Migrant integration is a multifaceted process which involves the social, cultural, economic, and political incorporation of migrants into their host society. Central to the process of migrant integration is the recognition and protection of the human rights of individuals, regardless of their migration status or citizenship.
Since the age of 5, I have had the opportunity to move from country to country—and with that came the experience of trying to integrate within each new home country. Having lived in Scotland since 2010, there have been many personal experiences of trying to better my English, understand Scottish slang words, get used to the culture and build a life in a country I wasn’t born in or brought up in at first. However, all these experiences have been primarily positive with almost no difficulty. This had me wondering how others coming from different backgrounds experience integrating into different host countries. This started my passion for expanding my knowledge and understanding of such a broad topic which is greatly under-researched.
I have been researching migrant and refugee integration since my undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen, and was inspired to take these studies further by undertaking a master’s degree in Human Rights and Diplomacy at the University of Stirling. This degree program has also allowed me to develop my knowledge in the topic of the human rights of migrants and refugees, and how their integration experience affects their human rights.
My personal experiences and learning of the struggles others have had when integrating in different countries has inspired me to bring recognition to this topic. This has led me to becoming the Migrant Integration and Human Rights Editor of Wandering Educators.
It is my view that a person’s ability to integrate in one’s host country has a large effect on human rights and what is accessible to them. Access to language learning programs, educational and employment opportunities, and cultural orientation programs are crucial for migrants to integrate successfully in their host country. Creating these types of resources can facilitate smoother integration and promote the overall wellbeing of migrants in their host country.
To that end, I have written a series of articles about migrant integration, which highlights how important this topic is, its challenges, and what can be done to further improve migrants’ integration process for the protection and enhancement of their human rights.
Please click through to read each one:
