Migrant in Romania Magazine

Ministerul Administraţiei şi Internelor

Oficiul Român pentru Imigrari

Direcţia Generală Afaceri Europene și Relații Internaționale

Uniunea Europeană

Proiect finanţat de Uniunea Europeană

Migrant in Romania

www. migrant.ro

Towards a Representative Structure of Migrants in Romania page 6

How Much Power Does an Employee Have? page 12

I Did Not Choose Romania, Migrant in Romania 1 Romania Chose Me! page 14

Migrant in Romania magazine is edited by Intercultural Institute of Timisoara (coordonator) in partnership with League for Defence of Human Rights – Cluj-Napoca, Centre for Civic Resources – Constanta, ADIS Association – Bucharest Bd. 16 Decembrie 1989, nr. 8, 300173 Timișoara Tel. 0256 498 457, Fax. 0256 203 942 E-mail: iit@intercultural.ro Site: www.intercultural.ro

The magazine is realised in the framework of the project “Intercultural Romania”. Contract no. ref.: IF/10.01-04.01, financed by the European Union through General Programme “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows”, administered in Romania by the Romanian Office for Immigration.

Comitetul de redacţie: The magazine is available online at www.migrant.ro Printed copies can be ordered at Intercultural Institute of Timisoara, www.intercultural.ro

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Migrant in Romania

Daniela Cervinschi, Oana Bajka, Romina Matei, Oana Neştian Sandu, Mbela Nzuzi, Călin Rus. Grafica: Codruţ Radu Contact: redactie@migrant.ro

The responsibility for the content of the articles lies solely with the authors. They own the copyright for the published articles. Proposal for contributions to the magazine can be sent to the editorial team. Details on cover 3 and at www.migrant.ro

editorial

Intercultural Romania, What Else?

The Intercultural Institute of Timisoara has been engaged in promoting an intercultural society in Romania and across Europe since 1992. At that time, democracy was a new concept in Romania. Through a series of activities in the field of intercultural education and education for democratic citizenship, we aimed at developing better interethnic relations, at contributing to the integration of Roma and at educating citizens in order to become active members of the society, to act in understanding of the values and principles of the Council of Europe, to respect human rights and make informed decisions.

coming to build a life in Romania is much smaller, and the problems encountered are a bit different.

However, we believe that taking action for ensuring effective integration is necessary now. There is no point in waiting for the numbers to be bigger and in repeating the mistakes of other countries. Therefore, our main aim in this field was to develop a consultation mechanism among migrants, public institutions and civil society. The sooner we start talking to each other, learning about each other and finding common solutions to the problems encountered by different actors in the society, the better results we will have on long term.

At the core of our activities there was always the idea of ensuring the right for everyone to publicly affirm their identity and express their cultural practices, valuing at the same time communication and interaction between the different cultural groups.

Bringing together in intercultural dialogue members of migrant communities and representatives of public institutions is of utmost importance, in order to create networks and to ensure effective partnerships on equal basis. That is why we developed in the last four years a consultation mechanism, through local and national working groups and seminars, a dedicated website and magazine, a network of intercultural mediators and various cultural and educational events.

In the ‘90s, the main focus regarding intercultural relations was on the relationship between Romanians and national minorities, or between different national minorities, in order to ensure equal rights for members of all cultural groups that have lived, since centuries, on the territory of Romania and to promote harmonious relationships in the society.

Until recently, immigration was not an issue in Romania. Compared to Western European countries the number of people from other countries

This mechanism will be further developed in the next three years, in order to support the integration of migrants at all levels. The focus has been so far in developing relations and structures, building trust, starting a meaningful dialogue. Building on that, we intend to contribute to the improvement of public policies for the

integration of migrants. These policies must respond to the needs of the people they refer to, they should take into account the cultural specificities of the migrants, should be respectful of human rights and intercultural principles, and should envisage immediate action.

We are also glad that over the last few years our cooperation with the Ministry of Education resulted in an increased capacity of the education system to address the needs of migrants.

