Summary of main observations and recommendations
Over a period of three years EUMARGINS rearsch teams in seven countries- Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, the UK and Estonia- have analysed a large amount of secondary data as well as our own sample of 250 life story interviews with young adult immigrants and descendants in urban settings in Europe. As a result of our research, the following observations for social inclusion policies are drawn:
- There is a wide diversity in experiences of inclusion and exclusion among young migrants and descendants ranging from high success in the labour market and private life to marginalisation and exclusion from all major areas of formal participation. Structural conditions of the host country (including citizenship legislation, migration policies, integration policies or lack thereof, structure of the educational system and labour market), as well as migrants' demographic, socio-economic and socio-cultural characteristics play an important role here. Therefore, policy solutions must take into account the specifics of each national setting as well as target the most vulnterable groups of young migrants in each country.
- Our research show that migration status, class, ethnicity, religion, age and gender are all factors that interact and create segmentation and segregation along specific lines. More often than not several of these factors influence the processes of inclusion or exclusion of young migrants. Ethnic and socio-economic segregation often overlap and multiple discrimination appears at the conjuncture of ethnicity, religion and gender.
- Politics of identity: words, frames, categorisations and discourses play an important role in determining the structural and socio-cultural terms for inclusion or exclusion. Categories such as 'immigrants' are created and racially scripted forms of personhood that come to life at a particular conjuncture.
- Education and labour market integration are the policy areas that play the most important role for young migrants and their descendants in their double processes of simultaneously entering a new country and entering adulthood.