Migrant and ethnic minority youths in Europe Challenges for Integration Policies

Ren Bendit : Free Consultant Ludwig Maximilian Universitt Munich & Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) Former: Deutsches Jugendinstitut e.V. ReneBendit@aol.com

Contents

Central Hypothesis Concepts and Definitions Some figures: Autochthon and Migrant Population in the EU Member States Challenges for Young Migrants and Ethnic Minority Youths in their Transitions to Work and Adult Life Challenges for Integration Policies Policy Concepts of Young Migrants- and Minority Youths Integration in EU- Europe Modes of Integration and Strategies in EU- Europe Conclusions:

Globalization and Social Modernization: Effects on Migration and Ethnic Minority Groups
Central Hypothesis:
Globalization, modernisation and migration processes changed the social map of Europe: they are changing radically the world of work, of culture and of social life. Immigrants, especially those who came from 'third world' countries, were expected to undergo a process of assimilation, and to integrate into the dominant culture by relinquishing their particular past and tradition. Young migrants and young people of migrant or ethnic origin are becoming part of modern youth in Europe. In this process they have to cope not only with the classical developmental tasks of youth life but also with challenges of late modernity.

Globalization and Social Modernization: Effects on Migration and Ethnic Minority Groups
Social and cultural integration challenges: The issue of European ethnic minority or migrant young people points to a double challenge: In everyday life young people with ethnic minority background, or the new Europen youth , faces both social and cultural integration challenges. At the one hand they are placed as other young people in a late modern youth life which is demanding and important for future social success. At the other hand, they are challenged by a new cultural lifestyle which may be different from values and traditions of parents and therefore also makes it difficult to engage and become successful in late modern youth life.

Globalization and Social Modernization: Effects on Migration and Ethnic Minority Groups
Social and cultural integration challenges: Two different theoretical perspectives embedded in these approach: The first perspective points to the challenges of social integration and the second to the development of cultural differences

Social and cultural integration challenges

The social integrative perspective often draws a very static picture of the society and its values and also looks at the individual as only an element in a process of social integration. The cultural perspective sees the process of individual development as a cultural process between cultures, as an abstract discourse about cultural differences and cultural assimilation. ethnic minority integration is a process which has in its centre the individual agent. Therefore the social integration process should focus the agent as an engaged player in his or her life.

Challenges for Integration Policies

Issues and challenges for integration policies include among others:

Demographic ageing Shortages of working age populations and dependency ratios and payment of pensions Changes regarding labour supply and demand Multiculturalism and cultural changes induced by migrations: endangering social cohesion and the development of parallel societies) Creation of a new and marginalised underclass: growing criminality, violence and identification with terrorism under migrant and ethnic minority youths

Some Figures on Migration in Europe and the necessity to differentiate concepts related to Migration , Ethnic Minorities and Migrant Youths
Foreign population in Europe accounts for about 2.6% of the population of Europe (CDGM, 2002). The greater proportion of foreigners was residing in Western Europe. While in Western Europe, the stocks of foreign population seems to have increased considerably during the recent years, in Central and Eastern Europe, flows of migration have been modest and the proportion of foreign population remain relatively small. However, data available for East European countries are less reliable and comprehensive and derived from a variety of sources and definitions. Thus, it is probable that they underestimate the real proportion of foreign population currently residing in those countries.

Some Figures on Migration in Europe and the necessity to differentiate concepts related to Migration , Ethnic Minorities and Migrant Youths

EU 2006: From 462 Million inhabitants living in EU- Europe (EU-15) in 2006 84% were citizens of EU- Member States. The other 75 Million were citizens of the 10 new (Central and East European) EU- States. Around 42 Mio were born outside of the EU-borders e.g. in so called third countries.
D e n m a r k F o r e i g n e r s R a t e 2 0 0 6 Y o u t h R a t e ( 1 5 ) M i g r a n t P o p u l a t i o n s t e n d t o b e Y o u n g e r t h a n A u t o c h t h o n s 8 , 2 1 8 , 7 F i n l a n d 2 1 7 , 3 G e r m a n y 8 , 5 1 4 , 1 S p a i n 8 , 8 1 4 , 5

