The most widely used definition of acculturation is the one proposed for Redfield, Linton & Herskovits in 1936: ‘‘those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact, with subsequent changes in the original culture patterns of either or both groups” (Redfield, Linton & Herskovits, 1936, in Sam & Berry, 2010, p. 473). Thus, these phenomena can be caused by short-term stays, multicultural spaces, migratory phenomena and/or any other situation involving contact between different cultures.
To categorise the different forms of acculturation that can occur in societies, John W. Berry (for example: Berry, 2003; Sam & Berry, 2010) presents a model of acculturation that classifies individual adaptation strategies into two dimensions: 1. Preservation or rejection of the individual’s native culture and 2. Adoption or rejection of the host culture. In this way, four acculturation strategies can be deduced (Sam & Berry, 2010; L.D.Worthy, T.Lavigne & F.Romero, 2020).
The culture shock perceived by the individual when entering a “new” group or society unleashes the need for a process of psychological and socio-cultural adaptation, as well as in most cases a mourning process.
Many studies have proclaimed that the most beneficial acculturation strategy is integration, which allows immigrants to adapt to a society while maintaining their own cultural heritage. In this way, the See Me, Hear Me project intends to assist migrants’s integration into European societies and to give them a voice within them. To this end, results such as the E-Course for migrants or the Online Magazine will be crucial to give a voice to all these stories.
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