UFFICIO PER LA PASTORALE DEI MIGRANTI (UPM)
ARCIDIOCESI DI TORINO

The Ufficio per la Pastorale dei Migranti is a bureau set up by the archbishopof Turin on 1 march 2001 (an innovation of a formal nature since the institution simply continued the activities formally carried out by the immigration service of Caritas - from 1990 to 2001 - and by Ciscast from 1975 to 1990) to promote the evangelisation and integration of immigrants.

It has pastoral objectives but also provides services to integrate disadvantaged persons into the social fabric at a regional level.

The articles of association provides for five areas of activity: foreign immigrants, Italians abroad, ROM (gypsies), circus personnel, navigation staff.

Most of the activities now concentrate on the foreign immigration sector, in which it operates very carefully to provide contact services, individual help, dialogue, information about existing services and resources, Italian language teaching for special categories (slave victims, refugees, reunited families, unaccompanied minors), fostering intercultural dialogue throughout the area of the diocese of Turin.

The Ufficio per la Pastorale dei Migranti contains a jobs service which provides training for domestic work and, by means of a databank, helps job demand meet supply. It is a focal centre for links between Italian society and immigrant communities, at both social and religious levels.

The Ufficio per la Pastorale dei Migranti has been working with female slavery victims since 1989, when a night-time and daytime contact service was created. Since 1993, it has managed projects enabling most of the girls who have sought assistance to embark on training courses, scholarships and real job integration.

With the projects funded through art. 18 of the consolidation act on immigration (including `Liberiamo dalle moderne schiavitù`), since April 2000 forty social protection schemes have been started up following official reports, and all the girls have been or are about to be included in work-award training programmes. The projects offer female prostitution-slavery victims: dialogue, assistance throughout the course, legal assistance, Italian language courses and basic training, training in regional centres, work awards and work induction in cooperatives or other suitable organisations.

Over the past five years, the contact service, which also runs its own community, has assisted about 2000 girls, most of whom are Nigerian (95% Nigerian, and 5% Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian and Albanian).

The Ufficio per la Pastorale dei Migranti takes part in several projects, networking with other organisations in the province of Turin.

INDIRIZZO
Ufficio per la Pastorale dei Migranti
Via Ceresole, 42
10155 Torino
Tel. +39 011 246.20.92 - 246.24.43
Fax +39 011 202.542
e-mail: migranti@diocesi.torino.it
email: serviziomigranti@torino.chiesacattolica.it
sito web: www.torino.chiesacattolica.it/migranti
orario: lunedì, martedì, giovedì e venerdì: 9,00 - 12,00 / 14,30 - 17,00
mercoledì 9,00 - 12,00

Contact
Fredo Olivero e Bruno Ballauri