The Integration Centre is a non-governmental organisation which is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland.

The Integration Centre - Connecting Communities Advancing Integration is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland. The Centre specializes in planning, monitoring and advocacy at city, local, national and international levels and provides regionalized information, advice and training services. Evidence-based research influences positive change in legislation, policy and practice. We have more than 250 affiliated organisations as part of our network.

If you would like to find out more about us or if you would like to support our work contact: Helena Clarke, Communications and Media Executive, The Integration Centre,1st & 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street, Dublin 2, Ireland;
Tel: +353 16453070; Fax: +353 1677 0061;
helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie; www.integrationcentre.ie

Contents

1. Events & Notices
2. Jipe Kelly to Represent Ireland in the European Integration Forum
3. Fighting to Stay off the Streets
4. Ireland from an Immigrant Perspective
5. Information & Advocacy Clinics

Events & Notices

• Launch of the Roadmap to Integration
• Integration Strategy Development for Waterford City: Final Planning Session
• Developing and Monitoring Integration strategy in Donegal
• Launch of the Business Case for the Integration of Immigrants in Ireland
• Diverse Ireland Awards
• Launch of the Show Racism the Red Card programme of activities for 2011-12

Launch of the Roadmap to Integration
We will be launching the Roadmap to Integration 2011 October 13th, at 10.45am, in Buswells.

Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times, will launch the Roadmap. Killian Forde, CEO The Integration Centre, and Frances Soney Ituen, Women's Integrated Network Athy, will also speak at the event.

The Roadmap to Integration 2011 identifies some of the key blockages in Ireland in terms of integration policy and practice. It provides more than ninety suggested solutions to them and indicates whether those responsible for the policy are making progress in addressing the issue.

These issues are divided into nine sections. They are Business and Employment; Political Participation; Health; Education; Training and Upskilling; Policing and Justice; Poverty and Housing; Legal Citizenship and Residency; and Other.

The Roadmap also notes the cost of our suggested solutions and the urgency. The cost is either Low (less than €1m) Medium (less than €10), or High (more than €10m). These parameters are set deliberately low so as to fully reflect the current finances of the State. That said the Roadmap’s solutions are ambitious and they include significant legislative and constitutional changes.

All are welcome to attend, please RSVP to helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie by Oct 12th, 2011.





Integration Strategy Development for Waterford City: Final Planning Session
A number of preliminary planning sessions and consultations took place over the summer to identify what is working well and what challenges occur when trying to promote integration and social inclusion.   During October The Integration Centre will be holding two final planning sessions to examine possible strategies and actions in more detail.  All are welcome.

If you are interested in participating  in the development of Waterford’s first long-term integration strategy,  please attend one of the two final planning sessions listed below in:

• the Bailey Room, Waterford City Council, City Hall, The Mall, from 10am – 12:30pm, Wednesday 12th, October 2011
• the Grosvenor Room, ISU/ Edmund Rice IH Centre, Mount Sion, Barrack Street, from 2pm – 4:30pm, Monday 17th October 2011.

The Integration Centre is working with Waterford City Council to develop a long-term integration strategy for the city, with the support of the Social Inclusion Measures subcommittee of Waterford City Development Board and the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration.

For more information please contact: Seamus O’Leary at seamus.oleary@integrationcentre.ie or 087-2818986


Developing and Monitoring an Integration strategy in Donegal
The Integration Centre, as part of the “One Donegal Cultural Diversity Month”, will host a seminar to promote the development of an Integration Strategy in Donegal.

Donegal CDB Peace and the Reconciliation Partnership will host their second “One Donegal Cultural Diversity Month” in November 2011, which is aimed at embracing and celebrating diversity in the County.

The seminar will take place in the Station House Hotel, Letterkenny, on Wednesday 7th November 2011. There will be a morning session between 11am – 1pm, and an evening session from 6 - 9pm. Attendees may choose whichever slot suits best.

Tinu Achioya, The Integration Centre Participatory Project Officer (Northeast Region), will present the seminar.

