Under the YOUMIG project, the Institute for Economic Research in Ljubljana has created a good practice collection of services and actions linked to youth migration in Europe and over the globe. The good practices include ideas for both sending and receiving countries in terms of migration. What was the reason for making such a collection?

The objective of this good practice collection is to equip YOUMIG local partners with already existing solutions as a pool from which to select one good practice for their local pilot activity. The local pilot − a service for managing youth migration – will be implemented in the second half of the project. We mainly built on the European and global knowledge and experience gathered and made available on the European Web Site on Integration (Migrant Integration Information and Good Practices), on the Cities of Migration website (Good Ideas from Successful Cities), the website of the CARIM-East (Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration), as well as on some other websites, various documents and books.

How important is migration policy for the European Union?

A comprehensive social inclusion of migrants is high at the European Commission’s policy agenda. The importance of local stakeholders, in particular in cities, is very much stressed. EU city populations are both growing and becoming more diverse. An ageing Europe has to fill the gaps in workforce and will ever more have to rely on immigration. The European Commission’s position is that cities in particular have to provide foreign country nationals with opportunities to integrate and participate in their new environment. Three “Handbooks on Integration for policy-makers and practitioners” were written on behalf of the European Commission in 2004, 2007 and 2010, in order to act as drivers for an exchange of information and best practices, and to become the basis for development and promotion of policy initiatives. These handbooks are available for download in at least twenty languages.

What is considered a good practice?

A good practice is a solution to a certain issue that was tested in practice and positively evaluated. According to the UNESCO model developed for best practices in immigration planning, the four main characteristics of best practices are that: 1) they are innovative; 2) they have a positive and tangible impact on the living conditions, quality of life or environment of the individuals, groups or communities concerned; 3) have a sustainable effect; and 4) are replicable.

Did YOUMIG have any special needs to be considered?

Not all good practice examples are relevant for the YOUMIG project. Considering the project’s purpose and aims, the YOUMIG collection of good practices includes those good practices that can reasonably focus on the young population (aged 15-34) and can be implemented at the local level (by local authorities, groups of citizens, associations, NGOs, etc.). The beneficiaries or focus groups of these practices may be immigrants, return migrants, emigrants, diaspora, sending communities or receiving communities. In the lack of good practice for solving some important problems related to migration and migrants, we have exceptionally also included non-tested but potentially good practices that were agreed by focus groups or in the Delphi surveys, or recommended by professionals in the field.

What good practices ended up in the YOUMIG collection?

We grouped the good practice cases according to the issues they are expected to solve. There are, for instance, information services for migrants to assist young people with a migration background in improving their chances of integration (linguistic, social, educational and professional) and to encourage their participation in all areas of social, economic, cultural and political life. These may be provided through information centres, as individual support, provision of professional advice, group and educational courses, and so on.

Another group of good practices includes concrete actions regarding migrants’ inclusion/integration into society, like alleviating the major factors of social exclusion that stimulate the emigration of young people, while providing them with real opportunities in their home countries. Others are the inclusion of migrants in and through sports, or helping the immigrant families adjust to their new lives.

In the area of education, there are good practices of providing the necessary language skills to (new) migrants in order to increase their participation in social and political life, their chances of getting a better job, as well as their ability to help their children with homework, or deal with administrative matters. There are practices that develop specific school policies to confront racism and to empower teachers and students to be able to take advantage of a multicultural environment. An appointment of learning mentors in schools is a good practice that promotes educational achievements by migrant children.

The labour market inclusion of migrants is of an utmost importance. Good practices deal with the reintegration of qualified returnees; guidance, support and training services for immigrants; improving employment outcomes for migrants, challenging stereotypes; counselling immigrant entrepreneurs;  setting up centres for the support of migrant initiatives (like business incubators), among others.

Migrants and their communities (also as investors) cooperate with local governments to promote local development. Another good practice improves financial literacy among remittance senders and recipients and expands formal financial services and products in order to channel and invest remittances.

There is a number of good practices is the area of healthcare, like health promotion, migrant- friendly health centres, linking diaspora health professionals with medical institutions in sending countries, and cultural mediators in healthcare.

The list of good practices in the area of migration appears to be inexhaustible, so let me name just three more. A good practice provides orientation and support to families before, during and after the process of family reunification. Providing support in seeking rental housing is an example of good practice in the area of housing. There are also practices that engage diaspora in the local development of sending countries, and many more.

Nada, thank you very much!

                                                                                                                                                                          --Interview by Natasa Kump, IER