Structural and Social Integration of the Third Country Nationals and Other Immigrants in Luxembourg

Expert round table on social relations and civic participation among immigrant population.

Expert round table on social relations and civic participation among immigrant population.

Dr. Aigul Alieva and Dr. Marie Valentova organized an expert round table on social relations and civic participation among immigrant populations of Luxembourg in the framework of the project* “Structural and Social Integration of the Third Country Nationals and Other Immigrants in Luxembourg”.

The topics of active citizenship and civic engagement among immigrants as the key bridging and bounding social capital for integration into the receiving society are gaining importance at the European and national policy making level, as well as in the immigration research community. One of the aims of the round table was to present preliminary results on social relations and civic participation among adult Third Country Nationals (TCN) in Luxembourg using the  European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC/PSELL), as well as among youth of TCN origin  using  data from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS))..

Results of the analyses revealed that adult residents of ex-Yugoslavian, Cape-Verdean origin, and TCN from developing countries show significantly lower level of associative behaviour compared to similar native Luxembourgish. The young generation, on the other hand, does not differ from their Luxembourgish peers.

The other aim of the meeting was to discuss potential policy recommendations taking into account both the new empirical evidence, as well as the expertise of relevant actors in the field of social integration in Luxembourg. For example, one of the discussed questions concerned the state support for instrumental associations – those concerned with e.g. social welfare services for specific target groups; local community action on issues of equality and non-discrimination; the environment and ecology groups and alike. When newcomers access and participate in such associations together with the native residents, this helps them to increase their bridging capital and overall connectedness to the host society. Experts from STATEC, University of Luxembourg, l’Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, l’Agence du Bénévolat, Ministry of Family and Integration, and LISER took an active part in the discussion.

Currently, the project is moving towards its final stage and the completed study will be delivered soon to OLAI (Office luxembourgeois de l'accueil et de l'intégration).

* This project funded by the L'Office luxembourgeois de l'accueil et de l'intégration (OLAI), Ministère de la Famille, de l'Intégration et à la Grande Région and Fonds europeen d’integration des ressortissants de pays tiers (FEI).