A key element is represented by the Romanian language courses that migrants are entitled to receive for free, according to the law. For this purpose, a complex set of resources has been developed, including textbooks, multimedia and online resources, a group of teachers has been trained and evaluation procedures have been set-up.

Another priority has been for us to stimulate the involvement of Romanian organisations in European partnerships around issues related to integration of migrants. The Intercultural Institute was also able to bring the voice of civil society from Romania at the European Integration Forum organised annually by the European Commission.

In all these activities we emphasised the idea that integration is not assimilation, that migrants should be equally supported in preserving and developing their specific cultural identities, as well as in an effective civic participation in the Romanian society.

Migrant in Romania

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project

Coordinated Activities for the Integration of Migrants Since 2009 the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara is developing projects for the integration of migrants in Romania.

The main goal of the projects is to contribute to the promotion of cohesion and integration, on the basis of the principles of a participatory inclusive democracy, to enhance consultation and civic participation of migrants.

Through the activities developed in several cities in Romania for the integration for migrants, a series of needs have been identified – both related to the migrants and the authorities responsible for the integration of migrants:  The need to establish positive relations and to reduce the social distance between the institutions and migrants;  The need for an organised framework that is culturally adapted for the communication between migrants and public authorities;  Accessible information on integration opportunities, that can be obtained through diverse sources;  Opportunities for promotion of cultural specificities and recognition from the society;  The need for multipliers and resource persons in the community, that can successfully represent the “voice” of migrants in dialogue with public authorities and civil society;  Empowerment of migrant organisations to participate in social, cultural al community life.

To address these needs, the main activities carried out for the integration of migrants are:  Migrant in Romania website www.migrant.ro – a portal with relevant information for migrants: news, information about the situation of migrants in Romania and about events organised by and for migrants. A forum open to public is also available.  “Migrant in Romania” Magazine is a quarterly magazine that aims both

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Migrant in Romania

to inform the general public about migration, as well as to offer migrants useful information to encourage and support them in their integration efforts. The electronic magazine is also available at www.migrant.ro  Network of intercultural mediators – 30 persons from Timisoara, Cluj, Iasi, Constanta and Bucharest act as mediators in order to ensure a more genuine contact between members of migrants’ communities and public authorities and civil society. The mediators, which have been trained in intercultural communication, act as a link, representing at the same time the “voice” of migrant communities and the “translation” of relevant information and legislation for the members of the communities.  Local consultation seminars are organised quarterly in five cities in Romania. The subjects of these seminars are decided in the local initiative group, according to the interests of the migrant community in that specific city. The aim of these seminars is to offer the opportunity for open communication, for discussion of needs and problems, for supporting migrants in their integration process.

The reports of the seminars are available on www.migrant.ro  Every year we organise a national conference for consultation with the migrant communities. This conference represents an opportunity for local and national actors in the field of migration to share experience and to learn from each other.

Oana Neştian Sandu Intercultural Institute of Timisoara

 Romanian language and cultural orientation courses – organised in 10 cities in Romania for adults and children. The courses have been designed to allow the learning of basic Romanian without reference to another language. Its content focuses on practical daily needs and not on abstract grammar.

Resources to learn are available on the website www.vorbitiromaneste.ro.

These resources include a textbook, with exercises and annexes, audio lessons and multimedia lessons with interactive exercises.

Detailed information can be found at: www.intercultural.ro

The Romanian partners with whom Intercultural Institute of Timisoara worked along the years for the integration of migrants are:  Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport  West University of Timisoara  Romanian-Arab Cultural Centre, Timisoara  Organisation of Refugee Women in Romania  League for Defence of Human Rights, Cluj-Napoca  Centre for Civic Resources, Constanta  ADIS Association, Bucharest

In Other Words

The project In Other Words is a European project coordinated by Provincia di Mantova in partnership with organisations from Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Estonia and Romania.

