Participation and Empowerment of Migrants in

Austria

EU-Grundtvig Project 22 – 25 March 2011

Caritas Linz – MigrantInnenhilfe Mag. Evelina Glöckner

Overview

Facts & Figures

National Level - Legal Framework

- Impact on Politics- Impact on Economy (also Employment, Education und Qualification)- Impact on Culture

Regional Level - Integration Concept of Upper Austria - Integration Concept Vienna

Organisational Level - Empowerment Concept „Help the people to help themselves“

- Objectives - Obstacles to Empowerment (Society and individual obstacles; organisational Bottlenecks)

Facts & Figures

At the beginning of 2010:

Foreign residents: 895,000 (10.7%)

Residents with a migrant background: 1,468 million (17.8%)

First generation : 1,082 million

Second generation: 385,500

Facts & Figures„Old/traditional“ migrants (mainly third-country nationals): Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo – 207,000 Turkey – 183,000 Bosnia and Herzegovina – 130,000 Croatia – 70,000

„New“ migrants (mainly EU): Germany – 213,000 Romania – 63,000 Poland – 59,000 Czeck Republic – 46,000 Hungary – 39,000 Italy – 29,000

National LevelLegal Framework

Austria has no comprehensive integration strategy – a fact that was noted with concern by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) in its fourth report on Austria published in March 2010

In 2010, the government committed to a National Action Plan for Integration, after years of NGO consultations, an integration plattform, expert reports and panels, statistics and new indicators. This process of policy change has produced much paper and discussion, but few improvements so far

Most initiatives to promote integration are still local and regional projects, limited in time and reach. These ‘best practices’ cannot overcome all the obstacles to integration in the national legal framework

Austrian Integration Fund

National Level Impact on Politics

Third country nationals have no right to vote und to stand for elections (minicipal councils, provincial parliaments, national parliament)

Political participation in trade unions and representations of interests ist possible but restricted (Workers´ Councils, Student representation)

Participation through „Foreigners` Councils“ (Ausländerbeiräte)

Traditional route of political participation ist naturalisation (obtaining Austrian citizenship)

National Level Impact on Politics

Political parties began to discover the potential of immigrant votes in elections in recent years and started placing naturalised immigrants to their lists

Self-organisation of immigrants/ migrant organisations

Austria’s foreign residents have been encouraged to participate politically through ad hoc funding and consultations (e.g. in Graz, Vienna, Styria). That these projects have been overlooked for national policy is a major weakness in Austria’s National Action Plan for Integration

National Level Impact on Economy

Migrants have a lower annual income than natives, due to various factors: lower skills and concentration on low wage industries, high proportion of seasonal work and limited opportunities to join core work force of enterprises

Migrants tend to have higher unemployment rates than natives

Migrants are increasingly turning to self-employment by setting up business in services und retail trade (cleaning, restaurants, food, transportation, etc.)

Austria has not been able yet to attract highly skilled migrant workers in large numbers either because of limited demand for these skills or because of perceived or real bureaucratic hurdles and red tape

National LevelImpact on Economy

Employment

Migrants have been included in the country’s labour market objectives. Combined language and vocational training ist being offered

Migrant youth may get better jobs through career coaching and mentoring, while migrant women may benefit from special programmes on language, health, sports and domestic violence

In the future, government wants more migrants in the public sector, including the police, schools, justice, health

Ending EU citizens’ transitional measures in May 2011 (2013 for BG and RO)

National LevelImpact on Economy

Obstacles to employment

Recognition of foreign qualifications

Low educational level (third country residents)

Insufficient language proficiency

No free access to the labour market for non-EU temporary residents

Discrimination

National LevelImpact on Economy

The number of immigrants in the highest and lowest education levels is above average ( lowest – third country nationals, highest mainly EU immigrants)

Compulsory Kindergarten year for preschool aged children

Immigrant pupils rarely attend schools where they can earn a high school diploma. They attend more offen secondary, polytechnic, and vocational schools

In special needs schools the proportion of foreign children was almost twice as high, at about 19%, mostly citizens of former Yugoslavia and Turkey

Education and Qualification

National LevelImpact on Economy

The educational level of the second generation has already considerably adapted to that of the Austrian population (an above average percentage of the Austrian population has completed mid-level education in trade and vocational training programs)

There is an urgent need for action with young people who have only completed compulsory school or have no leaving certificate

Around 15% of the non-German speaking schoolchildren who have completed the eighth school year at a secondary school do not continue their education

Education and Qualification

National LevelImpact on Culture

Role of food as indicator for growing cultural diversity. Growing number of Turkish, Asian and Latin American restaurants

Public service broadcasting station ORF offers broadcasts on the radio, a TV programme on migration and minorities issues and run a news homepage

Migrants’ print media are limited to papers of individual associations

Radio is of great relevance for immigrant groups as well as Internet.

Contribution of large number of theatre projects and small companies off the mainstream

Fashion: especially noticeable in field of education, high percentage of third country nationals studying fashion at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna

Cultural policy is still criticised for not committing itself to create a sustainable infrastructure for development and establishment of a “migrant-culture”

Regional Level

Integration Concept of Upper Austria

(Integrationsleitbild Oberösterreich)

www.ooe.gv.at

Regional Level

Regional Level

„Integration and Diversity“

Integration Concept Vienna

www.wien.gv.at/integration

Organisational Level

Empowerment Concept „Help the people to help themselves“

• Legal counseling

• Financial und material help

• Support in case of problems with authorities

• Integration events

• German language courses

• Pool of interpreteurs

• Interreligious dialogue

• Women`s empowerment projects

• Seminars and Workshops

Organisational LevelObjectives

Reduce information deficits in migrant communities on austrian health, welfare and education system

Improve German skills

Increase health awareness among migrant communities

Increase the take-up rate of education and health facilities

Foster participation and autonomy of migrants

Reduce deprivation

Increase take-up rate of public transfers and cost-free services

Foster intercultural dialogue

Fight racism and xenophobia

Organisational Level

Legal und sozial disadvantage Political inequality Stigmatisation Discrimination Disqualification Xenophobia Mobbing Judgement by appearance Automatic exclusion Unequal chances Verbal aggressions/insults Emotional violence

Obstacles to Empowerment (Society)

Organisational Level

Culture shock Life-changing crisis Psychlogical disorders Deprivation Disorganisation Devaluation Regression Helplessness Anger Blackout Thought of suicide Depression Low self-esteem

Lack of perspectives Lack of knowledge Identity problems Sorrow Depts

Obstacles to Empowerment (individual)

Organisational Level

Constraint factor Consequence Time pressure Necessary steps und actions will be carried

out by a social worker and not by the client

(instead to walk through the steps together)

Absence of a long-term goals’ agreement with the client Lack of consistency, Backslide

Building dependencies

(Client – social worker)

Contra-productivity, lack of self-care competence, social und mobility competence

Lack of volunteers (with foreign language capacity) interested in migrants

Crucial Soft Skills cannot be developed

(social competence), no Role Models

Obstacles to Empowerment (organisational Bottlenecks)