European Refugees Oral History Project

Turin

 

“We consider it essential to break through the idea that “new citizens” are only the passive audiences of European and local cultural programs”
(Ilda Curti, Specially Unknown coordinator at the Rete Italiana di Cultura Popolare)

 

Rete Italiana di Cultura Popolare (RICP) – a national network association for Folk Culture based in Turin – wants to innovate, study, protect and support oral, folk and popular culture and intangible goods. For more than 15 years, it has been specifically working on recovering and promoting cultural folk traditions, acting as a “community agent” in specific areas where there is the need to valorise and to link different groups and cultural backgrounds. Through methodologies of oral history and performative devices, the network aims are to develop communities of proximity, intercultural links and citizenship.

 

Specially Unknown allows Rete Italiana to strengthen its work on enabling and creation of an open cultural environment, where people with different background can explore and express their creativity, culture and knowledge.
Working on two levels – local and transnational – will increase the know-how and vision of Rete Italiana, but will also affect other cultural institutions in Turin: Rete Italiana thinks that they will become aware of the enormous cultural potential that lives in the city of Turin.

 

Refugee communities that take part in Specially Unknown
Rete Italiana has chosen to work with four refugee communities from the Horn of Africa: Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, because of the brief Italian colonial past in this geographical area. Italian colonial past is a controversial topic, only scarcely present, as good as removed from the collective memory. This complex relationship between Italy and that area of Africa is a theme which Rete Italiana wants to investigate and address, in order to bring back a memory denied by both parties.

 

 

Specially Unknown Team Turin

 

 

Fieldworkers

 

Deka Mohamed (23), video maker and photographer, born in Italy in a Somalian Family

Dawit Maresha Kebede (25), student, from Ethiopia, in Italy for Engineering studies

Adora George (28), student from Eritrea, in Italy for Engineering studies

Ahmed Mussa (29), student (International sciences), political refugee from Sudan, Darfur

Anisa Hussein Osman (23), student (Art&Culutral Policy), born in Italy, grew up in London, Somalian background

Fartun Mohamed (37), anthropologist, born in Somalia, in Italy since she was 12 years old

 

Steering Committee for the artistic production for Specially Unknown
  • Municipality of Turin
  • Provinicial Authorities Piedmont Region
  • Comitato per l’imprenditorialità Sociale (Committee for Social Entrepreneurship)
  • Sovrintendenza Beni architettonici – Archivio di Stato (State Archives)
  • FIERI (International and European Forum for research on Immigration) Circolo dei Lettori (Circle of Readers)
  • Istoreto (Institute for the History of Resistance)
  • MAO (Museum for oriental art)
  • Museo del Risorgimento (Museum of the Risorgimento)
  • Fondazione Polo del ‘900 (Foundation for History of ‘900)
  • Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum)
  • CSA – centro studi Africani (African Studies Center)
  • Panafricando (Pan African Association)
  • Association of Somali in Turin
  • AIP – Ass. Ivoriani Piemonte e Valle d’Aosta (Association of Ivorians in Piedmont)
  • Associazione dei Maliani di Torino (Association of Malian in Piedmont)
  • AST – Associazione Senegalese a Torino (Association of Senegal in Turin)
  • Giato – Ghanaians Immigrants Association in Torino
  • Guinea – Naikiri
  • Association of Eritrea in Piedmont
  • Fondazione CRT (Bank Foundation)
  • Compagnia di San Paolo (Bank Foundation)

 

Project Coordinator: Ilda Curti
Freelancer, involved for many years in intercultural projects and studies, building solidarity communities and enhancing the cultural value of new citizens at national and European level.
“Working in the Specially Unknown project allows me to combine the most theoretical aspects of intercultural issues with the practice of the relationship between people, cultures and different levels of interaction between stakeholders”.

 

Fieldworkers coordinator / Oral History trainer: Antonio Damasco
Director of the Rete Italiana di Cultura Popolare, anthropologist, expert in oral history, with a long experience in building cultural and performing projects and cultural paths.
“With this project, I will increase my knowledge of intercultural dimensions”.

 

More about Rete Italiana di Cultura Popolare: www.reteitalianaculturapopolare.org