Some consideration on the cultural competence of service providers about migrants in Apulia

The social experience of being a refugee and having to develop practical coping strategies are closely related to processes of identification in the multi-ethnic contexts and situations under study, where ethnic identity becomes a central issue. To know the best practices and need analysis of immigrant integration in Apulia (Italy), data were collected by self-administered questionnaires to different service providers who had significant experience with adolescent immigrants in the target period. The survey of service providers’ experiences of immigration was conducted through the administration of questionnaire to a convenience sample of service providers, with interviews carried out in the period between April and June 2006. Altogether, 114 questionnaires were found to be useful for the purposes of the survey. They were subdivided according to the type of operator: 21.9% were secondary school heads; and the same percentage were social workers and psychologists/psychiatrists; substantial proportions of the total were formed by doctors with 24.6% and finally cultural mediators, 9.6%. The results of the empirical survey reveal a widespread perception on the part of the operators in the sector of the importance of an adequate and specific cultural preparation in the problems of adolescents. In this sense, the service providers favour a preparation that also involves training exchanges with the countries with the greatest migratory flow towards this country and the creation of adequate structures that can guarantee a better reception and the raising of the quality of life of all those who choose to come here for a new start in life.