Objectives
News 
Integrating Immigrant Youth: Transatlantic Perspectives
Carmen Munteanu - Communications Coordinator
30 October 2013
An article by Magdalena Ziółek – Skrzypczak from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munchen, published in September this year in the Migration Information Source newsletter of the Migration Policy Institute. It covers the integration of immigrant youth, a very pressing issue in real life while at the same time very controversial in public debates around the world.
The author mentions the riots in the large cities of the world over the last years and the growing generations of immigrant youth wishing to call attention to the discrimination, economic marginalization and social exclusion they face. With the exception of high-skilled professionals, immigrant youth often find it difficult to get a job.
A comparative analysis of four cities is undertaken, of Germany (Munich), Poland (Warsaw), San Diego (California) and Phoenix (Arizona), which are similar in terms of economic development and population but very different as regards migration history and current tendencies. The most diverse of the cities studied is Munich, but Phoenix has the largest compact group of immigrants born outside Arizona (Mexicans).
The proposed analysis is helpful in understanding the political climate in which immigrant youth-focused organizations operate. In the four cities the migrant NGOs receive more or less support from authorities. Munich is representative in this line for the support received by the city's NGOs from the government and for the existing networking opportunities. Over the last period NGOs have undertaken a proactive role in integrating young immigrants, encouraging them to get involved in offering services to other young immigrants. The actions are in line with the positive youth development theory, according to which only a positive approach will lead to successful integration. Immigrant youth are viewed as a source of power and energy for the receiving society. Organisations who adopted the positive development approach build on the skills of immigrant youth and their ability to adapt to different worlds.
The article analyses the challenges and factors influencing the development of local initiatives for integrating immigrant youth, based on the author's book published in 2012 - "Managing Integration of Immigrant Youth in the United States, Germany and Poland".
Source: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=963
The author mentions the riots in the large cities of the world over the last years and the growing generations of immigrant youth wishing to call attention to the discrimination, economic marginalization and social exclusion they face. With the exception of high-skilled professionals, immigrant youth often find it difficult to get a job.
A comparative analysis of four cities is undertaken, of Germany (Munich), Poland (Warsaw), San Diego (California) and Phoenix (Arizona), which are similar in terms of economic development and population but very different as regards migration history and current tendencies. The most diverse of the cities studied is Munich, but Phoenix has the largest compact group of immigrants born outside Arizona (Mexicans).
The proposed analysis is helpful in understanding the political climate in which immigrant youth-focused organizations operate. In the four cities the migrant NGOs receive more or less support from authorities. Munich is representative in this line for the support received by the city's NGOs from the government and for the existing networking opportunities. Over the last period NGOs have undertaken a proactive role in integrating young immigrants, encouraging them to get involved in offering services to other young immigrants. The actions are in line with the positive youth development theory, according to which only a positive approach will lead to successful integration. Immigrant youth are viewed as a source of power and energy for the receiving society. Organisations who adopted the positive development approach build on the skills of immigrant youth and their ability to adapt to different worlds.
The article analyses the challenges and factors influencing the development of local initiatives for integrating immigrant youth, based on the author's book published in 2012 - "Managing Integration of Immigrant Youth in the United States, Germany and Poland".
Source: http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=963
Back