The role of ‘world music’ in creating new social spaces and identities. Africa & Mediterraneo.

The involvement of immigrants in local cultural life is a fundamental tool for breaking the sense of exclusion. Access to and participation in cultural activities is a core part of human existence, and an important means for fostering a positive sense of identity. Culture, and in particular, music and other artistic forms of expression, may act as vehicles promoting cultural dialogue, inclusion, and a positive vision of a multicultural society. Music plays a central role in the cultural diversity of metropolitan cities. Originating from any conceivable region in the world, music is probably the most transnational form of global entertainment. It travels lightly across national boundaries, interconnecting artists and audiences in worldwide taste cultures, continuously blending styles to new forms of cultural expression. Music may provide a ground for encounters between different cultural groups, but at the same time it remains a key expression of social and cultural identification. While there is an abundance of research on ‘world music’, mainly by ethnomusicologists which has focused on musical production among the so-called ‘second’ or ‘third-generation’ of immigrants, relatively little scholarly work has studied the role of music in social and cultural identification of first-generation immigration. The central aim of this paper is to provide, through an analysis of the participation in the cultural events related to the world music performances, an understanding of social inclusion and exclusion of first generation immigrants in Italy. In what ways do cultural activities produce feelings of belonging or exclusion, how is this connected to policy regulations and programmes for participation? The aim is also to critically address the way in which cultural policy has evolved until now, and also to develop new conceptual and theoretical perspectives for thinking about cultural change and complexity.