Ethnic Minorities

Book - The European second generation compared: does the integration context matter

Integration of newcomers is a foremost challenge for contemporary Europe. The 'second generation' - children born of immigrant parentage - is crucial in this process, for they constitute a growing and increasingly vocal segment of the metropolitan youth. Yet, research so far has not delved into their real-life place and position, let alone compared it cross-nationally. This book offers a look at the real-life place and position of the European second generation in education, labour, social relations, religion and identity formation.

Sampa: Assistance service for newly-arrived residents of Molenbeek

Integration of vulnerable, newly-arrived  people through the socio-educational and socio-professional guidance and supervision of new arrivals in the borough.

Hakunen - a family centre for immigrants

Hakunen Family Centre promotes the integration of immigrant families.

At home in the library (Thuis in de bieb)

The City of Leiden had too little meeting places for girls of foreign origin. In the "at home in the library" project, such places are provided within the municipal libraries.

From recreational sport to top sport

Young people from foreign origin are less likely to make it in professional sports. The project supports young sports people wit a non-Dutch background in making a career out of their hobby.

Utrecht World School

How can primary schools structurally devote attention to intercultural education and more effectively prepare pupils for participation in a multicultural society?

Somali youngsters, The Hague, The Netherlands

A survey of the social environment of young Somalis in the city of The Hague resulted to a position reinforcing project for Somali youngsters in The Hague.

Amsterdam: Multicultural stage in Pniël church

In the Pniël church in the Bos en Lommer district, at the crossroads between the old and new west districts, a cultural centre is being created, together with a health centre. The cultural centre will offer a stage and a production facility, as well as production support for promising initiatives that represent a broad range of cultures.

New Comers In Morocco

The other side of the medal: Integration of Europeans in the Non European Immigrant world: an eye opener. To be really aware of what is missing in an integration programme and its policy one has to go through his own experience or sit on the chair of a new comer facing an unknown world full of riddles.

Services for Elderly from Ethnic Minorities - Dortmund, Germany

How to improve services for elderly from ethnic minorities - the case of Dortmund, Germany.

Boschveld, Den Bosch

The district of Boschveld is a multicultural district in 's-Hertogenbosch. Boschveld has four thousand inhabitants, including large numbers of particularly Turks and Moroccans, besides Dutch nationals. Relations between the indigenous and immigrant inhabitants were strained.

FORUM - centre of expertise on multicultural development

FORUM is a national centre of expertise in the field of multicultural development. The organisation advocates a society in which people from various communities live together as fully recognized citizens. It offers services and products that can be put to use in the cultivation of shared citizenship and the development of multicultural competence.

Dialogue on the key to women’s participation - Arnhem

To encourage women to take more part in society, the City of Arnhem organises dialogue meetings.

Helpdesk for Immigrants in the Zaanstreek region

In March 2001, the Helpdesk for Immigrants in the Zaanstreek region was established in Zaanstad. The idea behind this initiative is to help settled immigrant job seekers, particularly women, to find a job or appropriate training.

Intercultural administration project - Utrecht

The intercultural administration project aims to equip potential immigrant and non-immigrant administrators, so that they can function well within an administration.

Ethnic Communities and Green Spaces

From 2002 to 2005, the Black Environment Network (BEN) implemented the Green Space England project, which aims to stimulate and support green space managers to open out what green spaces have to offer to ethnic communities.

INVOLVE – Integration of third country nationals through volunteering

Migration, integration and volunteering are subject to considerable public and political debate in Europe. The INVOLVE project aimed to link these debates. The project focused on finding an answer to the following question: ‘How can volunteering be better used in order to facilitate integration needed as a consequence of migration?’ INVOLVE has made explicit the potential of volunteering as an instrument for improving the integration of immigrants, urging national and local governments to pursue action.

Diversity in Libraries – Czech Republic

Public libraries could be more than just a place to read or borrow books. They can play an important role in raising awareness of different cultures and promoting the integration of minority groups. As libraries operate on a local level, they can have a very direct impact on local communities. This was the starting point of a three-year project coordinated by the Multicultural Centre in Prague. The project is now in its second phase, aiming to disseminate the experience more widely in Europe.