Ms Achioya said “the aim of this event is to explore how an integration strategy can be developed and monitored in Donegal. This strategy would challenge racism and sectarianism, and promote positive relations and mutual respect between local communities.”

                                  



Launch of the Business Case for the Integration of Immigrants in Ireland
The Integration Centre will launch the Business Case for the Integration of Immigrants in Ireland, November 9th, 6-8pm, in the Oak Room of the Mansion House.
Eminent Economist Jim Power has been commissioned by The Integration Centre to write the Business Case for the Integration of Immigrants in Ireland and will be speaking at the event.


Diverse Ireland Awards
The Diverse Ireland Awards Ceremony will take place Dec 16th, 1pm, Woodquay. Nominations are welcome for the person, organisation or entity you feel has excelled in the field of integration. To submit a nomination visit: http://www.integrationcentre.ie/Diverse-Ireland-Awards/Diverse-Ireland-Awards-2011-entry-form.aspx
An Advisory Board of experts has been appointed to assist The Integration Centre staff in selecting Prize winners. The Advisory Board is comprised of experts in media, politics and business.

The Advisory board is comprised of:

• Dil Wickramingshe, Broadcaster
• Nora Owen, Former Minister for Justice
• Jim Power, Economist
• Killian Forde, CEO The Integration Centre

For more information contact helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie

 
Launch of the Show Racism the Red Card programme of activities for 2011-12
The programme of activities include:

• Anti-racism education workshops in schools & youth services
• Anti-racism Creative Competition for schools & youth services- you can now register to participate in competition 2012 on www.theredcard.ie/competition.php
• Intercultural Summer Camps
• Racist Incident Report Card
• launch of our Ambassador mascot 'Jeff the Ref'
• 10,000 wristbands on sale promoting the anti-racism message

Key note speakers-
Elin L'Estrange (survivor of the recent Uteoyo atrocity in Norway)
Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore TD
 
Special guests from the world of sport

12:15-1:45pm, Monday 10th October, Tallaght Stadium, RSVP info@theredcard.ie



Jipe Kelly to Represent Ireland in the European Integration Forum
Mr Jipe Kelly, The Integration Centre’s Participatory Project Officer for the West, and a member of the Ministerial Council on Migrant Integration, has replaced Ms. Anna Rooney as one of Ireland's two representatives on the European Integration Forum (launched by the European Commission in April 2009). 

Mr Kelly's appointment will take effect from the next meeting of the Forum which is scheduled to take place on 9/10 November 2011.

The European Integration Forum provides an opportunity for civil society organisations to express their views on migrant integration issues and to discuss with the European institutions challenges and priorities.

Killian Forde, CEO of The Integration Centre said “We are delighted that Mr Kelly has been chosen for this post.”

“Countries around Europe have had very different experiences of integration, and this is exactly where the value of the European Integration Forum lies. It allows representatives of a variety of States to share examples of best and worst practices and learn from them.”

“Jipe has been working in this sector for a number of years, and as a Cameroonian National living in Ireland has first-hand experience of the challenges and issues which arise when integrating in a foreign country.”

“The staff of The Integration Centre will make every effort to support Mr Kelly in ensuring we make a meaningful and constructive contribution to the Integration Forum.”
http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi/en/policy/legal.cfm



Fighting to Stay off the Streets
The threat of homelessness is a very real danger faced by asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland.
Abdul, a client of The Integration Centre, is an asylum seeker who came to Ireland around six years ago. He is middle aged, and originally from Pakistan. He suffers from a number of serious chronic illnesses for which he receives medical treatment on a weekly basis. Over the past number of years he has built up a medical support network in Dublin, with doctors who know his case history very well and whom he can trust.

Four years ago, Abdul felt he could no longer continue living in the accommodation appointed to him by the government. Once an asylum seeker leaves this accommodation it is difficult to re-enter. They must re-register with the Reception of Integration Agency (RIA) and it is unlikely that they will be accommodated again in the same area.

