Beyond Integration | Bringing Together Research, Policy and Delivery on Integration

‘Integration’ can be a controversial concept. When applied to migrant communities it has often been associated with assimilation, a ‘one-way’ process treating migrants as ‘others’ who need to ‘fit in’. This event will challenge past approaches and look ‘beyond integration’ to explore how we can ensure that people fulfil their potential and attain their aspirations within the labour market and wider community. The ESRC funded Everyday Integration project, a collaboration between the University of Bristol, Bristol City Council and 30 community organisations across Bristol, is working to develop an inclusive, bottom-up and local approach to integration in the city. ACH has developed new tools such as Integrass, which assesses ‘integration’ from a bottom up, individually tailored viewpoint. This seminar will discuss how these new approaches can overcome the limitations of previous policies, by focussing on the whole community.

Speakers will include Segal Abdi and Richard Thickpenny from ACH and Prof Jon Fox from the University of Bristol. The event will be chaired by MMB Director Prof Bridget Anderson. Ann Singleton, MMB Strategic Policy Lead, will draw policy conclusions at the end.

The seminar will begin with the speakers, followed by an open discussion with participation encouraged from all. Following the event, you can receive a summary of the learnings and outcomes.

This is the second seminar in the series organised by ACH and MMB on ‘Bridging the Gap’ between research, policy development and delivery. Keep an eye out for details of our third seminar. We will announce further topics and dates in due course and hopefully will be able to do face-to-face events later in the year.

To read more about the event please visit the Eventbrite page, where you can also register.