Project Title: URBAN GOVERNANCE OF RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY

Project Aims & Objectives:

URBAN GOVERNANCE OF RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY,
aims to offer a comparative analysis of the governance of religious diversity in 4 Italian cities (Padua, Brescia, Turin and Florence) by confronting and contrasting various examples of interreligious dialogue. This analysis allows us to explore the social construction of freedom of/from religion in contemporary societies and to study their meanings. We would like to identify some best practices in the governance of religious diversity and to produce policy recommendations for the municipalities of those cities. In brief, our work stands at the crossroads of religious governance, interreligious dialogue and freedom of/from religion, three different although partly overlapping fields of research.

Scholars/Institutions: UNITO/UNIFI/UNIPD e University of Brescia

Start Date: October 1, 2024

End Date: 03/30/2025

Research Methods: The empirical material is the fruit of a mixed-method research strategy:1. We have worked on a Dataset and analysed policy documents, public speeches, and municipalities’ websites, with a focus on the City Council (34 documents), the City Junta (22 documents) and the Regional Council (42 documents) --- total 98 selected sources;2. We have mapped interreligious dialogue up to now, and this mapping will proceed alongside the Project. We have identified 17 events that mirror the plurality of forms assumed by interreligious dialogue in Turin. Later on, Matteo will expand this point by discussing the typology of interreligious dialogue we aim to elaborate;3. Participant observation. We have conducted 3 sessions of participant observation.4. In-depth interviews. We have collected 30 in-depth interviews (from 45 to 60 minutes each). We have interviewed: - politicians and members of the municipal administration (7); - representatives of local religious organizations, including religious minorities (16); - members of civil society (experts, journalists and academics…) (9); - and members of interreligious groups and associations.5. Focus groups. We have planned 4 focus groups with participants from different religious groups and representatives from non-religious groups. More specifically, two focus groups will be conducted with school personnel and two with city residents.6. Newspapers. We have analysed the social representations of religious diversity and interreligious dialogue in 400 articles from La Stampa (the daily newspaper of Turin) from 2000 to today.

Findings/Outcomes:

The leading hypothesis of our Project is that interreligious dialogue is to be considered as a social practice comprehensible in the framework of freedom of/from religion or, in other terms, one of the most pragmatic expressions of such freedoms. As Bader (2007) notes, it is characterized by a plurality of “mechanisms of action and coordination” such as the autoregulation and involvement, often simultaneously, of the State, local institutions, religious communities, networks and interreligious associations, and other forms of corporate governance (public-private partnerships). So defined, interreligious dialogue is the result of the interaction among many social actors who, incessantly, define and shape its meanings.

Funding Institution: PRIN

Keywords: religion, governance, religious diversity, spirituality, urban, cities

Country of Publication:

• Italy

Project Title: MigrationMedia(tor)

Project Aims & Objectives:

Migration Media(tor) project seeks to understand how media today shape the perception of migration among youth and emphasizes educational activities, particularly for young people, teachers, and media personnel.
The project will place great emphasis on and will be resulted in:
– Raising awareness on migration phenomena, human rights and multiculturalism,
– Analyze the impact of the media on perception of migration,
– Empowering migrants and help make their voiced heard.

Scholars/Institutions: University Jagiellonksi from Krakow (Poland) and three partners: Center for Cultural Dialogue from Zagreb (Croatia), MuzeumEmigracji from Gdynia (Poland) and Pro Humanum from Warszawa (Poland)

Countries Involved: Croatia, Poland

Start Date: April 1, 2024

End Date: 03/31/2026

Research Methods: Comparative research conducted in Poland and Croatia on the impact of the media on perceptions of migration (quantitative and qualitative research – 15000 respondents), expert group meetings, publications, international conference, open lectures;Workshops on migration, human rights and multiculturalism to dispel myths and stereotypes about the indicated phenomena, workshops and training for immigrants initiatives undertaken by them,Summer school on media and migration Centre for Cultural of Dialogue, as the Croatian partner institution, is responsible for: - Monitoring and evaluating narratives on migration in Croatia – quantitative research (500 respondents)- Conducting an in-depth analysis of media narratives on migration in Croatia – qualitative research (30 in-depth interviews),- Migration and education: empowering people on the move – Croatian edition (20 workshops: 10 workshops for local youth, 20 workshops for people on the move). Educational materials for workshops are created based on the results of the qualitative and quantitative research.- Summer school (days in Croatia)