Differentiation of the Migrant and Ethnic Minority Population

In all European countries, migrants and ethnic minorities constitute a diverse group. It includes: Persons belonging to long term established communities of ex - immigrants Long-term and temporary invited workers (Gastarbeiter) Frontier workers and merchants (among them are unskilled workers and highly educated people). Students and highly qualified Green Cards Migrants from former colonies with British, French, Portuguese or Spanish citizenship Migrants from East Europe Political Refugees. Irregular migration is also an important component of migration movements in Europe (Niessen, 2000)

Problems and Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe
Problems with formal education: Migrant and ethnic minority youths of First, Second and Third Generation often have lower formal educational qualifications than autochthons problematic educational careers and misleading trajectories. The possibilities of young migrants and ethnic minority youths to develop own determined biographic careers are lower than those of autochthons of their same age and social class.
(s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009)

Problems and Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe
In most EU-Member States the central difficulties of migrant youths or youths with a migration background are linked to: Language problems Learning difficulties School interruptions and school abandonment Orientation problems inside the educational system (and also lack of information on the side of parents) Specially young Roma and Sinti in different EU- Member States (e.g. Romania; Bulgaria, Czech Republic; Hungary; Spain, Portugal) and travellers (Ireland), show high rates of early school abandonment
(s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009)

Education to work transitions of young migrants and ethnic minority youths: a stony road

Young immigrants without access to formal vocational training positions become jobless often than majority youths with the same pre-conditions Young migrants get (mostly unqualified jobs) in intra-ethnic enterprises (e.g. Italians in Restaurants; Turks in different kind of shops, etc.) or learn certain professions from their parents. Some of them get integrated into the family business or are supported in looking for jobs through family networks

Education to work transitions of young migrants and ethnic minority youths: a stony road

Low qualified youths have many difficulties in labour market integration in countries with high educational standards and postindustrial labour markets. This is mostly the case in countries like Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Entrepreneurs appreciate high educational qualifications from school leavers. This can give origin to prejudices and negative attitudes and practices towards migrant youths and members of ethnic minorities. (Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change (2006; 2009).

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

A central challenge for ethnic minority or emigrant young people: if to engage in the individualisation process (as it is constructed in a late modern society and as it is formed in late modern youth life) or if they should lean more at their parental cultural practices and values. The social integration of western young people is formed according to future life in European late modern societies: therefore young people s social integration is based in the educational system and points to late modern aspects of individualisation. (s. Up2Youth - Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009) Young people have to learn to function culturally as agents in late modern western world. They should be able to colonise the future (Giddens 1994).

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

Especially ethnic minority youth with only a little knowledge of local school culture and a low level of local language skills experience youth and school problems: They may feel not invited into or excluded from late modern youth life. They may feel or be objectively discriminated by legal regulations, attitudes of employers, etc. They are maybe not supported enough from their families and local backgrounds. They are maybe not successful in integrating to autochthon peer groups. Ethnic minority youth in many ways seem to have taken over the place which before was occupied by working class kids who had problems with school life. The social integrative challenge seems to challenge structural integration

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

Besides that, minority and migrant youths have to cope with: Differences and contradictions between majority and minority cultures; Tensions between social and value changes and traditions: between traditional and modern values of and life styles of their different (family, school, peers, etc.) social contexts; Tensions and conflicts between their cultural identity and selfunderstanding and their categorisation as strangers/foreigners/ Fremde by majority groups (s. Up2Youth- Youth as actor of social change 2006; 2009)

Migrant Youths & Structures of Disadvantage in Transitions to Work

Social inequality creates constellations of disadvantage in which structural lack of resources and opportunities interacts with individual orientations and coping strategies Structural Ressources and Opportunities
School Problems Lack of Missing links droppingQualifica- to vocational out of tions training/ Univ. Education/ Training/ Study Mismatch Missing Partial/ of QualiWorking- unsuficientfications places Citizenship

Youths and Young Adults

Modes and Strategies of Migrant- and Minority Youths Integration in EU- Europe
Different European Modes of Integration for Minority- and Migrant Youths: The Multicultural Mode of Integration (UK) The Republican Mode of Integration (France) The Social State Mode of integration (Austria/Germany/The Netherlands) The Universalistic (equal opportunity policy) Mode of Integration (Finland and Denmark) The Mediterranean Mode of Integration (Greece; Italy; Portugal; Spain) The Migration Management Mode (Council of Europe/European Commission)

