3 min.
Increased trust in refugees, development of personal responsibility, improvement in the ability to express oneself in Italian … These are just a few of the results reached by "Ricominciodatre”, the project promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale that has allowed six refugees from Sudan, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Gambia, Somalia and Mauritania to attend training courses in companies and organizations. The experience was presented on World Refugee Day.
From January to April 2011, the refugees studied basic secretarial PC skills, attended audio-video laboratories and earned Cisco-Cnna or Ecdl certifications. The courses lasted 60-80 hours and featured both teachers and tutors. The internships were held in social cooperatives, tax offices and companies to provide true practical value to the initiative.
The course was overwhelmingly deemed positively. The final questionnaires showed everybody’s interest and underlined how they were also all able to improve their Italian. They all expressed a desire to continue the courses: a clear expression of the refugee’s desire for training, especially in relation to administrative and accounting issues, archiving and banking operations. Besides the strictly technical results, the project also positively influenced the social sphere. The integration with Italian students was nearly complete and helped the refugees to increase their personal confidence and ability to learn.
The six protagonists have different stories. Adel, 30, is from Sudan. He has worked in Italy and abroad as a professional welder. Now, after completing the ECDL Certification Course at the Itis “E. Fermi” in Rome, he has specialized in administrative services through an internship at the Queens Servizi social cooperative, where he was in charge of archives, invoices and cost estimates. In Gambia, Amodou managed the family farm. He speaks three languages and knows Italy well. At 33, he attended a basic PC course for company secretaries at the “M. Capozzi” Institute in Rome and is now in an internship at the De Mattheis Accountant Firm where he is in charge of faxes, databases and invoices. Dawood is from Afghnistan. He is 20 and speaks impeccable Italian. He attended a web graphic design and editing course at the “R. Rossellini” National Cinematography and Television Institute and is now working at Laser Film srl as an editor. Farhia, the only woman, if from Somalia. She is 20, too. She has attended a course on youth language and cross-media and is currently completing an internship at the Fondazione Mondo Digitale.
Goitom and Moussa are both completing an internship at Unidata spa, where they assemble wireless components. Goitom (38) is from Eritrea. He has a degree in Mathematics and has worked in all sorts of jobs since he has been in Italy. He attended a course for Cisco Cnna Certification. Moussa, who is also 38, used to work as a Mattel salesman in Mauritania. He has now completed two computer-training courses. The experience of these six protagonists has been extremely positive. The Fondazione Mondo Digitale can clearly affirm that this process, the result of a hybrid integration amongst schools, social cooperatives, companies and non profit organizations, is a “good practice that can be exported throughout the country.”