Findings/Outcomes:

The project is in early phase
On November 29, 2024, the Jagiellonian University, the lead institution in the Migration Mediator project, hosted the inaugural event of a new cycle of meetings titled Migration & Media, designed for high school students across Poland. The event welcomed 39 students and 3 teachers, marking the beginning of an educational journey to explore the intersections of migration, media, and public perception.
Also, qualitative research based on 30 individual in-depth interviews with young adults was conducted between July and November 2024 in Croatia and Poland, but results are not yet publicly available.
Several activities are planned: publications, workshops, presentation at conferences, summer schools, training, open lectures, media resources

Project Webpage: https://migrationmediator.project.uj.edu.pl/overview

Funding Institution: European Commission (EC) and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme

Keywords: Migration, media, public perception, stereotypes, awareness

Country of Publication:

• Croatia

Project Title: The extraordinary practices of a faith-based social service center

Project Aims & Objectives:

The purpose of the research is to describe the factors that characterize this practice under current social conditions in order to learn from it beyond this particular context.

Scholars/Institutions: Christel Teekman (Ph Student), Kees de Groot (supervisor), Niels den Toom (co-supervisor), Marja Jager-Vreugdenhil (co-supervisor). Tilburg University and Viaa, School for Applied SciencesA

Start Date: September 1, 2024

End Date: 08/31/2028

Research Methods: Ethnographic fieldwork

Findings/Outcomes:

PhD Thesis
Conference presentations

Project Webpage: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/nl/medewerkers/c-teekman

Funding Institution: Tilburg University Fund and Werkplaats Sociaal Domein Zwolle

Relevant Information: The project is linked to a shorter professional research project. Coordination involves professional association for social workers (BPSW), national research institute for societal issues (Movisie) and pricon chaplaincy.

Keywords: urban, precariate, liquid, informal social support, missionary

Country of Publication:

• Netherlands

Project Title: The Migration Observatory

Project Aims & Objectives:

Based at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford, the Migration Observatory provides impartial, independent, authoritative, evidence-based analysis of data on migration and migrants in the UK, to inform media, public and policy debates, and to generate high quality research on international migration and public policy issues.

Scholars/Institutions: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford

Findings/Outcomes:

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrants-in-the-uk-an-overview/

Project Webpage: https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/

Keywords: migration, UK, data, trends, housing, social practice

Country of Publication:

• United Kingdom

Project Title: TBC

Project Aims & Objectives:

For this section, I will show research projects supported by the Czech Grant Agency (2021-2025) that deal with migration. However, as an external actor, I can only see the project’s name and the researcher’s (which can be used for further contact). The list is attached here:
– Transnational migration and digital inclusion; prof. RNDr. Dušan Drbohlav, CSc.
– People like us? The Reverse Sociology of Migration in the Czech Republic; doc. Bernadette Nadya Jaworsky, Ph.D.
–

Scholars/Institutions: see above

Findings/Outcomes:

see above

Keywords: migration

Country of Publication:

• Czechia (Czech Republic)

Project Title: WE-PROPOSE

Project Aims & Objectives:

The project aims to highlight—through the collection and analysis of primary data, personal interviews, and focus groups—the experiences of success and failure, emancipation, and active engagement of these migrant women, thus promoting their integration into the workforce and fostering entrepreneurial skills. Employing a mixed-method research design, it collects and analyzes primary data gathered via personal interviews and focus groups, as well as secondary data from national and international datasets. The central themes include female return migration flows and indicators of women’s empowerment. The research approach also involves assessing the impact of migration policies specifically addressing women. Following guidelines established by the EU Commission in 2021, and aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of current regulations on return migration and potential areas for improvement, WE-PROPOSE further undertakes an impact assessment of migration policies using a gender-sensitive approach.

Scholars/Institutions: LUMSA University, Italy, University of Catania, University of Bologna

Start Date: January 1, 2023

End Date: 12/01/2025

Research Methods: Qualitative research (field collaborative research, interviews, focus groups)

Findings/Outcomes:

Still ongoing but available at https://www.wepropose.it/it/research/?kind=articles

Project Webpage: https://www.wepropose.it/it/

Funding Institution: Next Generation EU

Keywords: migrants empowerments, women migration, policy making, gender equality, returnee

Country of Publication:

• Italy

Project Title: Interreligious Dialogue in Austria

Project Aims & Objectives:

In religiously and ideologically plural societies, the diversity of religions, religious denominations and intra-religious currents presents a fact which is being conceived as both an asset and a challenge at the same time. Throughout Austria, many interreligious initiatives are actively engaged in and committed to the dialogue between religions. In order to present a first overview of the field, this website offers a compilation of interreligious initiatives in Austria.