The Intercultural Institute of Timisoara is the Romanian partner in the project.

This Web Observatory & Review for Discrimination alerts & Stereotypes is conceived firstly in connection to the awareness of the role and reality of mass media across Europe, how they influence intolerant behaviours, and how, on the contrary, they may contribute positively in combating discrimination and promoting cultural diversity.

It has been proven that intolerance, racism, xenophobia and other discriminatory attitudes derive from ignorance (lack of direct knowledge or understanding of diversity), prejudice and stereotypes. The in depth awareness of figures, data, cultural backgrounds, scientific findings and social dynamics may help people develop their own opinion, free from prejudice, thus overcome stereotypes and develop a positive attitude towards minorities and groups that are perceived as “different”.

The project In Other Words focuses on the potential of the mass media as instrument for the dissemination of accurate information through the use of precise and non-discriminatory language. The project aims at reacting to the current situation in which the media is a vehicle for stereotypes’ dissemination

and help improve the correctness of media discourse and messages.

Media is a vehicle with great potential to transmit stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes, which plays a negative role and encourages prejudices.

Incorrect information in the media refers not only to direct discriminatory discourse, but also to an erroneous and superficial representation of reality, generic or offensive words, or the use of a language that specifically identifies a minority group.

The journalists’ deontological code states that ethnical origin is to be mentioned only when the information presented is strictly related to this aspect. Incorrect information can be disseminated without a clear intention to discriminate, but stereotypes are transmitted through incorrect use of language and the projection of journalists’ own stereotypes.

The main problem related to mentioning the ethnical background of a person that commits an offence is that the fact that through this approach the media does not present news, but mainly it enforces stereotypes.

These stereotypes are easily learnt by the reader a serve as basis for the development of prejudices.

The specific objectives of the project are:  Development of a critical attitude in local communities

towards messages delivered by the mass-media;  Raising awareness of the media on their contribution to disseminate stereotypes and their potential for spreading a correct culture of diversity;  Defining and testing a methodology for diffuse monitoring, creating alternative communication tools and providing feedback to the media managers and journalists;  Involving directly young people and victims of discrimination and make them active in producing and spreading correct information.

A first analysis in Romania shows that media and several public institutions mention, in their press releases, the ethnic background of individuals that committed offences. This is against the ethical norms of journalism and has a negative impact on the public image of migrant communities or minority groups. Another aspect is related to the fact that sometimes, facts and opinions are mixed.

Monthly newsletters are sent with the results of media monitoring, information about related activities and projects. If you are interested to receive these newsletters please contact us at the following address: contact@migrant.ro Detailed information can be found at: www.inotherwords-project.eu Migrant in Romania

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT Oana Neştian Sandu and

Călin Rus

Towards a Structure of

Several European documents affirm the idea that the participation of migrants to democratic life and their active involvement in public debates regarding policies that have a direct impact on them, represent essential factors in the integration process.

This idea underlies the projects for the integration of migrants implemented by the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara. In 2009 we started to develop a consultancy mechanism among migrants, public institutions and civil society. This mechanism was developed for three years and a new component was added in 2011: a national Network of Intercultural Mediators.

We started with a group of 30 intercultural mediators, from five cities in Romania. Their role is to facilitate communication between migrant communities and the rest of the society (including the institutions). They are migrants who were actively involved in the consultancy mechanism in the previous years, who are able to identify problems of migrant communities and include them on the discussion agenda with relevant actors.

The idea of developing a Network of Intercultural Mediators emerged at the same time with the idea of developing a federation of organisations of migrants in Romania. The role of this structure would be to act as the main voice of all migrants’ groups in Romania and to facilitate their participation in the process of policy development in the field of migration.

There are a number of migrant organisations in Romania, some established based on national, cultural or religious belonging, others on geographical scope, in some areas in Romania. However, it is difficult to

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Migrant in Romania

assess which are the most active and which have the will and the capacity to participate in public consultation processes, to engage into structured dialogue with public institutions.

