COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS STUDY

On Migrant integration policies, programmes and supports

meathpartnership engage • enable • participate • progresswww.integrateproject.eu

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS STUDYOn Migrant integration policies,

programmes and supports

HOME/2015/AMIF/AG/INTE/9102

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use

which may be made of the information contained therein.

EUROPEAN UNIONAsylum, Migrationand Integration Fund

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INDEX OF CONTENTS

1. Migrant integration in the European Union: EU policy and statistics ...................4

2. Overview of the national context ..........................................................................6

3. Identificationandselectionprocessusedtoidentifythekeyareas to train migrant women in order to support their social and civic integration ......12

4. Stakeholdersinvolvementtoenlightentheexchangeofknowledge ..................13

5. PrincipalknowledgesourcesandtypesusedtoinformINTEGR8’s innovative methodology ......................................................................................13

6. INTEGR8’snewmethodologiesusedtoovercome barrierstomigrantwomen’sintegration .............................................................14

7. CriteriausedforevaluatingINTEGR8’smethodologyanditsapplication ..........15

8. Corefindingsfromthelocalresearchprocess conducted at the start of the project ...................................................................15

LESSONSLEARNEDFROMTHEPROJECT ........................................................17

RECOMMENDATIONS ...........................................................................................17

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1. Migrant integration in the European Union: EU policy and statistics Migrant integration policies as a national competenceSince the signature of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, European institutions have the mandate to ‘provide incentives and support for the action of Member States with a view to promoting the integration of third-countrynationals.’TheEUhasnonethelessperiodicallysetprioritiesandgoalstodriveEUpolicies,legislativeproposals and funding opportunities since the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam. The 2004 Common Basic Principles represent another stepping stone as they have guided and continue to guide most EU actions in the area of integration.

Frompresentdaypoliciesbuildingonthe2016ActionPlanbacktotheTreatyofAmsterdam:wepresentashort chronology1 of how the EU has been shaping the integration of third country nationals over the previous two decades.

2016 – Forward: The Holistic Approach

TheJune2016ActionPlanontheintegrationofthirdcountrynationalsisthelatestgoalssettingdocumentpublishedbytheEuropeanCommission.ItprovidesacomprehensiveframeworktosupportMemberStates’efforts in developing and strengthening their integration policies, and describes concrete measures the Commission will implement in Member States.

2011-2015: Funding for Integration

Prior to the 2016 Action Plan, migrant integration issues were guided by the European Agenda for the Integration ofThird-CountryNationals,adoptedinJuly2011.TheAgenda,whichcoveredtheperiod2011-2015focusedonincreasingtheeconomic,social,culturalandpoliticalparticipationofmigrantsandfightingdiscrimination;with an emphasis on local actions. It also explored pre-arrival measures and the role of countries of origin in the integration process with destination countries. The multiplicity of funding opportunities made available is a major legacy of this period.

2005 to 2010: Knowledge Exchange

Until 2010, the Common Agenda for Integration presented by the Commission in 2005 was the strategy documentprovidingtheframeworkfortheimplementationoftheEUintegrationpolicy.Itcontainedaseriesof supportive EU mechanisms and instruments to promote integration and facilitate exchanges between integration actors.

1999 to 2004: Genesis of a Common Policy

With the Treaty of Amsterdam, the integration of migrants from non-EU countries became affected by EU policies for theveryfirst time.Adopted in1997, the treatyentered into force in1999.From thenon, theEuropeanUnioncouldtakeappropriateactiontocombatdiscrimination,includingthosebasedonracialorethnic origin and religion or belief. The EU also developed a common immigration policy which was guided until 2004 by the so-called Tampere Programme wherein Member States agreed that the aim of such a policy should be to grant third-country nationals rights and obligations comparable to those of EU citizens.

1 [https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/the-eu-and-integration/framework]

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MigrationhasbecomeoneofthekeycomponentsofpopulationchangeinEurope2.MigrationflowsoverpastdecadesamongEUMemberStatesandin-andoutsideoftheEUhavehadasignificantimpactonthecurrentpopulation size in most Member States.

ThepopulationofindividualEUMemberStateson1stJanuary2017rangedfrom0.4millioninMaltato82.8million in Germany. Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy together comprised more than half (54.0 %) ofthetotalEU-28populationon1stJanuary2017.

ThepopulationoftheEU-28increasedduring2016by1.5millionpeople.PopulationgrowthwasunevenlydistributedacrosstheEUMemberStates:atotalof18MemberStatesobservedanincreaseintheirrespectivepopulations, while the population fell in the remaining 10 Member States. Luxembourg, Sweden, Malta, Ireland and Austria recorded the highest population growth rates in 2016, with increases above 9.0 per 1 000 persons,almosttriplethatoftheEU-28averageof3.0per1,000persons(seeTable2).AmongthesefiveEUMember States with the highest rates of population growth, the fastest expansion in population was recorded inLuxembourgwithanincreaseof19.8per1,000persons.ThelargestrelativedecreasesinpopulationwerereportedbyLithuania(-14.2per1,000persons),Latvia(-9.6)andCroatia(-8.7).

Table1. Population growth

2 [http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/population-demography-migration-projections/migration-and-citizenship-data]

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2. Overview of the national contexts within INTEGR8 IRELAND – MEATH PARTNERSHIP

Statistical data

Basedonthelatestfigures,takenfromestimatesoftheCensus2016,thenumberofmigrantstoIrelandinthe year to April 2016 is estimated to have increased by almost 15% from 69,300 to 79,300 individuals. Of thistotal,non-IrishnationalsfromoutsidetheEUaccountedfor31,800(40.1%)oftotalimmigrants.FromthemostrecentpublishedCensusfigures(2011),weseethattherewasatotalpopulationof544,357non-Irishnationals living in Ireland in April 2011, representing 199 different nations, with individuals from Poland and theUnitedKingdomconstitutingthelargestgroupsofnon-IrishnationalsinIreland.Ofthisfigure,non-Irishnationalsweresplitquiteevenlybygender,with271,864malesand272,493females,and60%wereinthe22 - 44 years age group.

