The Global Paradox of Intercultural Communication: The Strange Case of Social Work with Refugees in Germany

The case of Germany is emblematic of a global citizenship paradox due the conspicuous number of arrivals of migrants/refugees in the last three years (2014-2017). Social integration and intercultural communication represent the main issue at stake. To analyse these phenomena and their implications with respect to the theme of cultural integration, a self-descriptive material that constitutes an ideal first order observatory will be presented and discussed: the first institutional research report commissioned by the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees). BAMF research indicates how widespread is the cultural mosaic integration model among scholars. Its results have been amplified by the media system failing to convey the proper distance representation of the cultural diversity that should be according to Habermas and Silverstone the main goal towards the constitution of a global public sphere. The concept of counterpoint introduced by Edward Said provides a useful indication of how to restore a correct representation of cultural diversity. It allows at the same time to bind and separate and is crucial to making possible a global public space.