These two structures, the Network of Intercultural Mediators and the federation of organisations of migrants in Romania, were not initially designed to function jointly, but the activities realised in 2011-2012, and most of all the national conference organised in June 2012, suggested that combining these two structures might be a good idea. There are several possibilities to develop a consultation and representation structure. We propose below the analysis of:  The functioning of the consultation and representation system for the national minorities in Romania;  The analysis of representation structures of migrants in other countries.

National minorities in Romania

benefit from a well structured system that ensures consultation and fair representation at national level. This consists not only of parliamentary representation, but also of National Minorities Council, a structure with consultative role, officially recognised

by Romanian Government and supported by the Department for Interethnic Relations and General Secretariat of the Government of Romania. Each national minority has three representatives in the National Minorities Council, appointed by the organisation with the largest number of votes in parliamentary election.

Regarding the representation of migrants in other countries, several practices can be of interest. One of them can be found in France, where Councils of Foreign Residents have been established and function in the main cities. The members of the councils and elected through a voting procedure, open to the participation

Representative Migrants in Romania of all foreign residents from that city.

The most active councils are the ones from Strasbourg and Toulouse. In 2011, due to an initiative of the Council of Foreign Residents in Strasbourg and through the participation of the Council of Foreign Residents from different cities, a National Council of Foreign Residents (Conseil Français de la Citoyenneté de Résidence CoFraCiR) has been established. This Council functions as a representative structure at national level. The aim of CoFraCiR is to influence national policies for integration and against discrimination and to stimulate exchanges of good practices among the Councils for Foreign Residents from member cities. More details are available at www.cofracir.org.

These two examples reflect different ways in which a representative structure of migrants can be organised. One of them is organised based on representatives appointed by each community, while the other one was established based on geographical criteria.

These examples can serve as a source of inspiration for the development of a representative structure of migrants in Romania and were discussed at the national conference “Migrant in Romania” that took place on June 15th-16th 2012 in Bucharest.

Participants agreed that there is a need for a representative structure of migrants at national level. However, the process of establishing this structure and ensuring its functioning in good conditions might not be an easy one.

If we were to take the examples mentioned above, several difficulties could be envisaged.  Reaching a situation similar to the one of the National Minorities Council would be difficult, especially

when it comes to ensuring a balanced representation of all the communities. Moreover, this process could also lead to conflicts between different organisations of migrants.  The other system, a federation of local representative structures, is also not realistic in the current situation of migrants in Romania. Despite the accomplishments in developing a consultancy mechanism in the previous years, we are far from ensuring a balanced representation and continuity in participation at local level for all communities.

Involving only the communities that have stable and active organisations would be exclusive and could have negative consequences, by driving some groups of migrants away from the public consultation processes.

In this case, several migrant communities proposed a different way of organising a representative structure. They consider that, at this point in time, the best option is to have the Network of Intercultural Mediators act as a consultative body at national level. Participants at the national conference “Migrant in Romania” agreed with this proposal.

members of the communities in order to communicate them to the specific institutions. Their role will remain similar in the sense that they continue to act as facilitators of communication, not representatives of the community, ensuring that their role does not conflict with leaders of different organisations and communities.

In this context, the role of the Network of Intercultural Mediators will be to encourage members of different communities to express their opinions on issues at hand, to collect these opinions and present them to the institutional bodies responsible for the respective issues.

As referred to its functioning, the membership will be open to new mediators, in order to ensure the inclusion of all the communities.

As a follow-up of this process and of the agreement of the participants in the consultancy mechanism, starting fall 2012, specific actions will be taken in order to ensure the functioning of this structure. Any suggestions or comments are welcome on the Forum available at: www.migrant.ro.

This option has the advantage that the structure already exists and its members are very active.

At the same time, the network can be expanded, in order to include mediators from other migrant communities. The responsibilities of the mediators will be expanded, but their role will remain similar.