National policies which impact on migrant integration

TheDepartmentofJusticeandEqualitypublishedaMigrantIntegrationStrategyon7thFebruary2017;whichwill guide service provision for migrants and refugees in Ireland from 2017 through to 2020. This strategy sets targets for government departments in terms of providing “information to migrants in language-appropriate formats,ongoing interculturalawareness training forall front-linestaff,signage inpublicoffices indicatingwhereinterpretationisavailable,andclearinformationonhowtomakeacomplaintaboutracistbehaviourbystaff or another customer.”

CYPRUS – CARDET

Statistical data

Between the years 2002 and 2017, 60,568 asylum applications have been reported on the island ofCyprus (Asylum Service, n.da, Asylum Service, n.db,DrousiotouandMathioudakis2016,DrousiotouandMathioudakis,2017);1,250personswererecognisedasrefugees;and7,718personsweregrantedsubsidiaryor humanitarian protection (UNHCR, 2017c).What ismore, between1998and2004, 454personswererecognisedasrefugeesbyUNHCR(AsylumService,n.da).

National policies which impact on migrant integration

Policy and practice towards integration for refugees and migrants has only appeared in the Cypriot public domain within the last decade, and this is apparent in the experiences, challenges and needs of refugees andmigrants.Thoughitisnowacknowledgedthatmigrationisnotatheoreticalphenomenonbutarealissuenowadays, the Cypriot society is still developing an Action Plan that may be effectively implemented for the benefitofall.

In2010theGovernmentadoptedthefirstActionPlanfortheIntegrationofMigrantslegallyresidinginCyprusfor the years 2010 – 2012. Quoting this policy document and action, «Integration of immigrants and their descendants is a dynamic, long-term and continuous two-way process of mutual acceptance. So requires the participation not only of immigrant and their descendants but also every citizen. The host society should create opportunities for full economic, social, cultural and political participation of immigrants.

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(Special Committee of Experts for Inclusion, 2010).

Aiming at preparing an all-inclusive policy building on an effective approach for long-term legal immigration and an encouraging viewpoint on multiculturalism in the Cypriot Society the following measures were suggested:

• Inclusion and participation of migrants in the social and public life of the Cypriot society

• Recognitionofsocial,economic,politicalandculturalrightsandneedsofimmigrants

• Racismanddiscrimination,andalsotodesignstrategiesandactionplans,whichsetmeasurablegoalsand mechanisms for monitoring implementation.

(Special Committee of Experts for Inclusion, 2010)

Though the abovementioned was not officially assessed so as to measure the extent to which it wasimplemented,areportcommissionedbyUNHCRhighlightsthatthereislittleevidencethattheactionplanhadanypositiveresults,whereasnointegrationmeasuresweretakenspecificallyinfavourofrefugees(OfficerandTaki, 2013,ECRI, 2016).This is reaffirmed in the 2016Report of theHumanRightsCommissionerof the Council of Europe, following his visit to Cyprus, stressing that the action plan was not implemented (Muiznieks,2016).Whilewaitingforgovernmentalactionplanstowardsmigrationintegration,asmallnumberof EU-funded actions, NGOs- and voluntary-based initiatives concerning migration integration function as a compass to the Cypriot society, offering hope for what the future holds.

PORTUGAL – ISQ

Statistical data

In 2016 there were a total of 397,731 foreign citizens registered as residents in Portugal, which represents 3.9% of the total population (10.31 million). A total of 29,925 permanent immigrants had been registered in 2016. In the current decade, the lowest level of migration was registered in 2012, when merely 14,606 persons entered the country. In 2016 the entry numbers increased, but the migration balance is still strongly negative: withatotalof8,348people.Sincethebeginningofthisdecade,theforeignresident(permanentimmigrant)population has been decreasing. The bottom point was in 2014. However, since 2015 and 2016 an increase in the allocation of residence visas was observed, as well as a slight increase of the immigrant population. Before theglobaleconomiccrisis, in2008, themain immigration reasonswereworkingmotivations.Themotivationhaschanged,andturnedtostudy,andfamilyreunification:thesetwofactorsrepresent67.8%oftotalvisaapplications.Thenumberofindependentself-employees(2,528applications)alsoincreasedaswellastheresearchandscientificacademicsactivity(2,816).Moreover,itwasobservedanincreaseofbusinessinvestment (19,065) as a motivation of foreign people to enter Portugal. There is some diversity among the immigrantpopulation.Theaverageageisbetween20-49years.Dividingbynationality,theyoungestgroupisRomanian(72.3%)andBrazilian(71.3%),followedbytheAngolan(67.2%),Guinean(63.4%)andSanTome(62.9%).Accordingtotheages,theyoungestcommunity(0-19years)areofChineseorigin(24.8),SanTome(22.3),Guinean(20.6%)andRomanian(17.8%).Amongtheimmigrantpopulation,thecommunitywiththehighestrepresentationofchildrenbetween0-9years:isChinese(13%)followedbyRomanian(8.6%).

National policies which impact on migrant integration

TheNationalSupportCentres ofMigrant Integrationwork since 2004 in different fields of integration forcultural, organisation and legislative challenges. These centres are located in Lisbon (Central), Oporto (North) and Algarve (South) with the aim to create a place to gather different services, institutions and cabinets. These support centres have numerous services under one roof: Foreigners and Border Service (SEF), Social Security(SS),AuthoritytotheWorkConditions(ACT),CentralRegistryOffice(CRC),MinistryofEducation(ME), and the Ministry of Health (MS). The CNAIM also has specialised cabinets which provides support and informationindiversespecificareas:theCabinetofSupporttoTheFamilyRegrouping(GARF);theCabinetof LegalSupport to the Immigrant (GAJI); theCabinet ofSocialSupport (GAS); theCabinet ofHousingSupport(GAH);theCabinetofEmploymentSupport(withtwo2versions,onecoordinatedbytheNetwork

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GIP–Immigrant–CabinetofProfessionalInsertion–andotherspecialisedintheareaofentrepreneurship;theCabinetofSupporttotheImmigrantConsumer(GAIC)andtheCabinetofSupporttotheQualification(GAQ).All the cabinets and serviceswork in collaboration, gather in a commonphysical space, provideservices, information, referrals, advising and developing mediation activities to solve questions presented by the migrants.

