New research shows that Malta still has a long way to go when it comes to successful migrant integration, but it doesn’t compare too badly with the rest of Europe.
Jo Caruana analyses the results of MIPEX III, and learns about the improvements required
Immigration is constantly on the minds of many – whether it is the locals unsure of an influx from overseas, asylum seekers fleeing turmoil in their homeland, or simply foreigners seeking pastures new in Malta. However, whichever way you look at it, it seems there are challenges that all involved must face.
Now it seems that those sentiments have been verified by the results of the recent Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), which contrasts and compares integration policies across 31 countries in Europe and North America. Results show that while change is happening, there are still many obstacles to how immigrants live, work and participate in our societies.
The finalised report ranks Malta at 28, just slightly ahead of Slovakia, Cyprus and Latvia. Sweden, Portugal and Canada ranked first, second and third respectively.
MIPEX is now in its third edition and, this time around, assessments were based on publicly available documents as of May 2010. Malta was included for the second time, and slightly improved its performance since its last assessment in 2007. As such, it aims to increase public knowledge and visibility of national policies, changes and international trends, while also stimulating debate on government objectives, progress and results.
“With the third phase of MIPEX research we aim to provide reliable information to governments, civic institutions and the wider public to compare migrant integration policies across countries and over time,” says Rosemary Hilhorst OBE, Regional Director EU Europe, British Council, which is one of the major bodies behind the organisation of the report. “This will encourage more informed discussion on best practice and enable better future policies.”
With results in, it has been revealed that, while ‘Malta is behind most countries of immigration in improving integration policy’, its ‘anti-discrimination law has improved’. As it explains, Malta has fewer foreigners (4.4 per cent, as opposed to the 6.4 per cent) on average, while most move over here for work, family and tax reasons, and come from the EU, the Commonwealth, Serbia and the former USSR.
According to the report: “Malta is only beginning to address immigration and asylum. 2007 and 2008 saw more people arriving than leaving, and most newcomers (65 per cent in 2009) were fleeing Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan.” It goes on to recommend that Malta should follow the EU’s laws and trends, which will help it to offer all its residents better protection from discrimination, regardless of their country of origin.
The study judged each country on seven different categories: Labour Market Mobility, Family Reunion, Education, Political Participation, Long-Term Residence, Access To Nationality and Anti-Discrimination.
Malta fared best in the Long-Term Residence category and the report states that “... becoming a long-term resident in Malta gives non-EU residents their best chance to integrate”. As it explains, non-EU residents who want to settle in Malta go through a similar procedure as in most other European countries.
Interestingly, Malta lost most points in the education section, scoring just 16 out of a possible 100. However, most countries struggled with this area, and it seems local challenges are down to the current education policy, which leaves school some of the least prepared in Europe for migrant children.
As the report goes on to explain, this was likely due to the fact that Malta has only just started to adapt its schools to diversity. It states: “Despite some help for disadvantaged students, Malta does not target the specific needs of newcomers in its policies. Malta is one of five countries without any policy on new opportunities such as immigrant children’s languages in mainstream schools.”
However change is happening, as valuing social diversity is one of the broad core values of the National Minimum Curriculum. And this will be further specified in the draft National Curriculum Framework, which will be launched for consultation in the coming weeks. This should make a difference in the way migrant children are taught and integrated.
Additionally, the “Inclusion and Diversity in Education” (INDIE) Best Practice Guidelines, which are the result of a joint project between the British Council and the Ministry for Education, Employment and the Family, was launched recently. These guidelines are specifically aimed at achieving more inclusive schools, promoting social cohesion, raising educational standards and building lasting networks that focus on the common challenges presented by immigration and cultural diversity to school education.
At present, the British Council and the Ministry of Education, Employment and the Family are also involved in the Council’s Connecting Classrooms project, which builds lasting partnerships between groups of schools in the UK and in over 60 countries around the world. Through these partnerships, the programme develops understanding and trust between young people in different societies, creating a safer and more connected world for the future. Ten local schools are participating in the project.
Now, with the results clearly explained, those behind MIPEX hope to have demonstrated how countries can do better at creating the legal environment in which immigrants can contribute to a country’s well-being, where they have equal access to employment and education, where they live in security with their families, and where they can become active citizens. The results, of course, remain to be seen, and the next MIPEX study will have plenty more to reveal.
MIPEX is led by the international British Council and the Migration Policy Group, which includes the help of 37 national-level independent experts such as think tanks, foundations, research institutes and equality bodies.
More information about MIPEX is available at http://www.britishcouncil.org/malta-society-mipex.htm