Shaping public attitudes towards migrants and refugees: the effects of the Humanitarian Corridors programme in Italy

Titolo Rivista MONDI MIGRANTI
Autori/Curatori Gabriella D’Avino, Roberto Guaglianone
Anno di pubblicazione 2024 Fascicolo 2024/3
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 22 P. 139-160 Dimensione file 236 KB
DOI 10.3280/MM2024-003-008
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

Over the last decade, as the global number of forcibly displaced people has risen, Western countries have adopted strict migration policies. Meanwhile, some European countries have introduced community-based sponsorship programmes, such as the Italian Humanitarian Corridors (HC), involving private and public actors in refugee resettlement. Enthusiasm for these programmes is often driven by the belief that they can positively impact society by changing negative attitudes towards migrants and refugees and fostering more inclusive communities. However, comprehensive research exploring sponsorship effects on the broader community is lacking, particularly in Europe. This article addresses this gap by investigating HC’s impact on Italian communities and institutions. Findings show that sponsorship initiatives can have positive effects on public attitudes, especially when the entire community is involved. Increased government involvement could further bolster these positive changes.

Nell’ultimo decennio, con l’aumento globale di sfollati, i paesi occidentali hanno adottato politiche migratorie restrittive. Nel frattempo, alcuni paesi europei hanno introdotto programmi di sponsorizzazione, come i Corridoi Umanitari (CU), coinvolgendo attori privati e pubblici nel ricollocamento dei rifugiati. L’entusiasmo per questi programmi è spesso alimentato dall’idea che possano avere un impatto positivo sulla società cambiando le attitudini negative verso migranti e rifugiati e favorendo comunità più inclusive. Tuttavia, mancano ricerche che esplorino questa idea, soprattutto in Europa. Questo articolo affronta questa lacuna investigando l’impatto dei CU sulle comunità e le istituzioni italiane. I risultati mostrano che iniziative di sponsorizzazione possono migliorare l’opinione pubblica verso migranti e rifugiati, specialmente quando l’intera comunità è coinvolta. Un maggiore coinvolgimento governativo potrebbe ulteriormente rafforzare questi cambiamenti positivi.

Keywords:corridoi umanitari; rifugiati; opinione pubblica; sponsorizzazione; società civile.

