Celebrating Ramadan and Breaking Barriers at the Città-IN Iftar at Polimi San Siro Off-Campus

Last night, on April 3rd, the Città-IN project hosted the first Iftar event at San Siro Polimi Off-campus, thanks to the amazing team of Maryam Karimi, Giada Casarin, Nour Bergaoui, Marta Curreri, and Omar Khalil.

In città-IN, we understand that accessing public services, especially education services, can be a big challenge for immigrant families. That’s why the Città-IN project, funded by the Polisocial Award 2023, focuses on breaking down these barriers and ensuring inclusivity. We do this by researching and addressing the obstacles immigrant families face when navigating school services as well as by sharing our diverse culture and experiences as immigrants with team members of the Città-IN, as well as with the community and local actors.

Last night Iftar went beyond a meal!

• Flyers were prepared in both Arabic and Italian, reaching a wider audience within the local immigrant community, primarily Muslim.
• The event fostered connections by sharing traditional foods from Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, and Italy.
• We had insightful discussions about the social, economic, and legal challenges faced by San Siro residents with Mamme a Scuola association as well as with Melissa Miedico Associate Professor of criminal law at Bocconi University and responsible of Clinica Legale at Off-Campus San Siro.

What we have learned was invaluable!

• Trust, building understanding, and mutual respect are the keys to increasing engagement and participation. We’re still working on it.
• Building trust with the local community is paramount, and it is not easy to gain. We can achieve this by increasing our presence and demonstrating that we’re not just researchers observing, but invested members of society.
• True participation in a religious event like Iftar requires open minds and hearts from both the community and researchers. Preconceptions and biases need to be set aside on both sides, researchers and the community, to foster genuine connection and understanding.

This was just the first of many informal gatherings planned by Città-IN. We’re committed to bridging the gap between public administration, schools, and the community.

We invite you to join us on this journey and reach out with any ideas, research proposals, or suggestions to further explore our themes!