The Age of Superdiversity

Another dangerous ‘National Us’: you can’t have a more integrated society in a hostile environment | openDemocracy

Comment piece by Nando Sigona in openDemocracy. The UK Government’s strategy is not for an integrated society, focusing on what government and society could and should do, but for integrated ‘communities’, code word for everyone else. Source: Another dangerous ‘National Us’: you can’t have a more integrated society in a hostile environment | openDemocracy

Exciting vacancy at IRiS!

IRiS was established as a cross-University of Birmingham institute in 2012 and has quickly gained ground and recognition to become one of the world’s leading institutes for the interdisciplinary study of superdiversity, migration and displacement. Birmingham, as one of the largest and most diverse cities in Europe, provides the ideal location for research both at…

If we are to address segregation, we need to go beyond blaming and scapegoating communities

By Dr Chris Allen and Özlem Ögtem Young, academic experts on Ethnicity & Religion at the University of Birmingham. It was somewhat unsurprising that the issue of segregation was so prominent in the Government’s Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper. Placing a particular emphasis on residential and school segregation, the Green Paper called for more meaningful…

Perspectives on how government can boost migrant’s English Language skills.

by Professor Jenny Phillimore, Director of Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) Boosting English language is one of the policy proposals outlined in DHCLG’s Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper. There is no doubt that being able to speak, read and write fluently the language of the country in which you reside is important for integration. …

What does integration mean for today’s young migrants in Britain?

The Integration green paper places much emphasis on integrating young people in its proposals especially in relation to education. Dr Rachel Humphris and Dr Nando Sigona consider the factors that may determine success and failure of integration policy for this diverse cohort. What does integration mean for a young migrant in Britain today? To what…

Increasing economic opportunity, addressing ethnic inequalities

Labour market disadvantage is one of the factors highlighted in the green paper as affecting integration, given the emphasis on equalising economic opportunities as a priority. IRiS academic, Dr Laurence Lessard-Phillips, explores this issue in more detail. Fulfilling individuals’ potential within the labour market has been a long-time focus of recent governments. The Strategy Green…

Meaningful mixing? Promoting social integration in England

By Professor Jenny Phillimore, Director of Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) The new DHCLG Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper places much emphasis on the importance of social integration which they refer to as mixing with people from different backgrounds. Their proposals on young people and education and places and community both focus on how…

How the refugee crisis of 2015 turned into a “crisis of the European Union”: The Atlas of Transitions interviews Dr Nando Sigona

In this interview, Dr Nando Sigona offers some insights into how the 2015 refugee crisis has turned into a “solidarity crisis” and into a “crisis of the European Union (EU) as a project”. Interview with Nando Sigona

Hot off the virtual press: three new IRIS Working Papers

We are delighted to launch three new IRiS Working Papers looking at health care practices and pathways to settlement in diverse areas. Pathways of settlement among recent migrants in super-diverse areas (25/2018) By Susanne Wessendorf This report summarizes the main findings of the research into how new migrants find ways to settle when they do not have…