Integration: changing policies in Italy and Europe

Integration has ever been centre stage for EU policies while expanding from Community citizens to Third Countries migrants who are the bulk of the current demographic growth and transformation of European societies

Integration necessarily entails equity and same opportunities in terms of civil, social and economic rights and means a fair balance between personal skills and needs as well as the needs of the host community

Social marginalisation and exclusion are rising in Europe putting at stake a peaceful cohabitation and leading to violence and racism

In such a challenging context, governments are responsible for indicating viable scenarios and policies within a precise legal framework of both individual and collective rights/duties while eradicating obstacles to equity and supporting social and civil transformation through good practices and policies carried out by all the Member States

The Third Annual Report on Migration and Integration

It is a document issued by the European Commission in 2007 analysing the policies implemented by the Member States in the field of Third Countries nationals reception and integration while stressing actions aimed at strengthening social inclusion measures. The Commission underlined the feasibility of an effective and sustainable integration strategy based on different factors such as legal migration, labour market and education access, religious dialogue and non-discrimination policies. The final aim is to find a common legal framework in the field of asylum seekers, return of status violators and so on

Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) Last October the British Council –together

with 25 partners among 18 different countries- focused on the different integration policies for foreign nationals. The study covered six main areas: labour market access, family reunion, access to citizenship, participation in political life, non-discrimination and long-term residency policies. It aimed at identifying the best practices at national level while revealing that at European level the main focus is on issues such as family reunion, labour market access and long period of residency

European UnionEU cooperation on integration of non-EU nationals has

developed since the Tampere Programme was adopted back in 1999

Political debates on integration are held regularly as part of the Ministerial Conferences on Integration (Groningen 2004, Potsdam 2007, Vichy 2008, Zaragoza 2010)

The Commission contributed to the 2010 ministerial conference with a report aiming at consolidating the EU framework on integration. It highlights the progress made and steps needed to improve integration strategies, namely the promotion of common EU values, gathering information on the general public's perception of migrants and legal immigration, the development of European modules on integration and the identification of relevant benchmarks to evaluate results

Tampere European Council(1999)- Closing Remarks

The European Council is determined to develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice by making full use of the possibilities offered by the Treaty of Amsterdam

The European Council sends a strong political message reaffirming the importance of this objective and has agreed on a number of policy orientations and priorities which will soon make this area a reality

In close connection with the area of freedom, security and justice, the European Council has agreed on the composition, method of work and practical arrangements for the body entrusted with drawing up a draft Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union. It invites all the parties involved to ensure that work on the Charter can begin rapidly

The Common Basic Principles for immigrant integration policy

2004They provide a strong framework for policy-

making in this area while underlining the importance of a holistic approach to integration and to assist EU States in formulating integration policies

They serve as a basis for EU States to explore how EU, national, regional, and local authorities can interact in the development and implementation of integration policies

They assist in evaluating EU-level mechanisms and policies with a view to supporting future integration policy developments

Integration is a dynamic, two-way process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and residents of EU countries

Employment is a key part of the integration processBasic knowledge of the host society’s language, history

and institutions is indispensable to integrationEfforts in education are critical to integrationAccess for immigrants to institutions as well as to public

and private goods and services in a non-discriminatory way is a critical foundation for better integration

Frequent interaction between immigrants and EU citizens is a fundamental mechanism for integration

The practice of diverse cultures and religions must be safeguarded

The European Agenda for integration of non-EU nationals

2011It focuses on actions to increase economic,

social, cultural and political participation by migrants while putting emphasis on local action

It also explores the role of countries of origin in the integration process. As part of this agenda, the Commission is putting together a flexible ‘tool-box’, from which national authorities will be able to pick the measures most likely to prove effective in their specific context, and for their particular integration objectives

There are plans to develop modules offering an established, but at the same time flexible, benchmark to support integration policies in EU States. Common indicators have also been identified for monitoring the results of integration policies

It highlights the challenges that need to be solved if the EU is to benefit fully from the potential offered by migration and the value of diversity

It is further integrated by the Lisbon Treaty -which provides an explicit legal basis for EU incentives and support to Member States' actions to promote the integration of third-country nationals residing legally in the Member States- and to the Stockholm Programme –adopted by the European Council in 2009

