AMIF funding for major new integration projects
Two new migrant integration projects in Sweden were granted three years of AMIF funding. The first will establish a new Centre for Migration and Integration – at the Stockholm School of Economics (Handelshögskolan) – which will produce and disseminate research-based knowledge about how migration policies, business models, and working conditions interact and influence integration and social sustainability. The aim of the project is to create an arena to support the sustainable integration of third-country national migrants (TCNs) in Sweden.
The second project, initiated by NGO Kompis Sverige, will develop a national model for initiatives supporting the social integration of newly arrived TCNs. Such integration initiatives would be implemented by civil society organisations in collaboration with other actors, focusing on language training, civic education, and social participation.
The project will include activities for TCNs in at least 40 municipalities across the country. It is based on UNHCR experiences in promoting community sponsorship for resettled refugees.
Ethnic discrimination in recruitment processes
As previously reported on the Migrant Integration Hub, the Swedish government’s Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi) published a research overview on ethnic discrimination in recruitment processes, which shows that ethnic discrimination in recruitment is a pervasive and multifaceted phenomenon affecting various groups, including TCN migrants and their descendants.
A revised review article in English by Pinar Aslan Akay and Maria Cheung based on the research overview has now been published in Sociology Compass. In the article, the authors recommend that employers raise awareness of biases at every stage of recruitment, develop diversity plans with measurable goals and regular follow-up, conduct organisational risk assessments for discrimination and strengthen the standardisation of recruitment practices.
Spotlighting successful Nordic integration projects
The Nordic Welfare Centre, an institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers, promotes co-operation on migrant integration through facilitating the sharing of experiences and development of knowledge. Its regularly updated collection of examples of promising integration practices and activities from across the Nordic region, including several inspiring initiatives from Sweden, can be viewed online.
Research on temporary residence permits and mental health
A new study published in the Nordic Journal of Migration Research compares the effects of precarious, temporary residence permits with those of permanent, long-term permits on the mental health of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in Sweden, with results comparable to the findings of a previous Swedish study published in the Social Sciences journal.
Development of integration barometer in progress
Following its feasibility study on the development of an integration barometer, Statistics Sweden has been requested by the Swedish government to carry out a survey focusing on the national integration policy sub-goals on migrant democratic, social and cultural integration. According to integration minister Simona Mohamsson, the barometer will serve to fill knowledge gaps and render integration efforts more effective.
Relatedly, the Nordic Council of Ministers published a new report exploring how the social and civic integration of migrants is currently measured across the Nordic countries. The report reviews the indicators used by national statistical institutes and international data sources to assess migrants’ participation in society.
