The Multiethnic Post Office "Padova 7"

The aim of this research study is to analyse Poste Italiane’s Multiethnic Post Office project with a focus on “Padova 7”, the Multiethnic Post Office in the district of Arcella, in Padua, Italy. By this initiative, the Italian postal service provider intends to reach all citizens, especially the foreign ones, by means of multilingual offices with a staff of newly hired bilingual or multilingual workers. This research study aims to detect and put under the spotlight the exact locations of these new Post Offices, and mostly to explore the staff hiring criteria in an attempt to discover the prerequisites needed to perform such duties. After providing a few definitions of multiculturalism and setting out the characteristics of multilingual cities, this research study deepens the concept of cultural mediation by highlighting the competencies and skills of an intercultural mediator as opposed to a mere bilingual or multilingual speaker. A description of the historical background of Poste Italiane follows, stressing the attempts and changes made through time to tackle a multitude of socioeconomic factors. Finally, after an in-depth analysis of the Multiethnic Post Office project guidelines, this research study attempts to answer the questions raised by focusing on the Multiethnic Post Office “Padova 7” in the Arcella district. – This is made by using the qualitative method with a view to extracting information by means of semi- structured interviews and field research.