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A digital assistant to navigate newcomers

Nadir is a prototype of an AI-based multilingual chatbot that provides clear, fast answers to frequent questions from migrant people in Palermo, covering documents, employment, language courses, and mediation services. Built on an open-source platform, it enables simple, non-technical updates through shared files. Its knowledge base can grow with verified sources or link directly to external databases. Thanks to its modular design, Nadir can be integrated into websites, apps, or public help desks, ensuring accessibility, adaptability to policy changes, and long-term sustainability.

The eight-week pilot in Palermo engaged public officials, migrant-support operators, and young migrants from diverse backgrounds. Testing in Arabic, French, English and Greek validated usability, clarity, and accuracy. Feedback confirmed its usefulness while suggesting refinements. Using natural language processing, Nadir interprets queries and retrieves verified answers from an indexed knowledge base.

 

By centralising essential information, Nadir helps newcomers overcome linguistic, bureaucratic, and digital barriers. It is a scalable model of how AI can foster inclusion and uphold the right to information. Moreover, anonymised interaction data, such as frequent questions or emerging gaps, can reveal community needs, guiding institutions and NGOs in service planning and policy design. Nadir thus becomes both a social inclusion tool and a source of actionable insights for evidence-based decision-making.