Webinar “Cultural-linguistic mediation in anti-trafficking projects. Some reflections from the INSigHT Action research and training activities”

On Tuesday 9th November 2021 we held a webinar on cultural-linguistic mediation in the field of anti-trafficking. Attendees included researchers, social workers, anti-trafficking workers, professionals and consultants from Italy, the UK and Nigeria.

Michela Semprebon and Gianfranco Bonesso, part of the INSigHT Research Team introduced the webinar by reporting the findings of the INSigHT research work on mediation, that included interviews, participant observation within the Veneto Region Anti-trafficking project, a focus group with cultural-linguistic mediators that eventually also led to the preparation of a video that is now available on the INSigHT website.

Devisri Nambiar presented the training that was conducted, within the INSigHT research action to cultural-linguistic mediators, pointing out the importance of working with multi-disciplinary equipes and highlighting the pending challenges of mediation in the field of anti-trafficking and social protection, particularly as far as the asylum procedure is concerned, hence the role of mediators in specific settings such as courts, territorial commissions that examine asylum applications, etc.

Lorenzo Luatti who has been long working on cultural-linguistic in Italy discussed with us the pending critical issues associated with mediation and way forward. In particular he called for the importance of cultural-linguistic mediation to be promoted and stressed at wider national level and to reconsider mediation in the context of outreach work, where it has been playing a crucial role. During the discussion the need was also stressed by Gianfranco Bonesso to look at mediation by considering the context and the changing dynamics of the phenomenon of migration, as this requires the partial re-elaboration of techniques and scopes of mediation.