The CNAI introduced the usage of socio-cultural mediators from different countries, mastering 14 different languages,toprovidemoreaccessiblesupportservice.Infact,themediator’ssocio-culturalbackground,withimmigrantexperienceandlanguageknowledge,bringsanimportantaddedvaluetothefunction.TheACM,collaboratingwithNGOsandAssociations,workstogetherontherecruitmentofmediators.Forthelanguageproblems, the ACM launched the Telephonic Language Service, which covers more than 60 languages, which facilitatesimmigrant’sreceptionandaccesstoservicesinimportantareas.Thevolunteermentornetworkshave an auxiliary role to facilitate the socio-cultural integration, through the “Mentor Programme for Migrants”. The members help with orientation, covering different topics from entrepreneurship to free time and hobby activities, andgiving information to solveproblem issues, promoting informationand knowledge transfer.Behind theprogramme, there isacontinuoussystematicselection,assessment,matchingandknow-howevaluating. For the better integration and inclusion, the ACM organises the Portuguese language and culture learningtofacilitateintegrationinsocietyandthelabourmarket.

Over the last 10 years, the Portuguese Government introduced the Strategic Plan for Migration (2007-2010and2010-2013).This is theglobal frameworkwhichfocusesontheageingdemographicchallenge,integration and training of immigrant communities in Portugal, international mobility, talent management, and helping to return back the immigrant Portuguese population. Themain policy goal is labourmarketintegration; decrease discrimination of immigrants, a bettermobility of talent and human resources, anddecentralisation of immigrant policies, and access to the civil society. It has also established a Technical Team of Accompaniment (TTA) represented by various ministries to support the Strategic Plan execution. Over the lasttwoyears,thelocallevelofintegrationhasimproved,asPortugalinvolved21municipalitiesfinancedbytheEuropeanFundfortheIntegrationofThirdCountryNationals(EFITHC),markedbytheimplementationofthe Municipal Plan for Immigrant Integration.

Forthelocalintegrationimprovement,theHighCommissionfortheMigration(ACM)hascreatedthenetworkof“MunicipalitiesFriendsofImmigrantandDiversity”withaimstogainknowledgeoftherealneedsofthemigrant people in different regions across the country. This project is creating a better cooperation between the local organisations and the state, monitoring the service quality and involved more than one hundred local governments.

It is important to highlight that, since 2007, Portugal is a pioneer of the implementation of the “Strategic Plan of Inclusion of Immigrant”. The programme is being monitored from the bottom-up, based on the collaboration with local ONGs, education and public health system and the central administration.

ROMANIA – UPIT

Statistical data

Romaniacontinuestobeacountryofemigration,thephenomenonofemigrationbeingthesecondbiggestcauseofthecountry’spopulationdecline.Theinternationalmigrationbalancein2016wasnegative,withthenumber of migrants exceeding the number of immigrants with over 76,000 people, according to a communique of the National Institute of Statistics from August 2017.

However,Romaniahasarelatively largenumberof immigrants,whosetrend ispositive.Accordingtothe‘StatisticalImmigrationandAsylumBulletin’oftheGeneralInspectorateforImmigration,atthelevelofthefirst semester2012,76,881visaapplicationsweresubmittedbynon-EUcitizens fromMoldova,Ukraine,Turkey,Russia,China,India,Belarus,Egypt,Iran,Lebanonandothercountries(11.05%lessthanin2011),ofwhich74,075 (96.35%)wereapproved.Theapplications forworkpermits requestedby immigrants inRomaniaincreasedby16.53%in2012comparedtothepreviousyearandthenumberofimmigrantsfromEU countries amounted to 42,953. A total of 1,617 foreigners were found with illegal residence, 13.99 %

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lessthanin2011.Atthesametime322foreignersweretakenintopubliccustody(36.44%morethaninthepreviousyear).Onlyinthefirstsixmonthsof2017,1,437clandestineimmigrantsfromIraq,Syria,Pakistan,Afghanistan,Iran,Turkey,India,Kosovo,Bangladesh,andPalestinetriedillegallytoenterRomania.Theyarejoinedbytheover700refugeesthatRomaniahasreceivedundertheEU’squota.Intotal,morethan2,400refugees-mostlyasylumseekers-wereinRomania,atleasttemporarily,inmid-2017,350%morethanthemandatoryquotasimposedbyBrussels.ThequotaallocatedtoRomaniais4,188refugees(the‘EvenimentulZilei’newspaper,September5,2017).In2017therewere50,199immigrantsinRomania.

National policies which impact on migrant integration

Romania has usually been considered just a country of transit toWesternEurope, facingwith a limitednumberofimmigrantswhointendedtoestablishinRomania,but,asaconsequenceoftherefugeecrisisin2015, the immigration issue has become one of public interest. In this context, the Government approved the NationalStrategyforImmigration2015-2018andtheActionPlan,intendingtoparticipatetotheinternationalcommunity efforts to provide immigrants with a proper political and social context for integration. These basic documents highlight the importance and the necessity to establish some facilitating mechanisms of admission inschools/labourmarketandtodevelopcertainproceduresinordertofacilitatethestudiesandcompetencesrecognition.Weshouldnotethattheyexistbuttherearestillsomeissueswhichshoulddefinitelybesolved.Moreover,theEducationNationalLawprovidesequalrighttoaccesstheeducationalsysteminRomania,both at primary and secondary level and high education. As a consequence, nowadays, there are almost 7,110 students from third countries in our schools and universities.