Ethnic Minority Youth Participation in the Built and Natural Environment

This case study focuses on an Ethnic Minority youth participation project which was established to address the lack of representation of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) young people accessing, participating and seeking employment in environmental and heritage related activities.

Integrating refugee and asylum seeking families

This study features the work of the Derwent Refugee Support Project and its efforts to support and integrate a relatively small group of refugee and asylum seeking families into a housing estate in the City of Derby with a predominantly white ethnic profile.

Aurat Enterprise empowers and encourages women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds

Aurat Enterprise, based in Slough in the UK, was set up to empower and encourage women from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds to engage in learning as the first step to employment or further education. Aurat Enterprise aims to offer tailored community courses to meet BME women’s needs, inspire women to assess their personal situation and assist women in taking steps to change their lives.

Det grønne Jobhus - The Green Jobhouse

Quid pro quo -job guarantee in exchange for training.

Intercultural Coexistence - Avilés (Asturias), ES

Municipal plan for the eradication of Shanty Towns, re-accommodation and social integration

Information centre supports immigrants in Catalunya

CITE (Centre d’Informació per a Treballadors i Treballadores Estrangers) provides advice - free of charge - to both regular and irregular immigrants and provides orientation about immigration law, procedures to acquire a work permit, residence permit, family reunification, citizenship and visa. It also organises Catalan language courses and mediation and communication with educational centres around Catalunya.

Less unemployment among 'oldcomers' - Hoorn, The Netherlands

Unemployed 'oldcomers' (older immigrants) are finding work faster thanks to a unique collaboration between a local authority and the business community.

Work for Antillean and Aruban men - The Netherlands

Mundo - media education, training and work placements for immigrant and ethnic minority students

Investing in Equality / Improving Services: improving services for black and minority ethnic people

This report outlines a number of initiatives taken by the Cavan and Kildare County Councils in Ireland to enhance service delivery for people from Black, minority ethnic and Traveller communities. The main aim of the project was to develop systems and practices that promote equality, take account of and adjust for diversity and prevent and combat discrimination. The reports demonstrates that an improved customer satisfaction with governmental services can be achieved, even at a time of limited resources.

From social exclusion to entrepreneurship - Aarhus, Denmark

How can you give the many weaker members of society who are unable to live independently a better prospect of training and employment?

Improving the chances for immigrant doctors - Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Albeda College offers a training programme for doctors initially trained in other countries. The courses are designed to give foreign-trained doctors a better chance of doing well in medical faculty admission interviews and during further training in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam: Immigrants in action!

The pivot of the project is an intermediary, whose task is to lay contacts with immigrant inhabitants and to support their participation in regeneration plans and projects in their neighbourhood. The intermediary will help ethnic groups to make better use of existing facilities and services and ensure that these are more geared to the needs of the various groups.

Two successful examples of intercultural mediation in the health sector

Migration can no longer be regarded as a passing phenomenon, but is a structural trend that needs to be managed in a knowledgeable manner. Migrants might face several difficulties in accessing and using public health-care services. This article discusses two example projects that have improved health care access of migrants, and disseminates solutions and good practices.

Ruman Grandi: participation by Antillean juveniles - Rotterdam, Netherlands

The object of Ruman Grandi is to promote the participation of Antillean young people in Dutch society and to minimise the probability of social decline. This, it is hoped, will be achieved by strengthening certain areas of life such as work, income, schooling, housing, sport and recreation, and mental health.

Rotterdam Hoogvliet, the Netherlands - Bristol Case Study

The key principles of the Hoogvliet renewal process align closely with the sustainable communities approach. The physical regeneration work was always accompanied by strong citizens’ participation. This has led to innovative approaches regarding a radical transformation of the area.

Migrants are satisfied despite low wages

The situation of Central and Eastern European migrant workers in West Brabant municipalities Breda, Moerdijk and Zundert is quite different. This applies to the living situation, employment situation and future prospects. This is evident from the recent research by the Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Integration Report 2010: integration of non-western immigrants in the Netherlands is going well

The integration of non-western immigrants in the Netherlands is going well on most fronts. This is apparent from the Annual Report 2010 on Integration from CBS. More foreigners are enrolled in higher education. In the report 4 ethnic groups are central: Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antillean migrants. In addition, newer immigrant groups such as Poles and Bulgarians are also covered. The report shows developments in various aspects associated with the process of integration.

