Words are powerful. Yet even with their exceptional strength, how many are inappropriately used or misunderstood? How many are used to hurt or harm?

During this unprecedented migration crisis, the words related to migration, such as "asylum" or "reception," are used every day in society, even though their real meaning is often unknown or confused. Sometimes, they are even transformed. Thus, words lose all connections with reality.

However, the opposite should happen. Words must be capable of expressing facts and reality to understand the stories of migrants.

A joint campaign

The Italian Red Cross and Treccani launched a campaign on the importance of words, with the aim of restoring their true value. According to the organizations, "The society we live in is conditioned by images and slogans that decontextualize reality."

The campaign is based on five words related to the immigration – words too often unknown or misunderstood, or causing fear: migration, asylum, welcome, humanity, dialogue.

The purpose is to develop a better understanding of the migration phenomenon by returning words to their true meanings and explaining their significance. In this way, words regain their original function and are not used as weapons, but as tools for understanding.

'Words matter'

Combating misunderstanding and the manipulation of words and going beyond mere figures, which dehumanized the migration phenomenon, the campaign allows people to be closer to reality and to better understand the situation of migrants.

The campaign combines the very successful work on communication initiated by Treccani, #leparolevalgono (words matter), which aims to promote the value of the Italian language on the web, with the Italian Red Cross’s program of hospitality for migrants, #protecthumanity.

You can show your support by sharing one of the five definitions of the campaign with the hashtag #leparolevalgono.