Scholars/Institutions: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Wolfram Reiss

Findings/Outcomes:

Dialogue Initiatives in Austria: there is the basic structure of the documentation, in alphabetical order in one webpage: https://www.interreligioeserdialog.at/en/dialogue-initiatives-in-austria/

Project Webpage: https://www.interreligioeserdialog.at/en/

Keywords: interreligious dialouge, NGOs, religious communities, Austria

Country of Publication:

• Austria

Project Title: Loovalt Koos

Project Aims & Objectives:

The aim of the activities is to increase the ability of people living in Estonia to make decisions about the development of themselves, their families and their communities, and to improve their well-being and quality of life, opportunities for self-fulfilment and inclusion in society.

Scholars/Institutions: NGO

Findings/Outcomes:

Artistic/literary workshops, etc

Project Webpage: https://loovaltkoos.ee/

Keywords: ukraine refugees, East Estonia Syrian refugees

Country of Publication:

• Estonia

Project Title: Reception of migrants under conditions of uncertainty: governance and local level inclusion

Project Aims & Objectives:

Migration and integration researchers usually see integration is a reciprocal process of adaptation between migrants and host societies, holding both migrants and hosts equally responsible for integration outcomes. In practice, however, the focus has largely been on the responsibilities of migrants, without appreciating the context of the host country, the attitudes of the population and the role of the various integration agents. How integration is understood, interpreted and implemented in everyday practice by what Lipsky (2010) refers to as ‘street level bureaucrats’, and how society and different local actors adapt to and welcome migrants into their communities, is important for the social inclusion of migrants to be truly successful. Coordination between the different actors involved in providing support to refugees is also very important, and has not always been successful in the Latvian case. One of the central aims of this ambitious project is to provide a comprehensive and reliable assessment of the multi-faceted context of integration in Latvia and how various local agents affect the integration outcomes of Ukrainian and other third-country migrants. It also aims to provide information which has so far been missing on the needs, plans, everyday experiences, and overall social inclusion and well-being of newly arrived Ukrainian and other third-country migrants in Latvia from their own perspective, and to shed new light on possible governance strategies under conditions of instability and uncertainty. One of the main objectives of this ambitious project is to provide a comprehensive and reliable assessment of the integration context in Latvia in different areas, analysing separately and in synergy the inclusion of migrants in national policies, municipalities, work environments, educational institutions, local communities and in accessing the necessary services.

Scholars/Institutions: University of Latvia, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Philosophy and Sociology.

Countries Involved: Latvia

Start Date: January 1, 2024

End Date: 12/31/2026

Research Methods: The study will use both quantitative and qualitative research methods: a survey of Latvian businesses and local authorities, in-depth interviews with migrants, policy makers, local authorities, NGOs, employers, teachers and parents, as well as observation and innovative projective and visual methods.The research methodology proposed in the study, which is based on the analysis of specific municipal ‘cases’, will allow for an understanding of the role of different integration agents in facilitating integration processes, as well as shed light on the everyday experiences, perspectives and needs of migrants themselves.The project also aims to provide hitherto missing information on the needs, plans, daily experiences and overall social inclusion and well-being of newly arrived Ukrainian and other third-country migrants in Latvia from their own perspectives, as well as to shed light on possible strategies for managing immigration and integration in a context of instability and insecurity.

Findings/Outcomes:

The research will result in international publications, seminars and a discussion forum, as well as recommendations for policy makers. The project will provide hitherto missing information on the needs, plans, daily experiences and overall social inclusion and well-being of newly arrived Ukrainian and other third-country migrants in Latvia from their own perspectives, as well as to shed light on possible strategies for managing immigration and integration in a context of instability and insecurity.

Project Webpage: https://migracija.lv/en/projects/recom/#we-in-media

Funding Institution: The project is funded by the Latvian Council of Science within the framework of the Fundamental and Applied Research Project Program.

Funding Information: 300103

Keywords: Migration, integration, migrants, host societies, integration agents

Country of Publication:

• Latvia