinis and pure ius soli, which is adopted in countries like the United States, where anyone born on national soil automatically obtains citizenship.
Ius scholae
In recent years, the debate has shifted toward the introduction of ius scholae, a proposal linking citizenship to the educational path of foreign minors. Under this model, citizenship would be granted to minors who have completed at least one school cycle in Italy, emphasizing the connection between cultural, educational, and legal integration.
The referendum
A successful signature collection was recently completed to call for a referendum proposing an amendment to the current citizenship law. The referendum question proposes reducing the required legal residence from 10 to 5 years to obtain citizenship. This change would affect Article 9 of Law No. 91 of 1992.
The goal of the referendum is to revert to the timelines provided by the previous law, simplifying and speeding up the process of acquiring citizenship. The other requirements already established by current legislation would remain unchanged, such as knowledge of the Italian language, adequate economic resources, professional eligibility, compliance with tax obligations, and the absence of security concerns related to the Republic.
The project logo is a bee, an animal that carries a strong sense of responsibility towards its community symbolising the role of journalists who promote and defend the right to information of all citizens.
The logo also recalls a microphone, with the wire and the three lines, indicating that it is switched on.
It is used to give voice, to ’awake’, as the name of the project itself suggests, by activating a collective reflection in favour of fairer information.
- Encouraging a collective reflection among journalists and CSOs on disinformation-based narrative on migration and how migration issues play a role in the political agenda and the public debate
- Increasing public awareness through a communication campaign against misinformation on migration.
When & where
6 months (May to November 2024) in Milan
Project leader
ISMU ETS Foundation
The project is funded by
