The Age of Superdiversity

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…

Global challenges: 3 fully funded PhD opportunities at IRiS

Exciting PhD opportunities at IRiS, as part of the Global Challenges initiative at the University of Birmingham. Successful candidates would work on one of the themes/projects below, supervised by a member of IRiS: Cities on the Edge: How to create welcoming, egalitarian, adaptable, flourishing cities of tomorrow (Dr L Goodson, Prof A Green, Dr Rachel Humphris )…

Becoming adult – the song

Originally posted on Becoming adult:
Three years of conversations, encounters, laughs and sharing in many different places, ignoring borders every time it was possible to do so. The photos, words, and short clips that make this video all came together through the musical magic of the Piccola Orchestra di Tor Pignattara and the video editing…

Unravelling Europe’s ‘Migration Crisis’ – new book co-authored by IRiS Nando Sigona

What is it like to travel to Europe over land and sea in order to secure a future for yourself and your family? Why are so many people willing to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean? What are their hopes and fears? And why is Europe, one of the richest regions of the world, unable…