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).

The paper offers a comparative and critical reflection on the educational inclusion of students with a migrant background in Italy and Spain, focusing on the role of standardized assessments in capturing the complexities of integration processes within school systems. Drawing on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, we examine how national evaluation tools—INVALSI in Italy and INEE in Spain—reflect or obscure the educational trajectories of first- and second-generation migrant students. The analysis spans a decade of data (2016–2025), enriched by legislative reviews, to explore the intersection of migration, educational policy, and social equity.

In both countries, the presence of students with non-native backgrounds has grown steadily, becoming a structural component of the school population. However, this demographic shift has not been matched by an equally robust transformation in educational practices or assessment frameworks. In Italy, INVALSI test results reveal persistent performance gaps between native students and those of migrant origin, particularly in Italian language and mathematics. These disparities are most pronounced among first-generation students and are only partially mitigated in second-generation cohorts. Interestingly, in English listening tests, second-generation students often outperform their native peers, suggesting that linguistic integration is not unidirectional and may vary across domains.

Spain presents a similar yet distinct scenario. The decentralization of its education system has led to heterogeneous regional policies, with varying degrees of support for migrant students. While the right to education is formally guaranteed regardless of legal status, the reality is marked by high repetition rates, especially among first-generation students, and significant delays in core competencies such as mathematics and Spanish language. The concentration of migrant students in public schools—often in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas—further exacerbates educational segregation and limits opportunities for intercultural exchange.

Standardized assessments, while useful for system-level diagnostics, are insufficient to capture the full spectrum of educational inclusion. These tools often fail to account for contextual variables such as socioeconomic status, linguistic diversity, and the psychosocial dimensions of migration. Moreover, the reliance on test scores as proxies for merit risks reinforces structural inequalities, particularly when used in isolation from qualitative indicators. We investigate the “Matthew effect” in education, whereby students who start with disadvantages—linguistic, cultural, or economic—are further marginalized by assessment systems that do not accommodate their specific needs.

To address these challenges, it is necessary to adopt a more holistic evaluation approach—one that integrates standardized testing with qualitative tools such as school self-evaluation reports, ethnographic observations, and participatory assessments. We emphasize the importance of teacher training, intercultural pedagogy, and the active involvement of families and local communities in fostering inclusive learning environments. In both Italy and Spain, successful examples of inclusive schools often emerge not from top-down mandates but from grassroots initiatives supported by civil society and the third sector.

Across Europe, migration policies increasingly emphasize the need to enhance the intellectual capital of young migrants in order to reduce skills mismatch and foster social and labour market inclusion. Yet, education and training systems often reproduce processes of devaluation: bureaucratic uncertainty, linguistic barriers, and forms of stigmatization hinder the recognition of prior competences, rendering intellectual capital socially invisible or institutionally illegible.

This paper argues that the enhancement of intellectual capital among asylum seekers cannot be understood solely as technical skill acquisition. Drawing on Erving Goffman’s concepts of face-work and stigma, together with Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital, intellectual capital is conceptualized here as competence that becomes effective only when it is socially recognized within interaction. In contexts shaped by precarious legal status and processes of stigmatization, the fragility of face concerns not only personal identity but the very possibility of presenting one’s competences as legitimate. This interactional vulnerability can inhibit participation, reduce engagement, and weaken learning trajectories. Reconstructing face thus emerges as a relational precondition for activating capital.

The analysis is based on a qualitative case study of a 500-hour Vocational Education and Training (VET) programme (“Warehouse and Logistics Operator”) implemented in Italy in 2025 within the national GOL employment policy framework. The programme involved 11 asylum seekers and resulted in a 100% success rate in both theoretical and practical qualification exams. Through sustained classroom observation, the study examines how relational practices aimed at reducing face-threat, managing linguistic exposure, and fostering mutual recognition supported participation and successful completion.

The analysis is informed by FACET®, an interactional analytical framework identifying five interdependent relational dimensions—trust, authenticity, control, exposure, and tolerance—that shape the stability of face in interaction. FACET operationalizes face-work through observable micro-interactional indicators, making analytically visible the relational conditions that enable or inhibit the activation of capital.