Their responsibilities will include, on the one side, aspects like informing the members of their communities about relevant issues on the agenda of national institutions, about public debates, and on the other side collecting opinions and proposals from the Migrant in Romania

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Analysis

Opportunities for In the last ten years, a series of stipulations have been included in Romanian legislation, in order to increase the responsibility of public administration towards the citizen, as beneficiary of administrative decision, to stimulate active participation of citizens in decision making process and development of public policies and to increase the transparency of local, county and national administration.

There are two laws that directly address the aspects mentioned above: The Law on Free Access to Public Interest Information and The Law on the Transparency of the Decision Making Process. Other laws, like the Law on Local Public Administration or the Law for Youth also mention the responsibilities of public institutions to ensure information and consultation of citizens.

Foreign residents in Romania and their organisations can benefit of the rights stipulated in these laws and can be active participants in the society.

The Law on Free Access to Public Interest Information, adopted in 2011, guarantees the right of every person to access information about the activity of public institutions and establishes a series of duties that institutions have to publicly communicate certain information. As the law makes reference to “individuals”, everybody can benefit of this law, no matter if they are Romanian citizens,

You have the rights to ask and receive, free of charge, information of public interest from local and national authorities 8

Migrant in Romania

EU citizens or citizens of other states, who reside in Romania. When public institutions receive a written request that makes reference to this law, they are obliged to answer no later than 10 days after they receive the request.

If more time is needed to find the specific information requested, the authorities can respond in 30 days, but they must inform the claimants about this situation no later than 10 days after they received the request.

Lately, more and more institutions also accept written requests transmitted online. Information of public interest is communicated free of charge.

Details about the procedures that need to be followed and information about how this law is implemented in practice are available of the website of Public Policies Institute, www.ipp.ro, at the section Public interest information.

If an individual or an organisation considers that a public institution does to comply with the duties mentioned in these laws, they can go to court. A study published by the Public Policies Institute in April 2012 shows that, even if most institutions comply with this law, there are still some institutions that do not respect their duties according to the law.

There have been over 800 complaints in court regarding deviations from the law, in the period 2005-2011, formulated by individuals or nongovernmental organisations. An online data base with the court decisions is available online: http://www.ipp.ro/jurisprudenta544/.

Even though case law is not completely unified and sometimes trial durations are extremely long, there have been almost 200 cases in which the court has sanctioned the institutions.

The Law on the Transparency of the Decision Making Process, adopted in 2003 and modified in 2010, regulates the obligations of public institutions to ensure consultation of citizens and non-governmental

Călin Rus

Director Intercultural Institute of Timisoara

Citizens and non‑governmental organisations can formulate proposals and opinions in the debates on draft laws.

Organisations have the right to request public debates. organisations and to involve them in the process of developing public policies.

According to the law, all public institutions, central or local, are required to submit to public debate any draft law (with certain exceptions for the protection of commercial information or national security), at least 30 days before the law is debated and adopted by the specific authorities.

The announcement must include a background note, a statement of reasons or, where applicable, an approval on the

Civic Participation Authorities must inform and consult business associations on draft laws relevant to their field of activity.

need to adopt the draft law, the full text of the draft law, along with deadline, place and means through which those interested can send written proposals, suggestions, and recommendations for the draft law. The announcement on the development of a draft law relevant to the business sector must be sent to business associations and other legally constituted associations, on specific fields of interest.

When the public administration authority publishes the announcement, it will establish a period of at least 10 days to receive written proposals, suggestions or opinions on the draft law. It will appoint one civil servant to receive the proposals, suggestions and opinions. Draft law will be sent to interested public authorities only after the proposals made in the consultation process have been integrated.

 Direct and immediate sanctions applicable to leaders of public authorities for non-compliance (in some cases, the Parliament or Local Councils did not comply to the procedures and nobody has been sanctioned for this reason);  Reasonable deadlines (the law imposes a deadline of 10 days, which is not enough when it comes to complex laws. Non-governmental organisations need more time to formulate a documented point of view and to consult each other in order to propose a joint point of view);  Minimal unified rules for dialogue (the way in which public debates are organised is not explicit, thus leading, in many cases, to superficial application of the law, without ensuring a real implication of citizens and civil society organisations).

