Inclusion

Whole-COMM: Exploring the Integration of Post-2014 Migrants in Small and Medium-sized Towns and Rural Areas from a Whole of Community Perspective

Funding

Horizon

Geographic focus

Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Canada

Dates

1 January 2021 –

30 June 2024

About

Policy-making recommendations for migration governance and integration processes in small localities. 

Project Outcomes

  • Migrant integration policies and governance in the 40 small and medium-sized towns and rural areas (SMsTRAs) considered are largely underdeveloped.
  • Findings: While some localities developed integration measures regarding language and access to employment, policies on social integration, political participation, intercultural dialogue, and discrimination remain limited, hindering long-term societal inclusion. 
  • Policy impact: The European Commission should keep fostering the implementation of the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion. This Plan outlines key actions and measures to enhance societal cohesiveness and inclusiveness, including specific actions at the local level.
  • The Plan, however, does not focus specifically on the challenges faced by SMsTRAs. For this reason, additional targeted measures are necessary to foster integration and inclusion in SMsTRAs and put SMsTRAs in the position to directly develop more robust and effective responses to local challenges related to migrant integration. 

Highlighted Publications and Tools

  • Final policy brief – Challenges of migrant integration in smaller localities 
  • Strategy paper – Making EU Rural Policies More Migration-Sensitive
  • Policy brief – Challenges and policy options to foster social cohesion and positive attitudes towards the integration of migrants at the local level 
  • Infographic – How to foster migrant integration in small towns and rural areas
  • Toolbox – Local Strategies for Effective Migrant Integration
Visit the website

Coordinators

Tiziana Caponio, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Research Fellow at Collegio Carlo Alberto 

Partners

  • Collegio Carlo Alberto
  • Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di ricerche sull'Immigrazione
  • Danube University Krems
  • Vrije Universiteit Brussel - Brussels School of Governance
  • Technische Universität Chemnitz
  • Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute
  • Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
  • University of Wrocław
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare
  • Migration Policy Group
  • Sabanci University
  • York University 

Contacts

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