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EUEurope Summary and Conclusions 1st Conclusion: In most European societies, ethnic minority youth is standing at the threshold to late modern individualised youth life. As newcomers to western societies they are suddenly lifted into late modern youth life and as minority youth they are under pressure to participate in late modern youth life. Late modern youth life however exist as many aspects of everyday life. It is both differentiated as a time structure, as a context structure and according to cultural norms and values of youth

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EUEurope

2nd Conclusion: If ethnic minority youth become agents in late modern European societies then this form of individual agency however may be in conflict with the cultural background of ethnic minority youth, where social integration may be expected to follow the logic of social or cultural categorical Integration - where social categories refer to family, kin, local dependencies etc. Therefore a first aspect of the challenge of social and cultural integration and individualisation points to a contradiction between categorical social integration and late modern individual social integration.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EUEurope 3rd Conclusion: In classical industrial but also in late modern Societies), social inequality creates constellations of disadvantage in which structural lack of resources and Opportunities interacts with individual orientations and coping strategies. Ethnic minority youths and young Migrants are especially affected of such constellations. Different policies, measures and programmes in Europe, developed in the context of different modes of integration, have been focusing on several of these disadvantage structures in order to promote social, educational, vocational/professional and cultural integration of theses groups.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EUEurope

4th Conclusion:

As a result of our research work (Up2Youth, 2009), we may conclude that after many years experimenting with the social, and professional integration of migrants in Europe in the context of very different Integration Modes, and after decades of intensive efforts towards the educational and professional integration of young people of first and second generation in some countries (e.g. Germany; The Netherlands; Austria; UK, etc.), the situation of young migrants and ethnic minority youths can be characterised as a precarious balance between partial inclusion and partial marginalisation (e.g. from labour market and vocational training). This situation is especially problematic for second and third generation migrants who were already born and raised in the host countries, as it causes them severe identity problems.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

5th Conclusion: The conscious decision of many young migrants to take up vocational training under the rather marginalising structural circumstances of today seems the most appropriate and promising coping strategy available to them. Vocational training not only serves the purpose of long-term material reproduction, but also enhances the possibilities to participate in the different late modern European societies. It is a valuable support in the process of emancipation from their families of origin, it stabilises the self-esteem, fosters social contact, choice of a partner included, and it opens up perspectives for the future. Thus, successfully finishing vocational training can be seen also as successful coping with the task of accomplishing an identity, and growing up.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

6th. Conclusion: We may also conclude that for adolescent migrants not yet fulfilling the requirements to enter their desired career, the transition from school to work have to be interpreted rather as trajectories (as the concept is employed by Roberts 1995)[1] than as biographisation. The transitions in question are largely determined by structural factors, allocation on the job market depending mostly on social and ethno-cultural factors than on individual action or control. Changes on the labour market induced by technological progress have had very little positive impact (in the sense of improving young migrants job perspectives), since the gap between personal ambitions and actual chances of realisation is still decisive. For this group of youngsters and young adults, choices are still limited and their access to the job market depends strongly on the local situation.
[1] In Biggart, A., Furlong, A. (1996), p. 16.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

7th. Conclusion: More reflexive, that is post - structuralize perspectives, which describe successful transitions in terms of individual skills, such as the ability to negotiate their own biographies, construct alternatives, and evaluate social and job-related opportunities and risks, may apply to the few better qualified migrant youths. For the majority of foreign adolescents and young adults, if reflection takes place, it will most likely be on a cultural level, in building and negotiating patchwork identities. This process seems to run parallel to the social and professional inclusion or exclusion. Summing up: the transitions from school to apprenticeship and work still carry the traditional characteristics of industrial societies.

Challenges for Migrant and Ethnic Minority Youths in EU- Europe

8th. and last Conclusion: If one considers the situation of structural, school-related, and social disadvantage young migrants are confronted with within different European societies, and if, furthermore, one recognises the positive consequences in both personal and social respect, of a successful professional training, to overcome marginalisation effects, one has to reach the conclusion that in the future promotion measures and support for social sub-systems have to be further intensified. Moreover, the experiences gathered by institutions of promotion for young labour migrants have to be taken into consideration and, wherever advisable, to further reflect upon and elaborate pedagogical concepts of interculturality.