Facilitating integration into your community: Integration is a multi-layered process. Understanding the language, culture or local administration but also facilitating direct encounters and exchanges among new and resident populations, creating means of participation for newcomers in the community or simply helping in completing the day-to-day tasks in a new environment are all fundamental for enabling successful coexistence. This section brings together several inspiring initiatives that contribute(d) to a better integration of newcomers at local and regional level, often spanning different sectors and thematic areas.
Providing adequate housing: Adequate housing is fundamental for newcomers to feel at home and integrate in the host society. At the same time, providing accommodation to refugees, asylum seekers and migrants can give rise to a lot of controversy in affected neighbourhoods and opposition or suspicion among locals. With limited resources often accompanying sudden influxes of new arrivals, finding permanent housing solutions can be challenging for towns and cities and often requires innovative initiatives. Providing dignified housing solutions corresponds not only to a core human right but is also key to preventing conflicts and fostering integration in the host society.
Enhancing integration in the labour market and economy: Entry into the labour market is key to successful long-term integration, as it gives refugees a sense of purpose in the new host society. Through employment, refugees can contribute to the host community, build a social network and gain financial independence. The lack of language proficiency or proof of academic qualifications are only some examples of common hurdles experienced by newcomers. This chapter provides an overview of initiatives that enhanced the integration of refugees and asylum seekers in the local economy.
Providing better access to education: Integration in new societies begins with quality education, which is one of the most valuable, empowering assets refugees can have. It enables them to learn the languages, culture, and tradition of host communities and to acquire new knowledge and skills, with which they can sustain themselves and their families and become valuable members of the community. Initiatives which facilitate access to education, such as open schools and universities and temporary education facilities with fast-track language courses, are an essential step for a successful integration.