  1. Agatiello G. (2022). Monitoring and Evaluation of Community Sponsorship Programmes in Europe: First Lessons Learned.
  2. Ager A. and Strang A. (2008). Understanding Integration: A Conceptual Framework. Journal of Refugee Studies, 21: 166-191.
  3. Ali M.A., Zendo S., Somers S. (2022). Structures and Strategies for Social Integration: Privately Sponsored and Government Assisted Refugees. Journal Of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 20, 4: 473-485.
  4. Ambrosini M. and Schnyder Von Wartensee I. (2022). Actions speak louder than claims: humanitarian corridors, civil society and asylum policies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48, 17: 3965-3984.
  5. Amnesty International (2018). Community Sponsorship of Refugees: New Zealand’s Pilot Programme and its Potential.
  6. Amundson E. (2018). Refugee Resettlement and Perceptions of Insecurity: A Comparative Study of the United States and Canada (PhD thesis). University of Southern Mississippi.
  7. Balta Ozgen A. (2019). Refugee Integration in Comparative Perspective: Syrians in Canada, Germany, Turkey, and the United States (PhD thesis). State University of New York at Buffalo.
  8. Banulescu-Bogdan N. (2022). From Fear to Solidarity. Migration Policy Institute.
  9. Bolt D. (2018). An Inspection of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
  10. Bond J. (2021). The Power of Politics: Exploring the True Potential of Community Sponsorship Programmes. In: Dauvergne C., ed., Research Handbook on the Law and Politics of Migration (pp. 155-171). Edward Elgar Publishing.
  11. Bond J. and Kwadrans A. (2019). Resettling Refugees through Community Sponsorship: A Revolutionary Operational Approach Built on Traditional Legal Infrastructure. Refuge, 35, 2: 86-108.
  12. D’Avino G. (2022a). The Effects of Sponsorship on Public Attitudes and Social Connection. The Refugee Hub.
  13. D’Avino G. (2022b). Framing Community Sponsorship in the context of the UK’s hostile environment. Critical Social Policy, 42, 2: 327-349. DOI: 10.1177/02610183211023890/
  14. Darrow J. (2018). Administrative Indentureship and Administrative Inclusion: Structured Limits and Potential Opportunities for Refugee Client Inclusion in Resettlement Policy Implementation. Social Service Review, 92, 1: 36-68; DOI: 10.1086/697039/
  15. Davison W.P. (2024). “Public opinion”. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/public-opinion [19 March 2024].
  16. Dinesen P.T. and Hjorth F. (2020). Attitudes toward Immigration: Theories, Settings, and Approaches. In: Mintz A. and Terris L., eds., The Oxford Handbook of Behavioral Political Science. Oxford University Press.
  17. Dražanová L. (2022). Sometimes It Is the Little Things: A Meta-Analysis of Individual and Contextual Determinants of Attitudes toward Immigration (2009-2019). International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 87: 84-97.
  18. Eberl J., Meltzer C., Heidenreich T. et al. (2018). The European media discourse on immigration and its effects: A literature review. Annals of the International Communication Association, 43, 3: 207-223.
  19. Environics Institute for Survey Research. (2018). Canada’s World Survey; https://www.environicsinstitute.org/docs/default-source/project-documents/canada’s-world-2018-survey/canada's-world-survey-2018---final-report.pdf/.
  20. European Commission (2018). Study on the Feasibility and Added Value of Sponsorship Schemes as A Possible Pathway to Safe Channels for Admission to the EU, Including Resettlement. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
  21. Finney N. and Simpson L. (2009). Sleepwalking to Segregation? Challenging Myths about Race and Migration. Bristol: Policy Press.
  22. Fotopoulos S. and Kaimaklioti M. (2016). Media discourse on the refugee crisis: On what have the Greek, German and British press focused? European View, 15, 2: 265-279.
  23. Fratzke S. and Dorst E. (2019). Volunteers and Sponsors: A Catalyst for Refugee Integration?. Migration Policy Institute.
  24. Gilhooly D. and Lee E. (2017). Rethinking Urban Refugee Resettlement: A Case Study of One Karen Community in Rural Georgia, USA. International Migration, 55, 6: 37-55.
  25. Government of Canada (2023). By the numbers – 40 years of Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2019/04/by-the-numbers--40-years-of-canadas-private-sponsorship-of-refugees-program.html [4 December 2023].
  26. Guaglianone R. (2023). Humanitarian Corridors in Italy. SHARE; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61701919c9cd9200cd8e6ccc/t/645281871423e077f41066b4/1683128715359/Evaluation+IT+new.pdf [27 October 2023].
  27. Hashimoto N. (2021). Are New Pathways of Admitting Refugees Truly “Humanitarian” and “Complementary”? Journal of Human Security Studies, 10, 2: 15-31.
  28. Haugen S., Lenard P.T. and Regan Wills E. (2020). Creating Canadians through Private Sponsorship. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 53, 3: 560-576.
  29. Home Office. (2023). How many people do we grant protection to?; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-june-2023/how-many-people-do-we-grant-protection-to
  30. Hyndman J., Reynolds J., Yousuf B., Purkey A., Demoz D. and Sherrell K. (2021). Sustaining the Private Sponsorship of Resettled Refugees in Canada. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 3.
  31. Hynie M., Korn A. and Tao D. (2016). Social Context and Social Integration for Government Assisted Refugees in Ontario, Canada. In: Poteet M. and Nourpanah S., eds., After the Flight: The Dynamics of Refugee Settlement and Integration (pp. 183-227). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars.
  32. ICMC Europe (2017). Private Sponsorship In Europe; https://www.eurodiaconia.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/ICMC-scoping-paper-on-community-sponsorship.pdf [4 December 2023].
  33. Judelsohn A., Orom H., Leon D. and Raja S. (2020). Refuge in new food environments? The role of urban planning in facilitating food equity for new Americans. Journal of Urban Affairs.
  34. Karyotis G., Mulvey G. and Skleparis D. (2020). Young Syrian refugees in the UK: a two-tier system of international protection? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies: 1-20.
