On January 13, the photographic exhibition 'Rosarno, Capital of Integration' opened at the European Parliament, centering on visual stories of migrants that took part in the housing and integration project 'Villaggio della Solidarietà' (Village of Solidarity).

The Viallage of Solidarity project, funded by the Italian interior ministry and EU project funds, aims to provide migrant agricultural workers in the Calabrian town with dignified housing and social support. The initiative was a response to the precarious informal settlements that grew up after the 2010 Rosarno revolt, when migrant workers protested against exploitative conditions in the agricultural sector.

"Today Rosarno and Calabria have become social examples of migrant inclusion and revaluation of territory, a successful model to export across all Europe," commented Giusi Princi, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) of the Forza Italia party, on the sidelines of a roundtable held at the European Parliament in Brussels with the participation of 17 mayors of municipalities of the Calabria region to draw up a local action plan against racism and for integration.

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EU project 'Voices from Migration' contributed

The 'Villaggio' was created using assets seized from organized crime groups for migrant housing, organizers said. Part of the project is funded via the EU project 'Voices from Migration'.

"At a time in which Europe is experiencing an economic and demographic transformation, it is important to look at immigration as something that can re-establish social equilibrium," said Princi.

"Rosarno today represents an important testimony for inclusion. Taking part in the project were 16 Calabrian municipalities, all near Rosarno, and which share an action plan against discrimination and for support for inclusion."

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Artist native to Rosarno presents work on inclusion

The day before the opening of the exhibition, on January 12, there had been a press conference on the theme 'From Calabria (Rosarno), a European Model of Integration and Inclusion' in Palazzo Campanella, the seat of the regional council. During the same event, the presentation of the work 'Ciò Che Era Uno (What Was One)' by Rosarno artist Maria Morgante was shown.

The work, created out of a two-part book, is a sculpture acquired by the office of the President of the Regional Council of Calabria. It will be exhibited permanently at Palazzo Campanella, "as a tangible sign of a cultural and institutional path weaving together art, inclusion, and dialogue between populations," according to the website of the regional council.

"The art of Maria Morgante has accompanied and bolstered political and institutional reflection on the values of reception and coexistence, today at the center of European attention," the website claimed, adding that "at the center of the work there is a connecting thread, the thread of Europe: not a wall, but a subtle link able to unite what is divided, restitch what has been torn, give continuity to broken hopes. A Europe called upon see itself not only as an economic and institutional space but as an ethical, cultural, and human space: a bridge and not a fortress."

"While in Brussels Calabria is bringing to the attention of European institutions a model of integration recognised as best practice, in Palazzo Campanella the work by Maria Morgante remains as a permanent sign, visual and cultural testimony of a region that chooses to talk about itself through the values of reception, dignity, and respect," the statement concluded.

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