Abstract
Migrantour contributes to spreading a culture of respect for the human rights of migrant communities in European cities by encouraging interactions of mutual respect between people with different origins. Since 2009, it has involved over 11,000 participants in the intercultural itineraries and more than 300 people as intercultural companions. Currently, new projects are under implementation to promote its methodology in rural areas and new cities. Thus, as it will be explained in the chapter, it can represent a successful study case where tourism contributes positively to human rights within the frame of interculturalism. The contribution is a part of a broader study examining the experience of Migrantour in Porta Palazzo and Barriera di Milano, two neighborhoods of the Italian town of Turin, under different grounds. The aim is to further contribute to the debate about the implications of the transformation of intercultural neighbourhoods into places of leisure and consumption for migrant communities.
TopIntroduction
The Migrantour Experience at Porta Palazzo and Barriera di Milano
This chapter is part of a broader study conducted in 2021. It examines, under different grounds, the experience of Migrantour in Porta Palazzo and Barriera di Milano, two neighborhoods of the Italian town of Turin. The aim is to further contribute to the debate about the relationship between tourism consumption, human rights, and urban space. It also represents an excellent opportunity to reflect on the implications of urban tourism for the human rights of migrants living in intercultural neighborhoods.
Migrantour is a European network of responsible tourism that works in the frame of interculturalism. It operates in more than 20 European cities and rural areas and has involved 11.000 participants in the intercultural itineraries and more than 300 people as intercultural companions. It was first created in 2009 when Turin, as other European cities, was in the middle of a process of de-industrialization which led to the development of alternative forms of economic production. Since the 2000s, indeed, cities with a strong immigration history had started considering tourism as a resource for socioeconomic development. And cultural diversity had become a means to transform intercultural neighbourhoods into places of leisure and consumption. Migrantour, however, has been designed following a different mindset which is more concerned about the implications of “(inter)cultural tourism” on the rights of the migrant communities involved. In this sense, it promotes the respect for cultural diversity and the rights of migrant communities by tackling the official discourse regarding intercultural neighbourhoods. This is done through intercultural itineraries: two-hour walking tours where participants are invited to engage with the territory and its inhabitants thanks to the mediation of intercultural companions. They are “citizens regardless of their land of origin or the one of their parents” who take the floor to self-represent and speak up for their communities of origin. Migrantour.
For these reasons, the author believes it represents a successful study case where tourism contributes positively to human rights within the frame of intercultural neighbourhoods.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Young NEET: Young people Neither in Employment nor Education and Training. It refers to the percentage of young population who is unemployed or inactive and who has not been involved in any form of education (formal or informal) in a given period.
Intercultural Companion: A person with migrant background living in one of the cities that are part of Migrantour network who has been trained to guide intercultural itineraries in her/his city.
Intercultural Itinerary: A two-hours walk around an intercultural neighborhood or rural area organized by Migrantour in one of the cities that are part of the network. The aim is encouraging participants to walk in the area and interact with people with different origins. It is guided by an intercultural companion.
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing: A mandate established by the former UN Commission on Human Rights at the beginning of the 2000’s with the purpose of further developing strategies of protection of the right to adequate housing around the world. Currently, the mandate is covered by Mr. Balakrishnan Rajagopal.
Post-Fordist Transformation: A concept used to identify the deindustrialization period that has taken place in European cities. It refers, in opposition, to the Fordism, a period started in the early nighties and named after Henry Ford, the inventor of the assembly-line model for industrial production.
Top-Down Multiculturalism: A concept created by some authors (Giovanni Semi and Camille Schmoll in particular) to identify an institutional form to promote diversity in a given society. It refers to the use of pleasant multicultural features (such as food or big celebrations) in specific places (restaurants, textile shops, festivals…) to foster interculturalism among part of the population.
Commodification of Diversity: The strategy used by local authorities to transform intercultural areas into tourist destinations aiming to foster economic development.