Conference Program

In Italy, the presence of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors (UMMs) represents a central issue in contemporary migration debates and in the development of public policies aimed at supporting their integration. Beyond the broader social and political implications of migration, this contribution focuses on the creation of safe environments for UMMs throughout the legally mandated integration process (Law 47/2017). While it is widely acknowledged that migrants—particularly minors in conditions of heightened vulnerability—require significant economic and human resources from host countries, it is equally important to recognize the substantial economic, human, and social capital they can contribute to enhance when effectively integrated.

Italian public opinion, however, rarely prioritizes this perspective. Migrants are frequently targeted by stigmatizing media and political narratives that reinforce stereotypes, which are detached from reality and increasingly normalized; they become a sort of “culture” in a society (Lippmann, 1963, pp. 30-31). Such narratives often associate migration with criminality, social decay, and insecurity, shaping a public discourse whose repercussions extend to minors, including UMMs. One of the most critical consequences of this distorted public perception is the persistent lack of person-centered integration pathways for minors that communities and institutions should be responsible for implementing. This climate prevents community members from recognizing their shared responsibility in supporting UMMs’ integration, delegating this task to a limited number of actors who are not always adequately trained for some particular tasks, even though they are for others.

Our study suggests that effective integration can only emerge from measures grounded in ethical frameworks capable of offering context-sensitive guidelines. Assuming that identical reception and integration strategies can be uniformly applied across diverse settings would be reductive and counterproductive. In this regard, the concept of safeguarding—understood as the collective and individual contribution to the creation of “safe relationships, safe spaces, and safe processes” (Zollner & Beer, 2024, p. 475)—provides a promising framework.

Safeguarding can contribute on two interconnected levels. First, it supports the development of personalized pathways that foster minors’ capabilities (Cfr. Nussbaum, 2011), agency (Cfr. Bandura, 2006, p. 169), sense of safety, and capacity to build human and social capital to be reinvested either in the host society or, should they choose to return as adults, in their countries of origin. Second, it fosters the emergence of a renewed public consciousness, more closely aligned with empirical realities and more aware of shared responsibilities. Such a shift can facilitate more effective integration processes by reducing linguistic, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers, ultimately contributing both to the integral development of UMMs and to the broader flourishing of society (Rinaldi, 2020).