TheintegrationinitiativesinRomaniadonotreferespeciallytomigrantwomen,buttoallcategoriesofmigrants:women, men, children etc. They have general applicability with no restrictions. The programme migrant in Romaniaprovidesawebsitewithinformationforthemigrantsinourcountryorforthosewhointendtocomeand establish here. Through this wide programme, many activities are organised for migrants. In those cities which are partners in this programme, local seminars for migrant are hosted integration periodically. Once a year,thereisthenationalconferenceMigrantinRomania,wheremanyinstitutionsdealingwiththemigrationphenomenonparticipate.Moreover,therearemanyeventsformigrants,suchas:Timișoara-TheRefugeeDay2016,EPALE-MigrantEducationWeek,BeyondBorderswithOneWorldRomania2016.Therearealsoother initiatives aimed at migrant women.

UNITED KINGDOM – LEARNING UNLIMITED

Statistical data

Despite theUKgovernment’saim forannualnetmigration tobeunder100,000according to theOfficefor National Statistics3,intheyearendingMarch2018,netmigrationtotheUKwas270,000(downfrom273,000 year ending September 2016)

Thisrepresentsasignificantfallfromthepeaklevelsin2015and2016.AlthoughEUmigrationwasatitslowestlevelsince2012,anddespiteuncertaintiesaroundBREXIT,around90,000moreEUcitizensarrivedintheUKthanleftintheyearendingMarch2018.Non-EUnetmigrationisnowatasimilarleveltothatseenin 2011.

See next chart 1.

3 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatistic-squarterlyreport/august2018#main-points.

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Chart 1: Net migration by citizenship, UK, year ending June 2008 to year ending March 2018.

IntheyearendingJune2018,theUKissued14,308grantsofasylumandalternativeformsofprotectionandresettlement. This is a 12% reduction compared with the previous year. In addition, just over 6,000 Family ReunionVisaswere issued topartnersandchildrenof thosegrantedasylumorhumanitarianprotection,which represents an 11% increase compared to the previous year.

National policies which impact on migrant integration

FollowingtheEUreferendum,therehavebeenseveralkeypolicydevelopmentswhichspecificallyrelatetoimmigration and integration. These include consultation, policies and funding relating to integrated communities and ESOL. The Integrated Communities Strategy4greenpaperinvitesviewsonthegovernment’svisionforbuildingstrong integratedcommunitieswherepeople–whatever theirbackground– live,work, learnandsocialise together, based on shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities. The green paper sets out an ambitious programme of actions across the UK government to deliver its vision at the local and national level.

Languageasbarrier to integration isakey issueandNATECLA(theNationalAssociationforTeachersofEnglish and Community Languages to Adults) is lobbying for England to have a national ESOL strategy (both Scotland and Wales already have their own ESOL strategies).

The UK Government published a revised Hate Crime Action Plan as a direct response to increased racial abuseandhatecrimesleadingfollowingtheEUreferendum,(HomeOffice,26July2016).

ITALY – FORMAZIONE CO&SO NETWORK

Statistical data

Asof1January2017,therewere5,047,028foreignnationalsresidentinItaly.Thisamountedto8.2%ofthecountry’spopulationandrepresentedanincreaseof92,352overthepreviousyear.Thesefiguresinclude

4 www.gov.uk/government/consultations/integrated-communities-strategy-green-paper

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childrenborninItalytoforeignnationals(whowere75,067in2014;14.9%oftotalbirthsinItaly),butexcludeforeignnationalswhohavesubsequentlyacquiredItaliannationality;thisappliedto129,887peoplein2014.Around6,200,000peopleresidinginItalyhaveanimmigrationbackground(aroundthe10%ofthetotalItalianpopulation).Theyalsoexcludeillegalimmigrantswhosenumbersaredifficulttodetermine.

InMay2008,theBostonGlobequotedanestimateof670,000forthisgroup.Thedistributionofforeignbornpopulation is largely uneven in Italy: 59.5% of immigrants live in the northern part of the country (the most economically developed area), 25.4% in the central one, while only 15.1% live in the southern regions. The children born in Italy to foreign mothers were 102,000 in 2012, 99,000 in 2013 and 97,000 in 2014.

Since the expansion of the European Union 5, the most recent wave of migration has been from surrounding European states, particularly Eastern Europe, and increasingly Asia, replacing North Africa as the major immigrationarea.AboutamillionRomanians,around10%ofthembeingRomaareofficiallyregisteredaslivinginItaly.Asof2013,theforeignbornpopulationoriginwassubdividedasfollows:Europe(50.8%),Africa(22.1%),Asia(18.8%),America(8.3%),andOceania(0.1%).

National policies which impact with migrant integration

ItalianLaw40/1998(ART.40)statessomemeasurestofacilitatethemigrantintegrationprocessanditlistsallactivitiesthatItalianPublicInstitutions,incollaborationwithprivateassociationsandorganisationsworkinginthefieldofmigrants,havetodevelopinordertosupportmigrantslivinginItaly.TheState,regions,provincesand municipalities, also in collaboration with the associations of foreigners and with the authorities or public and private entities of the countries of origin, facilitate:

1. theactivitiesundertakeninfavourofforeignerslegallyresidinginItaly,alsoinordertoorganisetrainingcoursesaboutthelanguageandcultureoforigin;

2. the disclosure of any relevant information useful for the positive integration of foreigners into Italian society, in particular concerning their rights and duties, the various integration opportunities and personal and community growth offered by the government and by the associations as well as for the possibility of apositivereintegrationinthecountryoforigin;

3. the implementation of agreements with associations regularly registered in order to involve foreigners, with a residence card or a residence permit valid for not less than two years, in quality of intercultural mediators in order to facilitate relations between the different administrations and foreigners belonging to differentethnic,national,linguisticandreligiousgroups;

4. the organisation of training courses to prevent discriminatory, xenophobic or racist conducts for operators of public and private bodies who have regular contact with foreigners .

A migrant integration support is also represented by the Migrants Integration Portal available at http://www.integrazionemigranti.gov.it. It isaprojectco-financedby theEuropeanFund for Integration thatwasbornunderthecoordinationoftheGeneralDirectorateofImmigrationandtheMinistryofLabourIntegrationandSocial Policies. The Migrants Integration Portal is a collaborative effort between the ministry of Labour and SocialAffairs,MinistryofInteriorandMinistryofEducation,UniversityandResearch.Theportalhasasectionto help migrants in the search for the local and national services.

