Immigration and inclusion in South Wales
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Immigration and inclusion in South Wales - Report Findings
New research from the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies has explored the impact of new migration on receiving communities in South Wales.
The impact, in particular on community, integration and cohesion was derived from research carried out in Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil and explores the perspectives of both new and settled residents.
Research found that new migrants who can work are viewed more favourably by settled populations in South Wales; however, employment does not guarantee that they will be welcomed into their new communities.
The research formed a new report, Immigration and inclusion in South Wales, which was launched at the National Assembly for Wales on the 15th of July and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The foundation, one of the largest social policy research and development charities in the UK, supports research and development programmes that seek to understand the causes of social difficulties and explore ways of overcoming them.
Research began in January 2005 in eight communities in South-East Wales. In total more than eighty focus group interviews and over a hundred individual and paired interviews were carried out.
Findings of the report found that a good deal of the work in building inclusive communities appeared to fall on middle-class minority ethnic or migrant community leaders, who were often poor, and working below their skill levels or as volunteers. However, their contribution seemed to go largely unrecognised.
Proffessor Terry Threadgold, one of the report’s main authors, said: “The government needs to concentrate on ensuring inclusion – this means equal access to education, employment and healthcare for everyone. Only then can cohesion follow.”
The report was written by Professor Terry Threadgold, Sadie Clifford, Abdi Arwo, Vanessa Powell, Dr Zahera Harb, Xinyi Jiang and Dr John Jewell, all of Cardiff University.
Related Links:
Immigration and inclusion in South Wales - Findings
Immigration and inclusion in South Wales - Full Report [325KB]