Europe

Maurice Crul von der Universität Amsterdam unterstreicht die Wichtigkeit einer intensiveren europaweiten Zusammenarbeit der Forschungsinstutionen bei empirischen Vergleichsstudien, die den Wissenstransfer über erfolgreiche Projekte und Instrumente fördern.

Im Gegensatz zu Deutschland verfügt Großbritannien über eine Tradition antirassistischer und Antidiskriminierungs-Gesetzgebung und Bildungspolitik, die bis in die 70er bzw. 80er Jahre zurückführt. Wie Schulen diese umsetzen, hängt häufig davon ab, wie heterogen ihre Schülerschaft ist. Dennoch bleiben Fragen fortwährender ungleicher Bildungsbeteiligung und rassistischer Übergriffe an Schulen ungeklärt, stellt Vini Lander fest.  

Sweden is currently facing the same demographic situation or challenge as other European countries: an increasing number of elderly people. This demands a new future perspective the author Olof Björlin concludes, particularly with regard to health issues.

Sometimes, migrants along with other disadvantaged and marginalized groups are used as scapegoats to rationalize the emergence of social problems in a country. This is the reason why xenophobia, discrimination and racism are growing in some regions in Europe.

Integration in Germany brings challenges for African migrants. It is expected that they assimilate rather then to be viewed as citizens with a tradition and culture that enriches the German society.

What happens if a group in society is vulnerable to more than one aspect of discrimination? Author Kitimbwa Sabuni explores the exclusion of Africans from the labour market and from all forms of rehabilitation after their migrations to Sweden.

Spain has become a country of immigration in a very short time. Therefore Integration policy is a key factor in order to avoid discrimination and to promote equality for minorities groups.

In the year of the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, it can certainly be argued that equality has always been an essential underlying value of the European integration. Still, the existing legal framework is admittedly incomplete.

The European Year encourages us to look at equality in a more horizontal and overarching way; therefore, instead of looking at problems and solutions just for black people, or just for gay people, there is a case for acknowledging that the picture is often more complex – Sarah Isal states.