“Intercultural Kinscripting”. Preteens with Migration Background Building Intergenerational Relationships and Belonging in the Local Community

Migration is shaped as a transnational phenomenon. Indeed, families with a migration background experience the co-presence of cultural references from both the here and the there in their everyday lives. In fact, the sons and daughters of migration face the challenge of building a plural sense of belonging. As Morin points out, each person is configured as a homo complexus: his or her identity can be understood by considering all its components related to being part of plural collective dimensions, which are intertwined with the personal self. In the experience of young with migration background, these dimensions take on additional nuances, which arise from the plurality of cultural references with which they deal. Then, in their path of growth, the rooting processes in the culture of origin are relevant; at the same time, however, they need to elaborate an identity that lets them feel a sense of belonging to the here, to the context and the community where their present and, potentially, their future life takes place. The relationships people experience assume an important function in becoming and feeling part of collective belonging: in this perspective, a prominent role is assigned to the exchange between generations. The international literature has explored various experiences and configurations related to transnational grandparenthood and grandchildhood, i.e., the declinations of the intergenerational relationship experienced in the family dimension. However, some authors have also explored how intergenerational relationships can be constructed in immigration contexts, through a phenomenon that can be defined as “kinscripting”: a kind of social widening of the network of trust and kinship, which in these situations takes on a cross-cultural connotation. The contribution stems from the research Nurturing the Roots: Memory and Intergenerational Responsibility in an Intercultural Perspective, which analyses these kinds of ties and the value they take on in the experience of preteens with migration background. The research takes place in the cities of Brescia and Bergamo, highly multicultural contexts, and involves representatives from a range of areas including educational contexts, social services and religious institutions, but above all it gives voice to the preteens themselves. Particularly, it is conducted through a participatory approach and using the hermeneutic-phenomenological perspective as a reference. The research highlights the possibility of building these intergenerational relationships in the local community dimension, both spontaneously and within nonformal educational services and contexts. Both the constraints and benefits of these ties emerge: for the young themselves, as well as for older people, in relation to the relational opportunities, but also in terms of de-constructing generalizing representations and prejudices. In a broader sense, it points out how the chance to experience intergenerational relationships in the community dimension opens up possibilities for intercultural and interreligious dialogue, co-habitation and mediation between different cultural perspectives. Finally, some educational trajectories are defined from a systemic perspective, aiming to lead young with migration background, their families and the local communities to build a sense of co-belonging and transformative inclusive processes.