  35. Krzyżanowski M., Triandafyllidou A. and Wodak R. (2018). The Mediatization and the Politicization of the “Refugee Crisis” in Europe. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 16, 1-2: 1-14.
  36. Labman S. and Garnier A. (2021). Federal Election 2021: What the Conservatives Don’t Understand About Refugee Resettlement. The Conversation; https://theconversation.com/federal-election-2021-what-the-conservatives-dont-understand-about-refugee-resettlement-167033/.
  37. Lama T.K. (2021). “Villain” vs. “Victim”: A News Headline Analysis and Literature Review of Canadian Newsprint Media in Representing Refugees and Framing Canadian Perceptions of Refugees (Master thesis). McMaster University.
  38. Lenard P.T. (2016). Resettling refugees: is private sponsorship a just way forward? Journal of Global Ethics, 12: 300-310.
  39. Macklin A., Goldring L., Hyndman J., Korteweg A., Barber K. and Zyfi J. (2020). The Kinship Between Refugee and Family Sponsorship; https://www.ryerson.ca/centre-for-immigration-and-settlement/RCIS/publications/workingpapers/
  40. Marshall A. and Béland D. (2019). Street-level bureaucrats, policy learning, and refugee resettlement: The case of Syrian refugees in Saskatoon, Canada. Canadian Public Administration, 62: 393-412.
  41. Mendonca L. (2018). Canadian Refugee Policy: An analysis of the Syrian refugee resettlement initiative in Alberta (master thesis). University of Calgary.
  42. Milner J. and Klassen A. (2020). Civil Society and the Politics of the Global Refugee Regime; https://www.unhcr.org/people-forced-to-flee-book/wp-content/uploads/sites/137/2021/10/James-Milner-and-Amanda-Klassen_-Civil-Society-and-the-Politics-of-the-Global-Refugee-Regime.pdf
  43. Nasri M. (2020). Media, Community Building, and Refugee Resettlement Policies. Bibliotekarz Podlaski, 47, 2: 139-155.
  44. Ndofor‐Tah C., Strang A., Phillimore J., Morrice L., Michael L., Wood P. and Simmons J. (2019). Home Office Indicators of Integration framework 2019; Home Office: www.gov.uk.
  45. Phillimore J. (2021). Refugee-Integration-Opportunity Structures: Shifting the Focus from Refugees to Context. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34: 1946-1966.
  46. Phillimore J. and Reyes M. (2020). The wider impact of Community Sponsorship on communities; https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-social-sciences/social-policy/iris/2020/6-wider-impacts.pdf/.
  47. Phillimore J., Reyes M. and Hassan S. (2020). Community Sponsorship in the UK: Formative Evaluation. University of Birmingham; -- https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/college-social-sciences/social-policy/iris/2020/community-sponsorship-general-report.pdf/.
  48. Platts‐Fowler D. and Robinson D. (2011). An Evaluation of the Gateway Protection Programme; https://www4.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/sites/shu.ac.uk/files/eval-gateway-protection-programme.pdf [28 January 2021].
  49. Reyes M. and D’Avino G. (2023). Policy Recommendations for enhancing Community Sponsorship Programmes in Europe. ICMC Europe; https://static1.squarespace.com/static/.
  50. Reyes M. and Phillimore J. (2020). Like pebbles in a pool. University of Birmingham; https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-social-sciences/socialpolicy/iris/2020/community-sponsorship-case-study-report.pdf [23 February 2021].
  51. Schmidtke O. (2018). The Civil Society Dynamic of Including and Empowering Refugees in Canada’s Urban Centres. Social Inclusion, 6, 1: 147-156.
  52. Share Network (n.d.). Resettlement and Community Sponsorship across Europe; -- https://static1.squarespace.com/static/61701919c9 cd9200cd8e6 ccc/ t/645124325358195a0ca99de8/1683039317720/Final+Booklet+%283%29.pdf [14 December 2023].
  53. Shukla N. (2019). The Good Immigrant. Little Brown and Company.
  54. Smith C.D., Hadžiristić T. and Alipour L. (2017). Volunteer & Settlement Sector Interactions in Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis; https://togetherproject.ca/site/uploads/2018/03/Together_Project_Report_Filling_the_Gap.pdf [16 September 2022].
  55. Stansbury T. (2021). Global Literature Synthesis Report; -- https://refugeehub.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Refugee-Sponsorship-and-Integration-Outcomes-Report-FINAL-2022.pdf [14 December 2023].
  56. Stürner J. (2019). Tailored to Whom? – Envisaging Refugees and Host Municipalities as Central Actors for Sustainable Resettlement. Migration Policy Practice, IX, 3: 9-13.
  57. Tan N.F. (2020). A Study on the Potential for Introducing a Community Sponsorship Program for Refugees in Sweden; https://www.unhcr.org/neu/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2021/04/UNHCR-CS_Study-screen.pdf/.
  58. Taylor B. (2016). ‘“Their Only Words of English Were ‘Thank You’” Rights, Gratitude and ‘Deserving’ Hungarian Refugees to Britain in 1956’. Journal of British Studies, 55: 120-144.
  59. UNHCR (2023). Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2022; https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-report-2022
  60. UNHCR (2020) Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2019; -- https://www.unhcr.org/5ee200e37.pdf
  61. UNHCR (2018). Global Compact on Refugees; https://www.unhcr.org/5c658aed4.pdf/.
  62. UNHCR (n.d.). Promoting welcoming and inclusive societies; https://www.unhcr.org/handbooks/ih/welcoming-inclusive-societies/promoting-welcoming-and-inclusive-societies/.
  63. UNICORE (n.d.). Ready to apply?; https://universitycorridors.unhcr.it/
  64. United Nations (2016). Refugee Crisis About Solidarity, Not Just Numbers, Secretary-General Says at Event On Global Displacement Challenge; -- https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm17670.doc.htm [24 July 2020].
  65. Zanzuchi M.B., Dumann N., Tissot F. and Skodo A. (2023). Attracting, Retaining, and Diversifying Sponsors for Refugees in Community Sponsorship Programmes. Migration Policy Institute Europe.

Gabriella D’Avino, Roberto Guaglianone, Shaping public attitudes towards migrants and refugees: the effects of the Humanitarian Corridors programme in Italy in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 3/2024, pp 139-160, DOI: 10.3280/MM2024-003-008