The Permanent Territorial Centers for Education and Training in Adult Age (CTP) are public institutions, in which state teachers operate, also supported by experts and external collaborators, to provide cultural, educational and training activities to adults. The Italian language courses of the CTP also include civic educationinformationconcerningcitizens’rightsandduties.

Intercultural mediation: organisations providing useful information on the intercultural mediation services that are active in Italy.

Minors: The presence of foreign minors in Italy is a constant and continuously growing phenomenon. Among theforeignminorspresentinItaly,asignificantcomponentisrepresentedbyunaccompaniedforeignminors.All foreign minors in Italy, irrespective of their entry procedures within the national territory, are protected by

5 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Italy#Statistics

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therightsenshrinedintheNewYorkConventionontheRightsoftheChildsignedin1989.Organisationsprovide in particular the following services: Psycho-Educational Support; SocializationActivities; Schoolsupport;Culturalexchangeinitiatives.

Health care: in order to favour integration and promote a correct access to services by foreign citizens, two keyproblemsmustbefaced:languageandculturerepresentahindrance,consideringthattheapproachtothe human body and to diseases is different in every country, and is often extremely different from ours. In each section there is a database with contact details of several Italian organizations providing support and information formigrants about: education and training; interculturalmediation services; start up support;servicesforminors;healthcare;etc.

AUSTRIA – JUGEND AM WERK

Statistical data

In 2017, 154,700 immigrated to Austria while at the same time 110,100 people left the country. The population oftheforeignresidentpopulationinAustriaatthebeginningof2018was15.8%ofthetotalpopulation.With17,900,RomaniahadthelargestnumberofadditionsfollowedbyGermanyandHungary.Inflowsfromthirdcountriesaccountedforatotalof34%ofallimmigrants.Personswithamigrationbackground.Unemploymentratein2017overallat8.5%.12.5%ofnon-Austrianswereregisteredasunemployed.54%ofAustriansrateintegrationinAustria2018ratherpoorly(43%)andasverybad(13%).

National policies which impact on migrant integration

TheDepartmentBMEIA(FederalMinistryforEurope,IntegrationandForeignAffairs)bundleswiththeNationalAction Plan for Integration all integration policies of countries, municipalities, cities, and federal government. This was discussed with about 150 national and international experts and immigrant representatives and citizens. It contains general principles of integration policy and sees itself as a process in which new challenges areconstantlybeingaddressedwiththeaimofsecuringsocialcohesioninthelongterm.Theplandefinessevenfieldsofaction:actionarea languageandeducation,workandoccupation,constitutionalstateandvalues, health and social affairs, intercultural dialogue, sport and leisure as well as housing and the regional dimension of integration.

3. Identification and selection process used to identify the key areas to train migrant women in order to support their social and civic integration Immigration and the civic and social integration of new ethnic minorities have become important policy challenges in all EU countries in recent years. While economic integration is easily measured through a numberofwidelyavailableindicatorslikethereductionofwage,incomeandemploymentdisparitiesbetweennativesandimmigrants,socialandcivicintegrationisconcernedthelevelsofintegrationaremoredifficulttoassess.ThisiswhythepartnersofINTEGR8aimedalltheactivitiesintheperspectivetofostertheintegrationofmigrant,specificallywomen;empowering themwithin theirmigrantcommunitiesbyprovidingvalidatedtrainingandsupportingthemtodevelopaseriesofinformalnetworkstopromotesocialandcivicintegration.

Inpractice thanks to theresearchconductedat thebeginningof the INTEGR8project, itwaspossible toidentify:

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• the best practices to design and implement Migrant Integration initiatives

• the training needs of the migrant women

• the training needs of the educators

• innovativesocialandcivicinclusionmethodologiestobeincludedintheINTEGR8Toolkit

TheConsortiumpartnersaccomplishedthefollowingtasks:

1. carried out a survey of available literature and existing migrant integration measures in all participating partnercountries;

2. developed questionnaires and a report to understand the training needs in terms of social and civic integrationofthemigrantwomen;

3. conducted research with educators to determine the train-the-trainer needs to implement the curriculum andensurethattheprojectachieveditsobjectives;and

4. created a resource toolkit to identify innovative social and civic inclusion methodologies that useeducational, cultural and recreational activities as embedded learning techniques to promote integration.

4. Stakeholders involvement to enlighten the exchange of knowledge StakeholdershadacriticalroletoplayinthecontextofINTEGR8project.Frommigrationintegrationandsocialinclusionauthorities,socialworkersandadulteducatorstoacademics,students,trainers,teachersandvolunteers;stakeholderswereinvolvedfromtheearlystagesoftheprojectandmadethedeliveryofallphasespossible. To name but a few activities: they supported the partners with the focus groups and needs analysis process;theytookacriticalfriend’sroleintheLocalWorkingGroups;theysharedusefulsuggestionsinthetrainingphase;theysupportednetworking;theyassistedinthedisseminationoftheprojectasagoodpracticeinwomenmigration integration initiatives throughout the project life-cycle; they participated in INTEGR8multipliereventsandothermicro-networking initiatives.Themultiplerolesadoptedbyourstakeholders insupportoftheprojectensuredaqualityofprocessandadvancedtheanticipatedresults.Stakeholderspavedthewayfortheprojectaimsandobjectivestobeimplementedatminimumriskandopenednewavenuesforsynergies,underpinningtheproject’ssustainability.

5. Principal knowledge sources and types used to inform INTEGR8’s innovative methodology TheINTEGR8consortiumimplementedandfosteredabottom-upapproachtotheintegrationofmigrantwomenthat placed the women themselves at the centre of the integration design process. The project recognised and values the fact that migrant women themselves are relevant experts about the issues and barriers they face in new communities and are therefore best placed to lead any new initiative that aims to foster the integration of migrant women. Identifying and training a new cohort of Migrant Integration Experts within the community ofmigrantwomenintheparticipatingcountrieswasaninnovativeandpotentiallyground-breakingapproach.Our methodology was focused on target group engagement through all development phases.

