Migration and Integration in Practice

The aim of this project is to continue the activity of the advising center at Gorskiego 3/17 in Warsaw, but also to look for new solutions to improve the well being of migrants living in Poland. The advising focuses on the issues of legalizing the stay and work in Poland, which implies constant monitoring of the legislation concerning migrants. The most recent news about how migrants function in the context of Polish legislation is presented on a bi-weekly radio program produced in cooperation with the Polish Radio Abroad. Also part of the project, the Discussion Club seeks to initiate debate about problems experienced by migrants and the ways to solve them. The weekly Film Club creates a more casual atmosphere for a conversation about issues of importance to migrants. We also offer Polish language classes and unique workshops of creative writing for the migrants, who know Polish well, but would like to develop their literary skills. Another part of the project is to encourage migrants and their employers to describe their experiences on the Polish job market as part of a yearly competition.

Multidimensional challenges: researching the potential of integration of migrants in Poland

The main goal of this project is to deepen the knowledge about the integration of foreigners living in Poland by researching and analyzing the current conditions of this process and editing a final report, which will serve as a compilation of knowledge about the problems and needs of migrants used by key actors who influence the integration of foreigners living in Poland. As part of the project we collect and analyze data about the integration process, which will be useful to state officials, NGO activists, media representatives and politicians, who want to learn about the factors important in implementing integrations strategies in Poland.  The innovative part of this research is that it treats integration of foreigners as a process in a complex, inter-disciplinary manner, includes the pre-emigration phase, the conditions in the country of origin and an analysis of the attitudes in the receiving society. This research was conducted on a group of migrants from former Soviet countries who, according to the official statistics, are the largest group of foreigners living in Poland. The sample includes migrants from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldavia, Russia and – the largest group – Ukrainians. This specification implies one hand, a broad spectrum of nationalities, and on the other, a limitation of historical factors, which in turn allows for more specific conclusions and recommendations concerning this fragment of immigration to Poland.