On January 20th, 2026, the University of Milan will host an international conference dedicated to the public participation of ethnic minorities at the local level, bringing to a close a research project funded by Fondazione Cariplo. The event offers a comprehensive reflection on the persistent challenges that contemporary societies face in ensuring inclusive, meaningful participation within increasingly diverse and often divided social contexts.
The conference will open with institutional greetings from Monica Diluca, Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer at the University of Milan, alongside Chiara Amalfitano, Head of the Department of Italian and Supranational Public Law. Representatives of the MUSA Ecosystem, Vittorio Biondi and Salvatore Torrisi of the University of Milan Bicocca, will also contribute to framing the broader research and innovation context in which the project has developed. The opening remarks will be delivered by Marilisa D’Amico, Professor at the University of Milan and President of the Equal Opportunity Committee, who will introduce the core themes of equality, rights protection and democratic inclusion.
The first session will focus on ethnic minorities and public participation in contemporary divided societies and will be chaired by Antonia Baraggia of the University of Milan. Contributions will include reflections by Marina Garcés from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya on friendship as a political experience of dignity, Ashley M. Moran of the University of Texas at Austin on constitutional strategies for participation in divided societies, Costanza Nardocci from the University of Milan on the constitutional and European Union law framework, and Roberta Medda Windisher of the Institute for Minority Rights on the tension between securitisation and recognition in minority participation.
The second session, chaired by Sara Valaguzza of the University of Milan, will turn to comparative experiences and local realities. Case studies will be presented by Hanna Vasilevich of the Institute for Minority Rights on Russian-speaking communities in the Baltic States, Kyriaki Topidi of the Europe Center for Minority Issues on cultural autonomy in Western Thrace in Greece, Simone Penasa of the University of Trento on minority participation in South Tyrol, and Alessia Di Pascale of the University of Milan on the role of universities in empowering people with a migrant background in the city of Milan. Further contributions by Edoardo Raffiotta of the University of Milan Bicocca and Angelo Raffaele Salerno of the University of Milan will address the impact of digital services and non-coercive legal tools on minority participation in urban spaces.
The conference will conclude with final remarks by Marilisa D’Amico, drawing together the main insights emerging from the project and outlining future directions for research and policy. The event will take place from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM in Room 113 at the University of Milan, via Festa del Perdono 7, and represents a key moment of dialogue between academia, institutions and civil society on the future of local democratic participation.
