Does active citizenship of migrants foster their integration? Tampere, September, 11th, 2013 Vincent Smit The Hague University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands 1

content 1. Integration : two stories 2. Active citizenship: the concept 3. Practice of active citizenship of migrants 4. Noise in the media 5. Evaluation 6. Concluding remarks 2

1. Integration : two stories Progress – Education – Housing – Labour market – Orientation – So: patience, time, issue of generations 3

1 Integration: two stories Stagnation; – Unemployment – poor neighbourhoods: social segregation – Broken education carriers – Over-representation in criminality – New (Easteuropean) migrants in poor living circumstances – So: permanent issue, long term policy needed 4

1 Together open questions remain: – Insiders versus outsiders – Equality versus difference – Assimilation versus multiculturalism 5

2. Active citizenship many experiences nowadays strongly promoted not always the final solution for societal problems a look in the city of Amsterdam 6

3. Active citizenship of migrants in an Amsterdam renovation project 200 dwellings, renovation, housing association A majority of migrant households (Turkish) Change of the plan: more sqm in the kitchen, sliding doors between living room and kitchen, a tap and a small storage in the entrance hall In correspondance with the needs and wishes of the islamitic population Buth also more flexibility, so usefull for all 7

3 flexibility? The tap: for your feet or for your car? The small storage: for your shoes of for your drilling machine? The sliding doors: separation men – woman or flexible use? So: flexible use, lettability in the future is not in danger 8

4. A lot of voice, a lot of noise in the media The housing association “Eigen Haard”(own hearth) was proud But local press : it is a “halaldwelling” Political storm: “a risk for the separation between state and church”, “a getto-policy”, “building for apartheid” The housing association under critics 9

5. Evaluation Housing associations: – between market and state: focus on housing conditions of lower incomegroups, so important for migrants – housing policy is more and more demand- orientated: listen to the renters – function: market stabilisation and security for the lower income groups 10

5. Evaluation Housing policy is demand orientated, so migrants are clients as well A normal and general response to the needs on the market So no claim: – that special multicultural housing policy is integration policy – at the opposite this is segregation policy It is voice, no noise 11

6. Concluding remarks A quiet, relaxed and an objective view is needed. Improve the match between supply and demand in (social) houding for migrants The right for renters to participate in housing renovation plans is for everyone, not only for renters of dutch origin. If not, than segregation and discrimination 12

6 concluding remarks Opposition and noise about the “halaldwelling” is a plee for selective active citizinship – only for dutch Active citizonship of migrants is underway, but we see an extra threshold. Meanwhile the strong issues of integration are the same: labourmarket, education, housing marketposition 13

Reflection: difference and equality – more difference, more inequality? – more equality, less difference? – more difference, more equality? 14