Thelocalworkinggroups(LWG)helpedincreatingasenseofownershipofallprojectoutputsamongtheimplicatedtargetgroupsandthesegroupsmetatregularintervalstoprovideinsights,opinionsandfeedbackon the project development process and the outputs produced.

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FromtheresearchkeyfindingstheINTEGR8consortiumdevelopedthefollowingeducationalmaterials:

• CurriculumManualandWorkbook

• Train-the-trainer Courseware

• INTEGR8Toolkit

• INTEGR8E-learningportal

Thesetoolswereusedtoachievetheproject’smaingoalintermsofsocialandcivicintegrationofmigrantwomen by training them as Migrant Integration Experts.

The methodologies utilised a cascading model of integration where each trained Migrant Integration Expert engagedaminimumof5migrantwomeninamicro-socialnetwork.Sothefinalresultgainedwasthecreationofupto20micro-networkswith5membersineachpartnercountry.Thesemicro-networkssupportedamulti-ethnic thematic clusters to address broader integration issues.

6. INTEGR8’s new methodologies used to overcome barriers to migrant women’s integration With emerging integration barriers beingmainly language, culture and lack of access to health servicesaswellasjobandeducation&trainingopportunities,inthecontextofINTEGR8anattemptwasmadetosuccessfullymeetthesechallengesbynewmethodologiesincludingthefollowing:skill-basedmethodologies,personalisedandneeds-basedapproach,aswellasgroupandself-reflectionactivities,soas tocultivatecriticalthinkingskillsandaddtopersonalandprofessionaldevelopmentofourmigrantwomen.

In addition, problems or barriers to integration were considered to be (as they have been emphasised by migrantwomenthemselves)thelanguagebarrier,nothavinga(secure)job,localpeople’smentalityvis-à-visimmigrants(unfairattitudeofthepeople),thebureaucracy,lackofcommunication,struggleforhavingabettersociallife,gettingappreciationonbehalfofthehostsociety.Thefinancialproblems(lackoffinancialindependence)representedthecommonbackgroundasperceivedbytheimmigrants,butthesearerelatedtopeople’smentalityratherthanlaws.

INTEGR8focusedonaddressingallthesebarriers,althoughgettinglanguageskillsinthelanguageofthehostcountrywasnotdirectlyenvisaged,throughthepracticalresourcesprovidedwithin(a)theINTEGR8Toolkit,(b)LearnerWorkbooktoSupporttheMigrantIntegrationExpertCurriculumand(c)theINTEGR8TrainingFacilitatorHandbookandmorepreciselyviatheskillsacquiredbybeneficiariesthroughthesetrainingsandtraining resources, over a large variety of targeted social and civic areas.

This skill-basedapproachand resourceshaveproven to beextremely valuable for the empowerment ofmigrant women because it enabled them to act as trainers and leaders within their communities, offer support toothermigrantwomen,shareskills,experiencesandexpertisewithothersformallyandinformally,transferandadaptINTEGR8approachtowidermigrationcontexts.

AllINTEGR8resourcesareprovidedinsixEUlanguagessupportedthecapacitybuildingofmigrantwomenwithskillsnecessaryforbecomingMigrantIntegrationExpertsandtofurthersupportothermigrantwomenlearners in identifying and developing actions related to the civic and social participation throughout their lifetime, in the host countries as well as in the migration processes.

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7. Criteria used for evaluating INTEGR8’s methodology and its application The evaluation processes, described in the project Quality Plan were aimed at supporting the project, by measuringtheextenttowhichtheobjectivesweremet;identifytheprojectachievements;andidentifyareasforimprovement.Inthissense,eachpartnerestablishedaLocalWorkingGroup(LWG)comprisingaminimumofsixstakeholderstomakesurethatmembersofallprojecttargetgroupswereplacedatthecentreoftheproject development process and that all training tools and resources could be independently tested and validated by end-users directly. In each partner country these LWG met at least six times during the project lifecycle in face-to-face meeting to evaluate and test the main deliverables of the project. For this purpose, threeevaluationsquestionnairesweredevelopedtocollectthestakeholder’sfeedbackregardingtheoverallqualityandusabilityoftheproducts.All thefeedbackreceivedservedto improveandadaptthematerialsdeveloped to better answer the target group needs.

TheINTEGR8projectapproachhighlightedtheimportanceofinvolvingend-usersandstakeholdersinthedevelopmentprocess;tobetterhelpshapetheprojectoutcomesandtosafeguardthequalityandrelevanceof products developed. By involving members of the project target groups from an early stage through the LWG,projectpartnersavoidedhavingtomakecostlychangestooutputsproducedata laterstageintheproject,astheyhavereceivedconstantandconsistentfeedbackfromtheLWGmembersateachstageoftheproject.Feedbackfromthesegroupsalsohelpedpartnerstouncoverandaddresspreviouslyunidentifiedneeds. Additionally, the migrant women and the migrant support professionals had the opportunity to also givefeedback(alsoansweringevaluationquestionnaires)attheendofeachtrainingcyclecorrespondingtothe implementation phase of the project.

Internally, the evaluation of the quality of the project during its execution, focused on the 3P model: (i) Process andProjectManagement; (ii)Partnershipand (iii)Products.Partnershad theopportunity toevaluate theproject:

• Attheendofeachpartnermeeting,fillinginanevaluationlog.

• Attheendofthefirstyearoftheproject.

• At the end of the last year of the project.

All thefeedbackwascollectedfrompartners,stakeholdersandmigrantwomeninthedifferentevaluationstagesmentionedaboveandwereincludedintheInterimEvaluationReportandtheFinalEvaluationReportpublished on the project website.