For Abdul, relocating outside of Dublin was out of the question as he was rarely well enough to travel. He spent some years keeping off the streets by staying with friends and with help from the Islamic Community, but these were short-term solutions. 

Eventually Abdul re-registered with RIA. It was during this process that Abdul came to The Integration Centre, who wrote to RIA asking them to consider Abdul’s medical condition in their decision. In the meantime, Abdul stayed at the Gardner Street Homeless Shelter for Non-Nationals where he remained for three months.

Having sent his medical records to RIA the case was evaluated by a medical referee, but it was rejected and it was decided to relocate him to Waterford. Abdul refused, so The Integration Centre sent a second letter asking for the case to be reviewed.

Things were looking bleak for Abdul until, some three months after The Integration Centre first got involved the Medical Unit sent a letter to Abdul, recognising that he was not well enough to travel and apologising for the excessive length of time it took to resolve the case.

Abdul has since been relocated and is doing well at his new address in Dublin 2. To him it is a blessing to be able to remain in the city he has made his home for the past six years.



Ireland from an Immigrant Perspective
This section of our e-bulletin is dedicated to understanding immigrant perspectives of Ireland. This month we interviewed James who left his native Nigeria in 2006 in order to escape religious persecution and reunite with his wife who had been living in Ireland since 2003.

He says, “Integration was easy at first, but it is difficult now”. He believes unemployment is the biggest issue facing immigrants in Ireland.

 After receiving his Green Card in July, which allows him to seek employment, James has not been able to find any work despite having several interviews. He feels that there are simply not enough jobs in Ireland for immigrants right now, let alone the Irish themselves. Undeterred by the economic condition, James continues to look for work to help support his family.

James is a father of three young girls, all of whom are Irish citizens, and says he does not miss his life in Nigeria. “I was from the North and my wife was from the East, it caused problems”.

In addition to the geographical issues, James says, religious differences also drove him to flee his homeland. “There are problems between Muslims and Christians”. Many people in Ireland take for granted religious and political freedoms, but stories like James’s help remind us that these problems are very real, and affect millions of lives each day.

It is these social and political issues that help explain why James has never returned to Nigeria, and why he has no plans to do so in the future. He feels that Ireland is a much safer place to raise a family even though unemployment is still an everyday struggle. James concluded the interview saying, “My wife and children are here, Ireland is my home”.

Information & Advocacy Clinics

Dublin
Tuesdays 10.00am - 12.30pm                                      Wednesdays 10.00am - 12.30pm                   
Dublin City Centre CIS                                               Blanchardstown Citizen's Information Centre
Macro Community Resource Centre                             Westend House
1 Green Street                                                           Westend Office Park
(off North King St)                                                      Dublin 15
Dublin 7


Thursdays 10.00am - 12.30pm                                     Fridays 10.00am - 12.30pm
Citizens Information Centre                                         Tallaght Citizens' Information Centre
7 Wynnefield Road                                                      512 Main Street
Rathmines                                                                  Tallaght
Dublin 6                                                                     Dublin 24


Galway
Tuesdays & Thursdays
10.30am - 12.30pm
Citizens Information Centre
Augustine House
St. Augustine Street
Galway


 
Funders
We continue to be grateful for the support and assistance of the Citizens Information Board (CIB),
Atlantic Philanthropies (Ireland) Ltd, the One Foundation and the Community Foundation for Ireland.

If you no longer wish to receive this e-bulletin, contact:
Helena Clarke, Communications & Media Executive
1st & 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street, Dublin 2
Tel: 016453070, Fax: 016770061
Direct Line: 016453082
Email: helena.clarke@integrationcentre
Web:  www.integrationcentre.ie
 
The Integration Centre is a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital, registered in Dublin, Ireland. Registered Company No: 473318, Charitable Status No: CHY 18944, Registered Office: 1st & 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Directors: Pat Montague, Yaw Dankwa, Liz Joyce, Jerry Moriarty, Logan Raju, Paul Rowe, Prashant Shukla