Community Matching and Social Inclusion of Refugees: a Case Study


Abstract:

In the context of integrated reception – understood as a holistic and emancipatory approach to care – the central element remains the creation of meaningful interpersonal and social relationships, that allow refugees to feel like active protagonists of a community. This paper presents a case study in the context of the Community Matching programme, implemented by CIAC and Refugees Welcome Italy with the support of UNHCR Italy, with the aim of strengthening the sense of belonging to the community and promoting autonomy and social inclusion. Through the testimonies of volunteers and refugees, the study explores the processes of inclusion, the practices of co-constructing relationships based on reciprocity, and the motivations that drive civic activism aimed at ensuring that each individual involved has the opportunity to fully express his or her agency. A shared commitment to overcome a welfarist and assimilationist approach to reception, in favor of a critical and humanizing posture, emerges.