The findings suggest that enhancing intellectual capital among structurally vulnerable young migrants requires not only access to training opportunities, but attention to the interactional processes through which competences become socially validated and institutionally legible. The paper proposes a micro-sociological reframing of inclusion strategies in VET policies, highlighting relational recognition as a necessary condition for transforming marginalized skills into recognized intellectual capital.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to one of the largest migration crises in Europe, with thousands of minors forced to leave their country seeking safety. This study explores the resilience and creativity of Ukrainian migrant and refugee minors, analyzing their adaptation and integration strategies in host countries.

Context: The war in Ukraine has generated a mass exodus, with over 4 million people forced to flee. Minors represent a significant portion of this migration flow, facing unique challenges in their migration experience.

Objectives:
- Analyze the resilience and creativity strategies adopted by Ukrainian migrant minors.
- Examine the role of host communities in integrating these minors.
- Identify best practices to support the integration and well-being of migrant minors.

Methodology: The study is based on a review of existing literature and qualitative interviews with migrant minors, host families, and social workers.

Expected Results: The study will highlight the importance of creativity and resilience as tools for adaptation and integration for migrant minors. Effective strategies will be identified to support these processes, contributing to improved reception policies.

Migration involves the movement of people from one geographic location to another and can create both opportunities and challenges (Rinaldi, 2023). While this movement can provide better opportunities for migrants, it also brings challenges such as language barriers, educational difficulties, social isolation, and perceived discrimination (Ķešāne, 2019; Pan et al., 2019). On the other hand, migration has a great impact on intellectual capital in both origin and host countries. Intellectual capital is recognized as the intangible resources of an organization or society, including knowledge, skills, experience, and capabilities, which play a significant role in innovation, economic development, and competitiveness (Gariba et al., 2025). The results of some researches show that highly educated and skilled migrants have a positive influence on innovation in host countries, created through intellectual capital (Hunt & Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010; Kerr & Lincoln, 2010; Capoani, Chabert, & Izzo, 2024; Gariba et al., 2025; Pan et al., 2025). Due to this reason, different countries should take these aspects into account and promote specific projects and actions, particularly for the younger generations, to develop their skills and knowledge and to provide suitable infrastructure for migrants.

In this context, the Migrantour program, co-funded by the European Union, has been launched with the aim of enhancing cultural integration as well as economic and social sustainability. The program offers opportunities for learning and cultural interaction through city walks and listening to stories and knowledge shared by migrants. This proposal adopts Human Capital Theory as its theoretical framework to examine how migration influences intellectual capital through Intercultural Urban Education, specifically via guided city walks and storytelling by migrants. Human Capital Theory emphasizes that investments in education, skills, and training enhance productivity and economic value (Gariba et al., 2025). Migrantour can be considered a practical case of Intercultural Urban Education in order to enhance intellectual capital. This project is running in Italy and some other European countries such as Denmark, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. This proposal is concentrated on Migrantour in Verona, Italy. Its aim is to understand how the Migrantour project enhances intellectual capital and cultural integration by fostering new knowledge, skills, and shared cultural experiences. Regarding the methodology, a qualitative approach through a case study has been chosen. Participatory observation using an ethnographic strategy will be applied during the walk. In addition, semi-structured interviews with organizers and walk guides, including 10 interviews, will be conducted. Qualitative data will be analyzed through thematic coding and categorization. It is expected that the implementation of the Migrantour project in Verona will contribute to strengthening intercultural dialogue, reducing social distance between migrants and local citizens, promoting social inclusion, and enhancing the city’s intellectual and cultural capital.

In the context of demographic transition and the challenges posed by the inclusion of young people with a migrant background in European education systems, university pathways are emerging as key instruments for combining mobility, protection, and the enhancement of human capital. From this perspective, access to higher education can represent not only a channel for social inclusion but also an innovative mechanism of international cooperation. The proposed contribution focuses on the UNICORE project – University Corridors for Refugees, promoted by a broad network of Italian universities coordinated by UNHCR, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and civil society actors such as Caritas Italiana, Diaconia Valdese, and Centro Astalli. The initiative aims to expand access to higher education in Italy for refugees residing in several countries in Africa and Asia, through safe and regular educational mobility pathways.

