Integration in the Nordic Region – what can we learn from each other?
The conference marks a milestone in the Council of Ministers’ three-year programme on the integration of refugees and immigrants in the Nordic countries, a programme the Secretary General, Dagfinn Høybråten, has been following closely since the start.
“Media coverage of the integration debate is often polarised and one-sided. Although the Nordic societies are based on the same welfare model, the different countries have different strategies and initiatives for integration, which makes it fascinating to exchange experiences and learn from each other,” the Secretary General points out.
The conference will look at why the countries have opted for different strategies for integrating refugees and immigrants. Is there anything we can learn from each other? What does the research say about what works when it comes to integrating refugees and immigrants into the labour market and local communities?
What’s on the menu?
- What are the main policy challenges? Where do we want to be in 10 years? What initiatives and measures will take us there?
- What do research and experience say about the educational and labour-market initiatives and policies needed to get refugees into good, stable jobs, and get local communities involved in integrating refugees and immigrants? How do we get those furthest removed from the world of work at the moment into employment?
- Can the Nordic Region maintain strong welfare states in a more diverse society? Do we need shared values and norms to maintain social cohesion in the Nordic countries?
- Do we have the data and numbers needed to design good integration policies in the Nordic countries? Launch of the results of the project “Nordic comparative measures on migration and integration”.
The programme will be published soon.