8. Core findings from the local research process conducted at the start of the project The conclusion and recommendations across the local research varied considerably with a short synopsis of the highlights presented below:

Challenges:

• Findingandworkingwiththeverymanydifferentprojectsandsupportopportunitiesformigrantwomen(AT)

• Asmigrationisanissueofhighimportanceacrossalllevels(social,cultural,financial,political,educational,languageetc.),supportingintegrationatadeepandrigorouslevelisaverykeyissue(CY)

• Excessivebureaucracy,languagebarriersandlabourmarketrestrictionsarekeybarriers(CY),(RO)

• Recognitionofpreviouseducation,experience,competencesandqualifications(RO)

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• Supporting integration needs to be a dynamic two-way process with frequent opportunities for interaction between migrant women, and local community members and service providers (UK)

• AccesstoIntegr8trainingandprogrammesneedstobecarefullyplannedandtimetabledtominimizetheimpactofbarrierssuchaschildcare,shiftworkandthecostoftravel(UK)

Migrant women

In relation to engaging migrant women on the Integr8 project, levels of confidence and interest variedconsiderably.Forexample,themajorityofthe8womeninterviewedinCypruswerereluctantandscepticalaboutusingtheirskillstosupportothermigrantwomenwhereasall theparticipants inRomaniasaidtheywould be happy to be involved. In some countries, there was a high level of interest but in some cases this would be very dependent on the days and times of the training, whether or not childcare support could be providedandtheextenttowhichthecoursecouldbeundertakenpurelyonlineduetoworkcommitments(UK)

InrelationtotheINTEGR8curriculumformigrantwomen,thereweremanyusefulsuggestions.SomereportsflaggeduptheimportancefortheINEGR8trainingcurriculaandprogrammestoconsiderandberesponsiveto the different challenges and needs that migrants face depending on their country of origin (i.e. whether EU national or third country national migrant), whether a refugee or economic migrant, whether an unaccompanied young refugee or a 1st or 2nd generation migrant with well-established family and community connections. Suggestions included the following:

• Personaldevelopment(IE),(RO),e.g.buildingself-confidence;howtomakeeffectivepresentations

• Developingspecifickeyskills(IE),(RO),e.g.languageskills,accreditedITcourses

• Supportingothers(IE),e.g.howtosupportotherswiththeirlanguageskills

• Supportingintegration(IE),RO),e.g.signpostingtolocalservices,applyingforsocialwelfare,howtohelpothers;understandingandresolvingculturaldifficulties

• MIE delivery

• Face -to-face preferred possibly with some blended elements (IE)

• Dedicatedtutor/trainer(IE)

• Minimal demands in terms of written assignments and, where needed, language support to be provided as required (IE)

• Toovercomebarrierslinkedwithchildcareandtravel,trainingtobedeliveredinacentrallocationduringschool hours (IE)

• Onlineplatformswithresources,learners’workbooksandcasestudies(IE)

Migrant Educators and Agencies

MigranteducatorsandagencieshadanumberofusefulsuggestionstomakeinrelationtosupportingtheintegrationofmigrantwomenandinthedevelopmentoftheNTEGR8trainingprogrammesandprojectrollout. In Cyprus, migrant educators and agencies in prioritised educating migrant women and host country nationals; training for professionals; organising social activities.The importance of awareness-raising forprofessionalsandvolunteersworkingwithand/orsupportingmigrantswasraisedinseveralreportsaswellasorganisingandresourcingmulticulturalevents.OthersuggestionstoenableINTEGR8trainingandnetworksto be successful:

• Runtraining/eventsetc.withinlocalcommunities,e.g.localresourcecentres/children’scentresetc.

• Maketrainingtimesflexibleandworkroundavailabilityofmigrantwomenwithschool-agedchildren

• Confidence building/assertiveness training formigrant women needs to be embedded throughout allelements of each curricula

• Considersomeelementsofbothcurriculatobeessentialandsomeoptional/responsivetolocallyidentifiedinterests, needs and priorities

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LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE PROJECT ThepartnershiplearntvaluablelessonsfromINTEGR8intermsofmethodologytoinvolvemigrantwomenincivicandsocialintegration.Needs-based,individual-basedandpersonalisedapproachesseemtobenefitthe integration of migrant women, with migrant women as the target group being placed in the centre of the development process and with their capabilities and talents exposed in a safe and supported environment. In addition, the needs and desires of the target groupwere taken into account in the context ofwhat asmooth integrationprocessshould look like.A learningenvironment–onlineor face to face–where theprevious are considered and various opportunities are provided for personal and professional empowerment andimprovementisalsokeytowardsachievingthetaskofintegration.Collaborativelearningi.e.workingingroups,micro-networkingetc.aswellasself-andgroup-reflectionwasalsokeymethodologiesappliedinthecourse of the project which may function as good practices into the future.

TheimplementationofINTEGR8methodologiesandapproachtaughtthatmigrantwomen’sneedshavetobeacknowledgedandtakenintoaccountifeffectivesocialandcivicintegrationistobeachieved.Thepartnersalsofoundoutthatmigrantwomenknowpreciselywhattheywanttogetintermsofsupport,theyknowhowtoefficientlycommunicatewiththeircommunitiesandtheyareabletodefineanddescribeinarelevantwaythemeans,formatsandsettingsinwhichassistanceandsupportisbeneficialtobeprovidedtothem.INTEGR8has proven that the best way to access migrant women communities with valuable information and support forintegrationistouseas‘vectors’orasMigrantIntegrationExperts(MIEs)thewomenfromtheinsideofthese communities who are trusted by the other migrant women, who face the same problems and barriers andspeak thesame language (notonlystrictly linguisticallybutalso in termsofempathyandsolidarity).If these ‘vectors’areproperly trained,as INTEGR8did, theybecomeMIEsandcanhelpmigrantwomensocietiesmakearealstepforwardtowardgenuineintegration.Thelessonlearntcouldbesumupasfollows:

• There is an extremely high level of interest, energy and commitment amongst migrant women to: participate inthistypeofproject;makeapositivecontributiontosupporttheintegrationofothermigrantwomen;worktogether,sharetheirskillsandsupporteachother;getmoreinvolvedintheircommunities

• The social benefits of participation were significant. Women greatly valued the opportunity to meet,interactandworktogetheraspartofthetraining,followupplanningmeetingsandrunningMIEactivities.Thisinteractionalsohelpedtoboostconfidenceandself-esteemsignificantly.

