Resource from academic institution

Still not easy being British

Tariq Modood, Director of the University of Bristol Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, has published his new book “Still Not Easy Being British: Struggles for a Multicultural Citizenship”. As a leading authority on these subjects within British academia, Modood describes the growth of Muslim political assertiveness in the context of rethinking multiculturalism and the concept of Britishness. Modood argues that the nature of Britishness need to be re-considered and warns against the caricature and distortion of Muslims that adds to the existing confusion and distrust.

In the Foreword to the book, former director of the Runnymede Trust, Robin Richardson agrees that Muslims or other minority are not the problem in Europe or the UK. “The problem is not in the first instance to do with differences of culture, religion, ideology or civilization. Rather, it is to do with conflicts of material interest. Globally, the key conflicts are around power, influence, territory and resources, particularly oil. Within urban areas in Europe they are around employment, housing, health and education. Such conflicts between and within countries become ‘religionised’ or ‘culturalised’ (…) The resulting insecurities lead to scapegoating and moral panics, with Muslims and other minorities as convenient enemies and targets, but not as the principal causes…Keeping such things in mind can help maintain a sense of proportion.” (pp xii-xiii)

Multiculturalism needs to move beyond the political accommodation of group identities as a means of challenging exclusionary racisms and fostering respect and inclusion for demeaned groups. Society needs to be remade so as to include the previously excluded or marginalized on the basis of equality and belonging. It is at this level that we may speak of multicultural integration or multicultural citizenship.

Read a book review by Muhammad Khan here

Challenges of migrant women in ageing societies

The FEMAGE project has released the report “Immigrant Women and their integration in ageing societies” . Coordinated by the Bundesinstitut fuer Bevoelkerungsforschung and funded by the European Commission, the general objectives of FEMAGE were “to generate and gain knowledge about the experiences, living conditions, and expectations of third country immigrant women regarding their migration and integration on the one hand, and investigate the need for female immigration in ageing societies on the other.”

The report shows that migration affects profoundly family lives and gender roles of migrant women. Difficulties to access labour market, social isolation and adjustement to their gender role make it difficult for them to make serious plans for old age in the host country. Negative attitudes of nationals towards them are often inspired by the fear of competition on the labour market altough migrant women consider that, in general, they are perceived positively by the natives.

Regarding ethnicity, in all migrant groups women experienced being subordinated as a woman. The majority of natives expect that foreigners have to adapt to the host countries. Multiculturalism is not the preferred approach of natives that would rather migrants to learn the language and the customs of the host country. The overwhelming majority of migrant women share the quest for permanence and integration.

The report concludes with a series of policy implications stressing that “efficient integration policies should focus on full integration – that is cultural, socio-economic and civic-political.”

Read the full report here

Australian attitudes towards immigration and asylum-seekers

Monash University, UNAOC Research Network Partner, has released the results of a national survey mapping Australian attitudes on a range of issues, including discrimination, attitudes towards immigration, immigrants and asylum-seekers.

Conducted by Professor Andrew Markus, the survey is part of the Scanlon Foundation’s Social Cohesion Research Program (in cooperation with the Australian Multicultural Foundation and the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements).

The 2010 survey found that the level of opposition to immigration remains low although there is an increase in negative views of immigration. But Australians broadly support a non-discriminatory immigration program that is perceived to be furthering the Australian national interest. The survey also concludes that there is greater support (67 percent) for the admission of asylum seekers.

The survey finds that discrimination on the basis of skin color, ethnic origin or religion has increased from 10 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2010 but it remains low. For instance, 74 percent of respondents’ attitudes towards Muslims were either positive or neutral. Moreover, it was observed that those with positive or neutral attitudes towards immigrants were the majority. Indeed, almost 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger.”

Read the report here

Youth and Integration in New Zealand – Report

The Centre for applied Cross-Cultural Research and the Va’aomanu Pasifika Victoria University of Wellington has issued a report on Youth and Integration.

The report summarizes the findings of the research project Youth Voices, Youth Choices: Identity, Integration and Social Cohesion in Culturally Diverse Aotearoa/New Zealand (YVYC). The project aimed to “engage youth from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious communities and understand their aspirations for social integration and the indicators and determinants of participation and success.”

With the funding support of FRST, CACR and Va’aomanu Pasifika are also supported by a range of government agencies and NGOs, including the Ministries of Social Development, Youth Development, Pacific Island Affairs, the Office of Ethnic Affairs, the New Zealand Chinese Association, the Federation of Islamic Councils of New Zealand and the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils.

Read the report here

Political Participation of Senior Migrants in Europe

European citizenship practice: political participation of transnational European senior migrants

In the context of European integration and the emergence of a leisure-oriented culture, traditional lifestyles have been replaced by new patterns of behaviour. In this regard, a remarkable phenomenon is the increasing migration of mainly retired Europeans to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. In the last decade, major changes concerning the social and political participation of such amenity-seeking migrants have been taking place, chiefly triggered by granting EU-foreigners active and passive voting rights in local elections.

