Whilst until the late 1980s most migration issues developed in a parallel manner but with national specifics, important differences showed up during the 1990s and at the beginning of this decade. Since the middle of the 1990s, there has been an obvious change in policy towards migrants and foreigners in the Netherlands, and those changes have been more or less “exported” to our neighbouring countries and even to the level of the EU. Integration into society with the maintenance of the immigrant’s own culture has been replaced by integration into the Dutch society after passing an integration examination. The focus of this article is to investigate those changes and to compare the implementation of those policies in the Netherlands/Limburg and Germany/NRW, where the official understanding of not being an immigration country was dominant until the end of the 1990s, and where integration has only recently become an important political issue. Both countries are now facing similar challenges for better integration into the society, especially into the educational system. Firstly, the autors describe migration definitions, types, the numbers of migrants and the backgrounds of migrant policies in Germany and the Netherlands up until the middle of the 1990s. Secondly they discuss the integration policies thereafter: the pathway to a new policy and the Action Plan Integration in Germany, and the central ideas of the Civic Integration of Newcomers Act (WIN) in the Netherlands. Integration policy in the Netherlands is highly centralised with little differentiation on the local governmental level when compared to South Limburg. Thirdly, the autors investigate the cross-border cooperation between professional organisations and educational institutions in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine, and the involvement of social work institutions and social workers in their process of integration into the local society and the exchange of each others’ experiences (the ECSW and RECES projects).
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In the light of the latest migration waves to Turkey, this chapter explores the adaptations of Turkish sport policies and initiatives and their role in the context of sport for development and peace (SDP). Lately transforming from a transit country to a host country for refugees and migrants, Turkey had to regulate and accommodate many of its policies after this demographic change. Sport has been used as one of the tools for the integration and active participation of these newcomers. Turkey has been carrying out sport projects to provide both recreational and professional athletic opportunities for refugees and migrants, despite unexpectedly facing this massive migration in its territory. These growing practices are opening up a new realm to discuss sport development and migrant integration in society. In this light, this chapter examines and discusses the practices in Turkey toward refugees to be considered part of SDP with a descriptive method and content analysis. Most of these practices are in collaboration with state institutions, national and international NGOs, and local authorities. Although the long-term outcomes are not completely visible yet, the current practices and steps promise successful results for building an inclusive society.
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In a knowledge economy such as that of the Netherlands, the importance of higher education is widely recognized. Dutch universities of Applied Sciences aim to create successful learning environments to prepare young people for their future work and role in society.
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