A judge has ruled against the municipality of Castel Volturno in Italy's southern Campania region after it refused to pay a maternity grant and family benefits to a Nigerian migrant. The judge said that similar EU legislation demanded the woman be treated equally.
The Cavarzerani barracks in Udine, Italy, have been put under quarantine for 14 days after three migrants there tested positive for the novel coronavirus. 500 asylum seekers are currently being housed at the former military barracks.
Some 100 scholarships are once again this year being made available by Italy for those who have been granted international protection and who had to abandon their studies when forced to leave their countries. The initiative is by the interior ministry and the Conference of Italian University Rectors (CRUI).
The Italian Refugee Council (CIR) has launched a project called ''La bellezza dell'integrazione'' (The beauty of integration) which organizes training courses for 120 refugees who have been granted international protection, the humanitarian organization said on July 7.
UNHCR’s Representative to Italy Chiara Cardoletti made a first visit to Sicily. During it, she praised the island's management of migrant arrivals and said it had shown an "unwavering commitment" to migrant integration.
A total of 80,366 applications for migrant regularization in Italy have been submitted in the first month of the scheme, which began on June 1 as part of post-COVID-19 relaunch measures. The vast majority of the cases have already been processed. However, the Italian interior ministry said the number of applications is continually growing.
A new video project in Italy, entitled "Quarantine Diaries" allows unaccompanied migrant children and young adults in Rome to recount their emotions and feelings during the coronavirus lockdown. The project was the culmination of a video course given by editors at the Italian online intercultural magazine Piùculture.
Douaa Alkoka, a Syrian refugee who now lives in the Italian region of Calabria, told the story of her migrant journey and reception in Italy during a press conference in which the UNHCR report Global Trends was presented. Alkoka described the many difficulties of being a Syrian fleeing her country.
Berthin Nzonza, a refugee in Italy and founder of the association 'Mosaico,' which works in refugee support in Turin, is calling on the public to not forget about the migrant crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. His appeal comes just ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20.
The Refugees Welcome project, which offers the possibility for families to host refugees in their personal homes, has resumed following the coronavirus lockdown in Italy. Eighty families that applied for the programme are currently being evaluated to participate.
A monument on the island of Lampedusa by the artist Christo and titled "Gateway to Europe" was "packed up" with plastic bags and tape on the night of June 2. Despite wrapping being a signature style of the artist, who died late last month, the move has sparked controversy.
The Italian research center CREA said that about 5 million foreigners now live in Italy, with 60% (3.1 million) calling rural parts of the country home. This marks an increase in rural foreign population of over 70% in the past decade.