Given the fact that many of the retired residents belong to the economic elite and were successful professionals, they count on powerful tools, know-how and resources to integrate and take leadership in local politics. Migrants from northern Europe founded their own parties e.g. in many Spanish municipalities and are currently active in the local councils. EURO_CITI is an innovative and interdisciplinary research project dealing with the different forms of political participation of retired European residents and principally aimed at discussing the practice of European Citizenship both in a conceptual and empirical framework.

Start date:2008-07-01

End date:2010-06-30

Project Acronym:EURO_CITI

Project status:Completed

Coordinator: AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (MADRID, ESPAÑA)

Contact:

Vicente RODRIGUEZ (Professor)
phone:+34-916022406
Fax:+34-913045710
E-mail:Contact URL:http://www.csic.es/

How to work on Women’s Health issues across cultural differences

Female genital mutilation (FGM – also known as Female genital cutting), is a practice linked to cultural traditions that leads to severe physical and mental health consequences. It origins from earlier than Christianity and Islam, and is practiced heavily in certain parts of Asia and Africa. Despite an international protocol to end FGM and laws forbidding the practice in most countries, FGM remains an important tradition in many regions.
In Europe and North America, issues related to FGM are very often quoted as one of the challenges of adaptation that migrant families deal with in their new countries. Different initatives illustrate concerted efforts to end the practice with the help of the concerned communities:

• In Ireland, the prevalence of FGM amongst African women has demonstrated that it is a real issue for service providers. Health professionals feel ill equipped to deal with the issue, noting a deficit of knowledge and skills on the subject and on how to meet the needs of concerned women. In partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the NGO AkiDwa has developped a program and a training manual on “Female Genital Mutilation, Information for Health-Care Professionals Working in Ireland”.
  In addition to health-specific recommendations, the manual highlights several findings that are relevant to community work on culturally sensitive topics, such as approaches based on ethical and practical concerns when discussing the sensitive and complex issue of FGM with women affected, and methods to develop stronger prevention of FGM and how to reach out to migrant communities. The importance of building the capacity of migrant women and their families to challenge the practice of FGM and of increasing awareness from and within the communities were highlighted, in addition to translation services in clinics and the active engagement of religious community leaders to condemn the practice of FGM.
  • Download the training manual here
  • Read more about the evaluation of the program here
  • Ireland’s National Plan of Action to Address Femal Genital Mutilation

 

• In Norway, the Muslim religious leader Imam Abdinur Mahamud has taken a leading role in fighting against FGM. In addition to making public statements against FGM based on Quran and Sharia analysis, he has written a book on the subject, that will be translated in Norwegian, English and in Somali. In his book, the Imam from the city of Trondheim makes clear that all forms of female circumcision are in conflict with Islam.
  • Read more here

These examples of initiatives involving local communities, and in particular religious and cultural leaders, could prove to be valid models for grass-roots consultations and empowerment on other sensitive topics, such as for instance the current European debates on the full veil.

European Citizenship – EURO_CITI: political participation of transnational European senior migrants

In the context of European integration and the emergence of a leisure-oriented culture, traditional lifestyles have been replaced by new patterns of behaviour. In this regard, a remarkable phenomenon is the increasing migration of mainly retired Europeans to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. In the last decade, major changes concerning the social and political participation of such amenity-seeking migrants have been taking place, chiefly triggered by granting EU-foreigners active and passive voting rights in local elections.

Given the fact that many of the retired residents belong to the economic elite and were successful professionals, they count on powerful tools, know-how and resources to integrate and take leadership in local politics. Migrants from northern Europe founded their own parties e.g. in many Spanish municipalities and are currently active in the local councils. EURO_CITI is an innovative and interdisciplinary research project dealing with the different forms of political participation of retired European residents and principally aimed at discussing the practice of European Citizenship both in a conceptual and empirical framework.

For more information, please visit European Citizenship website

Islam lessons to promote integration in Germany

In an interview, the German Minister of Education, Annette Schavan defends that introducing Islam lessons in German schools will help Muslim migrants to integrate. She believes that Muslim communities in Germany should understand themselves as part of German society. For that to happen, there must be an open dialogue between Islam and Christianity. Prejudice can only be reduced if Islam becomes transparent to the German society. The integration of Islam courses as part of the curricula is therefore essential.

Schavan also shows her support to university Islam courses. Germany needs religious leaders who “have learned about their religion scientifically and thus also critically.”

Read this article here

Migrants and forced marriage

The City of Zurich has published a study on the phenomenon of forced marriages. The authors of the study, Janine Dahinden and Yvonne Riaño, from the University of Neuchatel, explain the recent increase by differences and conflicts between first and second generations of migrants. The study recommends mediation rather than lawsuits.

More information on the research project here