Ten migrant boys are busy creating a small intercultural guidebook about the city of Naples with a view to being helpful not only to members of the migrant community who have been welcomed by it, but also to those that want to discover the hidden gems of their own city.

This is one of the aims of the project "Chi ben comincia" (A Good Start) from the Welfare Foundation in Campania, the Naples Region, and the social cooperative Dedalus. The initiative involves migrants between the ages of 17 and 18, coming from Albania, Bangladesh, the Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gambia, Mali, Pakistan and Tunisia.

The youngsters arrived in Italy, explained by the organizers, "often only carrying their own hope, and traveling in often desperate conditions."

They hope the project will help the unaccompanied minors overcome all the uncertainties that accompanied their arrival and encourage them to come of age in Italy and begin their path to independence. The General Director of Campania Welfare, Gavino Nuzzo said he hoped that through learning and study tasks during the project, the youngsters would leave with a tangible sense of achievement.

Various activities

In order to carry out the activities, the youths have been offered lots of support. At least eight staff members are on hand to guide them through the activities, which take place at a social center called Nanà.

The group are expected to take part in a photography workshop aimed at showing them how to represent Naples from their own perspectives as well as shedding light on areas of the city where migrant communities are already living.

At the end of the project, the group will produce a full intercultural guide to the city of Naples. Along the way, they will take part in a workshop about "Urban Art," which includes a series of guided tours around Naples and its surrounding area, to inspire interest in discovering the territory, its legends and traditions and the artistic and artisan production in which the minors are involved.

The young migrants are also taking part in an IT class, a workshop on iron manufacturing, and a course as a peer operator. During the project, five of them have managed to achieve their middle school diploma too.