• Participantshadextremelyvariedbackgrounds, language/literacyskills,work-relatedexperience/skills.Where training and project activities enabled women to recognise, share and build on these, the impact was greater

• Theprojectenablednewandimportantlinkstobebuiltbetweenindividuals,projectsandorganisations

RECOMMENDATIONSIrelandTheINTEGR8ProjectwasincrediblyimpactfulinIrelandintermsofthepositivetransformationofthemigrantwomensupportedthroughtheMIECurriculumandtheconnectionsandnetworksthatwereestablishedinlocalcommunities reducing isolation, eliminating fear and building social capital. In terms of process improvements going forward, we would recommend the following:

• Thefacilitationof thetrainingbymulti-ethnictutorswashighlybeneficial intermsofbuildingtrustandestablishing a common narrative within the training group and we would recommend this delivery approach tootherswishingtooffertheINTEGR8MIECurriculum

• Face-to-face delivery of the MIE is essential for the success of the training and whilst all the training materials are available and accessible on the e-learning platform, we would recommend that this resource is used as an assistive learning tool rather than the main mode of training delivery.

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• In termsof theestablishmentof themicro-socialnetworks,more timewasneeded to fully realise thepotentialofthisapproachasanintegrationmethodology;earlyresultsarepositiveandindicationswouldsuccess that this approach is a valid one.

• Finallywewouldrecommendintroducingwomenfromthehostcommunitiesintothetraininggroup;asmanyoftheexperiences,skillsdevelopmentareasandtopicsarerelevanttobothcommunitiesofwomen(migrantandnative)andinthisfacilitatedsafeenvironment;barriersandpreconceptionsofbothgroupscan be managed, challenges and overcome and the integration process can begin during the training sessions and be transferred into day-to-day life.

CyprusWiththeincreaseinthenumberofmigrants,refugeesandasylumseekersintheEUcontext,theEUprioritizesthesmooth integrationof thosemigrants, refugeesandasylumseekerswhoreachEurope.Needs-basedandpersonalizedactionsemergeaskeyinattemptstobridgepolicypaperstopracticeandimplementationattempts and, thus, they function as a compass in the context of integration effective approaches and good practices.

PortugalThecascademodel thatcharacterizes the INTEGR8 trainingprogrammewasconsideredby themajorityof the participants in the implementation phase of the project, in Portugal, as a differentiation aspect in the approach of all matters related to integration. The proposed model and the focus on supporting women to establish their own local supporting networkswas considered an innovative approach and one that hasto be continuously disseminated because it allows women to stand together with other women in similar integrationsituations.Theparticipantsof theINTEGR8implementationphaseinPortugalalsohighlightedthe importance to the focus that the training programme gives to contents related to personal development. Itissignificant,accordingtothemajorityoftheparticipants,tobeself-awareofone’sownpositionsandthesituation regarding the migration processes to be able to go out and encourage others on their own path. The contentsoftheIntegrationcoursewereconsideredtobetransversaltothedevelopmentofkeycompetencesto help, not only women but all migrants facing problems related to integration. The creation of support groups where all can contribute at the same level, and in an informal environment, for a common cause is essential to the process of transition into a different society. It was also pointed out that this groups must be composed not only by migrant women but with local women from the receiving communities.

RomaniaThere is a complex and generous EU agenda on migration. It has to be combined with other developed solutionsand tools, like INTEGR8, toprovideat local level customisedefficientapproachessolutions,ofwhichtomutuallybenefitboththeimmigrantsandthelocalcommunities.

United KingdomRecommendationsforTrain-the-TrainercoursewareandforMigrantIntegrationExpertCurriculum:

• Makekeywordsandtermsmoreexplicittosupportlanguagelearning

• Include guidance/content on supporting participants with mental health problems

• Includemorecontentonplanningandrunningworkshops,eventsetc.

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• Include guidance on making training materials more engaging, e.g. turning into tactile resources -laminating,cuttingout,usingVelcro

• More explicit expectations of participants needed

• Crèche,travelandpolice-checkbudgetsneededforfutureiterationsoftheprogramme

• Makeface-to-facetraininglonger

• Include/embedmicro-teachingwithfeedbackthroughout

• Include more input on planning and running a session.

• MoretimetosupportMIEactivity/micro-networksneeded

ItalyIt is essential to:

• run events with local communities, to involve women to have events during the school hours or in the eveningwiththeirmates;

• providebabysittinginthesameplaceoftraining;

• considerdifferentculturalbackgroundwhenimplementingtrainingactivities;

• createwomennetworkingonmutualissues;

• havesocialactivitiestoallowwomentogetoutfromhome;

• providelanguagetraining;

• trytohavethesameeducationalbackgroundinorganisingtraining;

• organisevisitstopublicinstitutionstomakethemawareofEuropeanCitizenshipandparticipation.

Austria• It needs special coordinators in all regions of the country, who are communicating transparently, where

theknowledgeandinformationcanbepassedon.Aninformationmobilegoeswiththeadvicedirectlyinregions

• The target group is not a problem group: the focus should be on problematic and stressed situations in whichpeoplelive.Thesesituationsaremainlydeterminedbysocialconditions(preliminaryremarks).Itistherefore important to improve conditions at the ratio level.

• Withactiveaffiliatestructures/outreachwork(“come”structuressuccessful).

• Address the target group personally, written material is only helpful as a support.

• To connect to groups / places that the target group is familiar with (eg. Frauencafe im Grätzl).

• Workingwithmultipliers

• Consider and emphasize cultures and languages as equal in their diversity

• Consider the gender perspective, especially with regard to role models in different cultures

• Coupling with other offers (eg. play afternoons for children)

meathpartnership engage • enable • participate • progress

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.

This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which

may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Number: HOME/2015/AMIF/AG/INTE/9101

www.integrateproject.eu

EUROPEAN UNIONAsylum, Migrationand Integration Fund