In 2010 the fourth European Ministerial conference held in Zaragoza highlighted progress to date and steps to be taken in the context of the Stockholm Programme in order to promote and improve integration strategies

As for employment…To maximise the potential contribution of migration

to full employment, migrants already legally residing in the EU should be better integrated, particularly through removing barriers to employment, such as discrimination or non-recognition of skills and qualifications

The lower performance of third-country nationals in Member States' education systems should also be addressed

A better monitoring and anticipation of skills needs can substantially reduce the ‘brainwaste’ of highly educated migrants employed in jobs under their skills level

EU instruments to support integration

A network of national contact points on integration allows exchanges of information and experience between EU States with the purpose of finding successful solutions for integration and keeping national policy coherent with EU initiatives

The European Integration Forum is a platform for dialogue involving all stakeholders active in the field of integration

The European Web Site on Integration is the main focal point for direct exchanges of information, documentation and on-line data collection, and for community-building activities between the main stakeholders in Europe

A Handbook on Integration for policy-makers and practitioners has been compiled with a view to structuring the exchanges of information on which EU States can draw when developing policy measures for more successful integration

The European Integration Fund supports efforts of EU States to enable non-EU nationals integration into European society. The Fund primarily targets action supporting the integration of new arrivals. It also supports measures to build up the capacity of EU States to develop, implement, monitor and generally evaluate integration strategies, policies and measures, and for exchanging of information and best practice, as well as cooperation in and between EU States

The Common Agenda for Integration 2005

It was issued by the European Commission

It is aimed at implementing the Common Basic Principles. EU policy here has been further framed by the 2009 Stockholm Programme and the Europe 2020 Strategy, where one of the headline targets is to raise the employment rate of 20 to 64-year olds in the EU to 75 %. One of the potential means entails better integration of legal migrants

Executive Summary 2011

“Integration as a two-way process in the EU? Assessing the Relationship between the European Integration Fund and the Common Basic Principles on Integration” is the document drafted by Sergio Carrera and Anaïs Faure Atger

It examines the nature, the limits and potential of the concept of integration as a two-way process of mutual accommodation between migrants and their host societies

It assesses the extent to which this key principle is implemented in practice by investigating national integration programmes developed so far with the support of the European Integration Fund (EIF)

It also explores the obstacles encountered by civil society organisations in accessing and implementing EIF projects

It was carried out by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and commissioned by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) of the Network of European Foundations (NEF)

ItalyIn Italy there are about 3.690.000 foreign citizens,

according to a Statistical Document issued by Migrantes.

Italian legislation on immigration has specific measure to enhance integration and social inclusion –with particular emphasis on minors and family reunion- while defining the notion of discrimination

The City of Rome is currently carrying out a 3-year project on foreign minors in Rome in order to have a better knowledge of this complex phenomenon and support decision-makers in implementing better local policies and assessing the assistance given by official bodies. At the end of the study, a report will be issued to make proposals and it will be available for the great public

Integra ProgrammeIn recent years the Department for Social

Services Promotion and Health of Roma Capitale has charged the Integra Programme with the promotion and implementation of pilot actions targeting refugees, migrants, institutional and social officials working in the field of immigration and asylum seekers as well as cultural mediators

All the activities aims at the promotion of best practices supporting migrants during the whole integration process and labour market access

Integra Programme official website serves as an online platform to further discuss this crucial topic in order to raise awareness and enabling an inclusive decision-making process as well as divulgating the results of relevant activities carried out under the programme by local authorities and social development agents

Roma incontra il mondo (19th edition)June-July

This event is organised under the advocay of the Department for Cultural Policies of Roma Capitale

It is held in one of the most charming locations in Roma: Villa Ada

It is a music festival with special guests at national and international level and it concerns different kinds of music ranging from reggae music to piano players like Stefano Bollani

It is a multilevel event involving not only music and musicians but also food and culture. People will have the chance to taste ethnic food and admire handicraft from different countries

Alborosie (2011)

Anthony B (2011)

Goran Bregovic (2011)

Sud Sound System (2011)

Verdena (2011)

Yann Tiersen (2011)