Female migrant workers in European labour markets

Women who immigrate to Europe in the 21st century come in search of economic opportunity, to join family members, or as asylum seekers and refugees. They arrive through legal channels or can be unauthorized; they migrate voluntarily or can be forced to migrate; and some are victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation.

Polish workers earn little, have little privacy yet they are satisfied

The Dutch municipality Westland is one of the major agricultural and horticultural areas in the Netherlands, hence the world. The majority of Polish workers has only recently moved to this area to work. They usually find work through an agency. Polish immigrants have worked in Hillegom and Katwijk, the dune and bulb region, for a longer time. Half the workers in Westland and a quarter of the workers in Hillegom and Katwijk intend to stay only briefly (at most 1 or 2 years) in the Netherlands. This appears from the research by the Erasmus University Rotterdam in collaboration with Nicis Institute about the living conditions and labor market position of Polish workers in the municipalities of Westland, Hillegom and Katwijk.

The debate over multiculturalism: philosophy, politics, and policy

Multiculturalism can refer to a demographic fact, a particular set of philosophical ideas, or a specific orientation by government or institutions toward a diverse population. Much of the contemporary debate over the value of multiculturalism centres on whether public multiculturalism — that which finds expression in concrete policies, laws, and regulations — is the appropriate way to deal with diversity and immigrant integration. Conceptual differences over the meaning of multiculturalism often lead to confusion and outright misunderstanding when people debate its challenges and benefits. This topic is discussed in Irene Bloemraad´s article titled “The Debate Over Multiculturalism: Philosophy, Politics, and Policy”.

Libraries for all – Multiculture Centre Prague

Decrease in irregular migration into Europe

Irregular migration frequently makes headlines, and in Europe, policymakers are under increasing public and political pressure to address both the flows and stocks of unauthorized migrants in each country. Within EU Member States, national governments define, identify, and respond to irregular migration in very different ways. However, with the removal of internal borders within the Schengen area, European governments are collaborating intensively on the management of their external borders. The reactive nature of EU irregular migration to border management operations and return policies suggest that continued and large-scale investment in border enforcement are likely to be needed alongside related policies that combat the root causes of such migration. This is described in ‘Irregular Migration in Europe’ by Christal Morehouse and Michael Blomfield.

Migrants in Europe: level of qualification, income, living conditions and labour market integration

Migration has become an increasingly important phenomenon for European societies. Patterns of migration flows can change greatly over time, with the size and composition of migrant populations reflecting both current and historical patterns of migration flows. Combined with the complexity and long-term nature of the migrant integration process, this can present challenges to policymakers who need good quality information on which to base decisions. It is important that the statistics should go beyond the basic demographic characteristics of migrants and present a wider range of socio economic information on migrants and their descendants. The publication ‘Migrants in Europe – A statistical portrait of the first and second generation’ looks at a broad range of characteristics of migrants living in the European Union and EFTA countries.

MPI report examines the concept of national identity in France and its impact on integration efforts

France has long faced a contentious debate of crucial importance for immigrants and their descendants. In a Migration Policy Institute (MPI) report, titled ‘French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community’ national identity is discussed. According to the researcher, Patrick Simon, defining what it means to “be French,” a debate that flared in its recent presidential election in which a significant percentage of voters supported a platform critical of immigration and its effects on society. Though countries with rich histories of immigration such as the United States and Canada accept “dual belonging” at least in practice, this concept has been criticized and perceived as at odds with a person’s commitment to French identity.

Integrating Cities Toolkits on migrant integration

The toolkit produced by EUROCITIES guides and offers inspiration to city administrators in reaching European standards in anti-discrimination, cultural diversity and introductory and language courses. Developed under the 'Making integration work in Europe's cities' (MIXITIES) project, the toolkit offers practical, tested guidance and inspiration to help cities to reach European standards in integration policies –as set out in the EUROCITIES Integrating Cities Charter. The charter sets out the duties and responsibilities of European cities to embrace the diversity of their population and to provide equal opportunities for all citizens.