The annual EMN National Conference , held on the 24th November 2023.
The European Commissions’s Action plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 stated that ensuring “effective integration and inclusion in the EU of migrants is a social and economic investment that makes European societies more cohesive, resilient and prosperous.” It went on to say that “migrants and EU citizens with a migrant background play a key role in the European economy and society. The COVID-19 crisis has made their contribution all the more evident.”
In Malta (Census, 2021), more than one in five residents are foreign, with 115,449 non-Maltese persons residing in Malta on Census Day – an increase of more than five times in the share of foreigners since 2011. The first national integration framework (Integration = Belonging, 2017) successfully navigated a polarised debate on the topic through a pragmatic approach marked by some notable successes (such as the I Belong programme), but also the identification of gaps that need to be addressed in the upcoming second integration strategy, such as the importance of an intersectional approach.
Whereas most debate and services have so far tended to view “migrants” as one homogeneous category, within a binary worldview (migrant or non-migrant), the time has come to shift the debate to acknowledge that “migrants” live multiple, layered identities, and draw the necessary conclusions for policy, strategy, services, and mostly everything else. This conference was a discussion in function of understanding better this relocation of focus.