The analysis of data collected across the programme’s editions, active since 2019, highlights the defining features of an innovative model of multilevel governance integrating universities, public institutions, civil society, and the private sector. This configuration facilitates access for young refugees to master’s degree programmes and supports them along integrated trajectories of educational mobility, social inclusion, and progressive transition into the labour market.

Enhancing the intellectual capital of young refugees represents a strategic lever for promoting inclusion, social cohesion, and sustainable development in host societies. In line with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Global Compact on Refugees, the contribution examines higher education pathways as complementary safe and regular entry channels capable of transforming international protection into concrete opportunities for autonomy, agency, and social participation.

Findings emerging from six years of implementation highlight the programme’s positive impact in terms of academic success, employability, and skills development, while also suggesting its potential transferability and scalability at the European level. The reflection also offers a critical analysis of the main challenges that have emerged — including institutional sustainability, equity of access, and continuity of post-graduation pathways — highlighting lessons learned and future perspectives for making such initiatives increasingly inclusive, sustainable, and aligned with the aspirations of young refugees.

From this perspective, access to higher education can be understood as a device of international cooperation capable of fostering the maintenance of transnational ties and the development of hybrid academic and professional networks through institutional partnerships that connect universities, involve NGOs and public institutions, and create legal mobility pathways. At the same time, it transforms protection into agency, reduces dependence on welfare systems, and contributes to positioning these young people as active protagonists within diasporic communities and global contexts, generating benefits for both host and origin countries in a win-win logic.

This paper examines the role of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (FAMI) and its evolution into the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) within the framework of Italian education, training, and guidance policies addressed to young people with a migrant background. The presence of foreign youth, either born abroad or belonging to second generation migrant families, represents a growing share of the resident population and constitutes an essential component for demographic rebalancing and for broader processes of social and cultural transformation in Italy.

In this context, the educational inclusion of young people with a migrant background poses significant challenges for the Italian education and training system, including language literacy, the prevention of early school leaving, access to education and vocational training pathways, and the development of effective orientation systems capable of supporting informed educational and professional choices.

Through the analysis of the legal foundations and the evolution of the regulatory framework in the 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 multiannual programming periods, the implementation modalities of the Fund are examined with particular reference to initiatives aimed at fostering the integration of young migrants and assessing their impact on the Italian school system.

The governance structure highlights the multilevel dimension that characterises the implementation of the Italian National Programme of the Asylum and Migration Fund, whose coordination is entrusted to the Ministry of the Interior as Responsible Authority in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Merit, regional administrations, local authorities, and third sector organisations.

Adopting a descriptive analytical approach, the study identifies the main areas of intervention supported by FAMI or AMIF within the Italian education system, including language literacy programmes aimed at strengthening Italian as a second language competencies, school inclusion policies, teacher training initiatives, and the development of integrated guidance and vocational education and training pathways.

The analysis of the territorial distribution of nationally funded projects supported by the Fund makes it possible to identify the principal lines of intervention implemented, including initiatives for the enhancement of linguistic competences, actions accompanying educational and guidance pathways, measures aimed at promoting inclusion and educational success, and school support and reception services.

In the overall assessment of the Fund impact, the analysis highlights several structural and operational criticalities that emerged during the implementation phase, mainly related to administrative and procedural complexities affecting project activation timelines, the fragmentation of initiatives across territories due to uneven planning capacities among institutions and local networks, and the sustainability of interventions in the medium to long term. Additional challenges concern territorial differences in access to resources and in the effectiveness of adopted measures, as well as the persistent difficulty of integrating funded actions into mainstream education and social policies across diverse regional contexts.

Nevertheless, despite these implementation challenges, FAMI/AMIF should not be regarded solely as financial support mechanisms but rather as policy instruments endowed with transformative potential capable of influencing educational and social policies for young people with a migrant background.