June 6-11

Cerealia: Ceres and the Mediterranean

With the advocacy of: Ministry for Economic Developement, Ministry for Cultural Heritage, Lazio Region, Roma Capitale-Department for Cultural Policies

It is a festival dedicated to all grains, as indeed happened in ancient Rome in the ancient rites of Vesta and Ceres, the Ludi

The Mediterranean has been and still is the meeting point of a myriad of societies belonging to cultural systems partially connected but also substantially different

The event will be then, not only a moment of historical commemoration, but also of cultural exchange, thereby tackling issues such as nutrition, environment, economy, territory and social dimension which characterizes the varied  world of grains

Cerealia wants to spread knowledge and awareness of the value of land and indigenous cultures, re-establish the links between the area of production and the consumer’s table, even reviving old customs and traditions, based on respect for the earth and its fruits

The first edition of 2011 had Egypt as guest country. In the 2012 edition, the guest country is Turkey and it is organising a special photo exibhition at the Culture and Information Office of the Embassy of Turkey

Cerealia opening day (2012)

Cerealia Opening Day (2012)

Cerealia 2012

Cerealia 2012

Cerealia 2012

Euorpean Year of Volunteering 2011 was the EYV which represented both a

celebration and a challenge. It is a celebration of the commitment of millions of people in Europe who work in their communities during their free time without being paid – for example in schools, hospitals, and sports clubs, protecting the environment, providing social services and helping people in other countries

Volunteer! …through road safety This project –carried out last year- was aimed

at testing an approach, to study the advantages and disadvantages and to develop a European model of making an informed choice on whether to organize a one time volunteer action or a full scale volunteer campaign, given different circumstances and desired effect, built on peer-to-peer communication and promoting civic participation

Main results12 successful local actions120 trained local volunteer multipliers1 800 direct participants on the road

safety project tools18 000 people directly informed by paper

information materials50 000 people reached through media

Framework The mobility of the volunteers is of course an

important aspect with regard to their voluntary work, because road safety often appeals youngsters having or willing to have their driving licence.. Therefore it can be important to have already experiences to handle and drive a car and maybe to have already experiences with drink-drug-drive

It is positive to note that many volunteers came to know about VRS through friends or acquaintances (34) and convincing that NGOs are properly informing (usually per email or the social media) and recruiting new volunteers. This is an indicator that volunteers, being already active in the field of prevention, are also important as multipliers in order to raise the interest of other young people for these prevention fields. On the other side public relation or the use of virtual networks of young people being virtually interested in prevention work, can also be an important route for recruiting young people for prevention work.

Motivation of the volunteers Another majority of the volunteers stated, that the

interest in the subject (road safety) was their motive to be involved in VRS (59%). Other important motives for participation are to learn something for the future career (47%) and – linked with that – to try out in the field of prevention (22%). It is also interesting to note that not only young people that already had negative experiences themselves or came to know about tragic incidents within their circle of friends or acquaintances are interested in road safety awareness as only 13% of them answered positively to this statement

Survey to the participants1) What is the most effective measure to reduce

the number of deaths on the roads in the SHORT TERM?

32% increase the amount of fines 16% repair the road infrastructure16% carry out information and preventive

campaigns15% reduce the corruption among policemen14% submit and enact entirely new laws regarding

road safety4% nothing can be changed2% cannot give answer

2) What is the most effective measure to reduce the number of deaths on the roads in the LONG TERM?

21% information and preventive campaigns

21% implement new laws on road safety19% increase the amount of fines16% reduce the corruption among

policemen16% repair the road infrastructure3% nothing can be changed 3% cannot give answer

3)Do you consider that information and preventive campaigns such as “Choose your way”1 may influence positively and change drivers’ behaviour? YES (82%) – NO (18%)

4) General Impression as Visitors? It is interesting to notice that according to the volunteers the action is not perceived the same way by them and by the participants. 2% are considered to not enjoying the awareness activities, while the volunteers themselves did not grade the action under the score of 4. Several improvements have to be done to keep on drawing the

target group’s attention to road safety topics

Videos 1st CARTOON: “What it means to be a

volunteer”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BZ_q8X-0-0

2nd CARTOON: “Why to be a volunteer?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn1yusnPYy4

3rd CARTOON:“How to become a volunteer?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68ZpGs4ksYw