Stories told through a migrant’s own eyes
The DiMMi (DIMMI di storie migranti, Tell me about migrant stories) national contest was once strictly an Italian affair. It was originally promoted by the region of Tuscany to raise public awareness and involvement in issues such as peace, memory and intercultural dialogue. Now, thanks to the EU-funded ITHACA project, DiMMi has extended its reach beyond Italy’s borders. Supported by ITHACA project partner The Archive of Migrant Memories, Italy, DiMMi has seen eight editions of a national Diary Contest and enabled the collection of around 500 written and oral testimonies. These testimonies are now part of a special collection of migrants’ diaries housed in the National Diary Archive of Pieve Santo Stefano, a town in central Italy.
New contest, new series
Every year, the most significant diary among those collected by the National Diary Archive is awarded the Pieve Prize in an annual celebration held in the Tuscan town. Since 2012, this event has been enriched with a special award to the DiMMi competition finalists. However, as reported in a news item posted on the ITHACA website, this year the event – to be held in September – will be further enhanced by the brand new ITHACA Diary Contest. The purpose of the initiative is to collect and preserve a plural cultural heritage in danger of being lost. It is also to contrast anti-migration stereotypes and hate speech through the stories migrant women and men share about their personal or family experiences. Entries for this contest include autobiographies provided by migrant people, not only in Italy but also in other countries in the Mediterranean and beyond. This will help develop a new narrative of migration seen through the eyes of migrants. Another important milestone in the collaboration between DiMMi and the ITHACA project is the creation of the ITHACA Series. This is an open-access collection of autobiographical short stories published in multiple languages, including English, French, Arabic and Farsi, available on ITHACA’s online platform. The ITHACA Series was launched with the reprinted open-access publication of short stories by Afghan Mohammad Reza Hosseini (Terre di mezzo Publisher, 2020) and Ivorian Dominique Boa (Terre di mezzo, 2020). Next is the publication of a selection of narratives from the ITHACA Diary Contest.
A photo exhibition
ITHACA (Interconnecting Histories and Archives for Migrant Agency: Entangled Narratives Across Europe and the Mediterranean Region) is also one of the scientific projects chosen by the Sorbonne University’s Visual Arts and Scientific Experiences (SUAVES) project to contribute to an art-science photography exhibition. Forming part of the “voices, arts, music” category, the ITHACA project will be featured in a large-format photo for the final exhibition to be held in Paris at the end of 2024, before touring France. For more information, please see: ITHACA project website
Keywords
ITHACA, migrant, migration, autobiography, diary