From this perspective, the Fund contributes to inclusive models of citizenship and participation effectively.

In Italy, institutional discourse frequently frames children moving alone primarily through an emergency-driven approach, responding to the broad constructed category of “unaccompanied minors” and portraying them as individuals lacking competencies who must restart their educational trajectories from zero (Malkki, 2015; Santagati et al., 2024). Such representations risk obscuring the intellectual and experiential capital developed throughout their life histories and migratory trajectories (Jarvis, 2006; Morrice, 2014). As a result, these narratives may contribute to the marginalization of migrant youth within education, where their previous experiences and forms of knowledge often remain unrecognized or undervalued.

This paper presents reflections from an ongoing doctoral research project that explores how young people who arrived in Italy alone perceive physical and symbolic borders (Khosravi, 2010) and how they reflect on the learning processes emerging from lifelong experiences and border crossing. Drawing on border studies, particularly the concept of “border as method” (Mezzadra & Neilson, 2014), the research examines how borders are experienced not only as physical or institutional limits but also as complex social spaces in which practices of resistance, negotiation, and transformation may take shape. While institutional and adult-centric perspectives often interpret the trajectories of minors mainly in terms of vulnerability (Bhabha, 2014), this study shifts attention to the knowledge and forms of agency developed and recognized by migrant youth themselves (Venken et al., 2020).

The research adopts a participatory approach (Freire, 1970; Aguilar Idáñez & Buraschi, 2023) that recognizes migrant youth as competent social actors (hooks, 2020) whose perspectives and knowledge deserve acknowledgement, particularly in the design of research and educational initiatives. Methodologically, the study combines collaborative and creative methods (Giorgi et al., 2021). Peer researchers participated in the co-design of research tools and contributed to the interpretation of the findings. Fieldwork, conducted between March 2025 and January 2026, involved 120 participants through 13 group activities and 49 individual interviews carried out in several Italian cities and border areas. Data collection included drawing, collage, image selection, and narrative reflection, enabling participants to recount their experiences through alternative and dialogical forms of storytelling.

Preliminary findings suggest that migratory trajectories and border crossings can become significant sites of learning. Participants frequently describe the development of perseverance, resilience, and practical autonomy while navigating uncertain and precarious contexts. Many narratives highlight the capacity to cope independently, organize everyday life, and manage difficult situations. At the same time, learning processes also include more ambivalent dimensions, such as the development of caution or distrust toward others as strategies for navigating contexts of insecurity. Reflecting on these experiences often becomes a moment of self-recognition: in contexts where migrant youth are frequently considered lacking competencies, the opportunity to express what they have learned contributes to reshaping their self-perception and affirming their agency.

By centering the perceptions of children moving alone, this research contributes to debates on intercultural education and inclusion policies. Recognizing the experiential learning developed also through migration can help design more inclusive educational and training pathways capable of acknowledging and valuing their competencies rather than overlooking them.

The inclusion of young Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) represents a crucial challenge for Italy and the European Union, against a backdrop of demographic transition and increasing mobility. Historical marginalization and social stigma continue to hinder access to education and vocational training, leading to early school leaving and limiting the development of these communities’ intellectual capital. This situation fuels a vicious cycle of intergenerational exclusion and job insecurity.

This paper aims to analyze:

• Bureaucratic and linguistic obstacles, such as difficulties with documentation and limited proficiency in the national language.
• Cultural and social barriers, linked to stereotypes and discrimination (anti-gypsyism);
• Intercultural education practices that foster dialogue between cultures and the development of transferable skills.
• Guidance and capacity-building programs to support the transition from school to work and prevent educational dropout.
• International cooperation to promote educational mobility and intercultural exchanges.

The proposed approach is multidisciplinary and intersectional, grounded in empowerment, participation, and collaborative planning among institutions, communities, and the third sector. It emphasizes the need for long-term policies that move beyond a crisis-driven mindset, integrating education, training, and workplace inclusion within a framework of social justice and equal opportunity.