society

• Italy

A total of 3.8 million foreigners in Italy are recognized by the Italian social security and pensions agency INPS. 3.3 million of them are employed, based on data referring to 2019. According to a report by the agency, most of the foreigners were born in non-EU countries -- around 68% of the total.

• Tunisia

A survey by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) highlighted that the main reason Tunisian migrants leave disadvantaged neighborhoods is in order to provide financial support for the family. Those who leave residential neighborhoods, on the other hand, are more likely to depart due to the desire to buy a home and improve their living conditions.

• Germany

Keeping migrants separated from society in camps or centers stops them from forming social bonds. Without friends or knowledge of the host language, they have very little chance of fitting in, say researchers in Germany.

• Italy

In the first 24 hours of its release on January 1, the musical comedy Tolo Tolo was the biggest grossing Italian film of all time. Its subject matter: migration, Italian society and the right to dream, which has set Italy talking.

• Burkina Faso
• Italy
• Mali

In 2019, the online information site "Black Post" was set up in Italy. Staffed by immigrants, its aim is to tackle the subject of migration in a clear and humanizing fashion. The site focuses on bringing migrants' personal stories to their audience.

• Senegal
• Spain

Gorgui Lamine Sow, an undocumented migrant from Senegal has become a hero in Spain after he saved a man in a wheelchair from a fire in the man’s apartment. Now, the Spanish authorities are considering whether to award Sow a residency permit. More than 55,000 people have signed an online petition asking that they do so.

• Canary Islands
• France
• Senegal

The French-Senegalese filmmaker and actor Mati Diop’s first feature film 'Atlantique' tells the story of two types of youth in Senegal -- those who try to make their way to Europe and those who decide to stay behind -- and how the two groups haunt each other and the societies in which they live. The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes and is Senegal’s submission to the Academy Awards in the International Film category.

• Germany

The "Heroes" project works to break down prejudices, stereotypes and patriarchal structures which are often the cause of oppression and violence 'in the name of honor'. Its members, trained "Heroes" who have migrant backgrounds themselves, hold workshops at schools with migrant peers who grew up with strong notions of traditional gender roles and protecting their family's honor. InfoMigrants met some "Heroes" in Berlin during one of their role-play based training sessions.

• Italy

For a national holiday in Italy on August 15, volunteers participated in initiatives organized by Caritas and the Community of Sant'Egidio to provide assistance, meals, and social activities for migrants and refugees. The organizations said the initiatives had high participation.

• Italy

American actor Richard Gere visited the Spanish NGO ship Open Arms on Friday to express solidarity with the rescued migrants who have been stranded on the boat for days.

• United Kingdom

At FoodCycle, groups of volunteers cook donated food, which would otherwise have been thrown away, for communities in need around the UK. One of their projects in London is run at the Happy Baby Community for migrant and refugee women and their children. One of the volunteer project leaders is Pepe Clavijo, a Venezuelan migrant who wants to give something back to the community.

• Afghanistan
• Iran
• Lebanon

The charity Migrateful was set up two years ago to help refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in the UK teach cooking classes in a bid to help them on their journey to integration. It currently operates in London and Kent and is about to launch in Bristol.