From being othered to promoting the value of otherness: pride and price of intercultural dialogue among migrant immediate descendants in Italy.

Migrant immediate descendants (MIDs) raised in Italy are frequently socialized across different ethno-cultural environments and often experience being othered. Both conditions may influence the way they face intercultural interaction, but this topic remains largely unexplored. Through 15 semi-structured interviews and 5 focus groups with MID university students raised in Italy, this work examines how MIDs describe and give meaning to their intercultural competence. It shows that through a complex process of appreciation of their inner diversity, MIDs can develop a heightened critical reflection on intercultural communication and the willingness to challenge, through intercultural dialogue, the social representations that underpin their being othered. However, the way difference tends to be constructed in Italian society hampers the valuing of one's multiple ethno-cultural identifications, and encouraging social acceptance of diversity represents a heavy emotional burden for MIDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]