In order to remedy these problems, Coalition 52 demands the change of the law on the transparency of the decision making process, proposing the following amendments:

 The laws that have been adopted without respecting the procedures of public consultation must be declared void;  Increase the deadline for presenting recommendations and suggestions to a draft law to 90 days – which is the same deadline as the one used by the European Commission in its own public consultation procedures;  Adopting an annex that presents the minimal criteria that must be fulfilled during a public debate.

Details about the activity of Coalition 52 and information about the public consultations organised by different institutions are available at www.advocacy.ro and www.transparenta.ro.

Organisations that represent interests of foreign citizens, residents in Romania are invited to join this process and express their availability to participate in the public consultations organised by institutions in their field of interest.

picture if possible something else if not

The public authority in charge is obliged to establish the organisation of a public meeting to debate the draft law, if it has received a written request by a legally established organisation or another public authority.

Based on the initiative of an organisation from Timisoara, Academia de Advocacy, a group of non-governmental organisations formed “Coalition 52”, which is currently campaigning for changing the Law on the Transparency of the Decision Making Process, in order to correct the following aspects:

At www.migrant.ro you can read: l The Law on Free Access to Public Interest Information (no. 544 / 2001) l The Law on the Transparency of the Decision Making Process (no. 52 / 2003, updated in 2010) In case you encounter situations in which these laws are not applied, please present them on the forum www.migrant.ro/forum Migrant in Romania

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Analysis

Promoting an Inclusive Călin Rus

Director Intercultural Institute of Timisoara

Classical representative democracy tends to limit the role of citizens to a periodical exercise of their right to vote and to leave the governing (elaboration and implementation of public policies) on the hands of those elected and the respective institutions.

However, modern democracies are participative democracies, in which, on one site the citizens have an active role beyond elections and, on the other site, authorities manifest openness and support for the participation of citizens to the decision making process. Thus, public authorities maintain their main role in the elaboration and implementation of public policies, but they define and apply communication means to inform citizens, to respond to their requests and suggestions and invite them to dialogue and consultations.

Of course, participative democracy can only function if citizens get

involved. Therefore, citizens should be involved in all the phases of the public policies development cycle:  To identify problems and propose them for the public agenda;  To formulate public policies as response to the problems identified;  To implement public policies;  To monitor and evaluate public policies.

An important aspect needs to be taken into account in this process: participative democracy is truly in accordance with democratic principles when in gives the opportunity to participate to all categories of citizens, including disadvantaged groups, when it takes into accounts the rights and interests of different categories in the society.

Minorities, whether we speak about historical minorities or recently constituted minorities through migration processes, whether we speak about groups that have a different mother tongue, a different religion or different cultural traditions, it is only natural that these groups are included in the democratic process.

Only this way we can have an inclusive participative democracy.

In Romania, in the last 10 years, consultancy mechanisms started to be developed between public institutions and civil society. There

are several laws that facilitate this process and make it compulsory for institutions to ensure the participation of citizens to democratic life. The most important laws are:  The law on the transparency of the decision making process;  The law on access to public interest information;  The law for youth;  The law for financing NGOs through public money.

Details about these laws can be found at: www.migrant.ro.

Here are some examples of consultative bodies, either permanent or temporary:  Consultative bodies of NGOs for county or local authorities;  Mixed work groups for the improvement of the situation of Roma that exist in each county;  Ad-hoc working groups on public campaigns (for example, Working Group for European Year of Intercultural Dialogue or for European Year of Citizenship through Education) or debates of draft public policies (Law on Child Protection or Education Law).

Elaboration in the last years of a new legislative framework on migration, focusing on “integration” is a good example of collaboration between the Ministry of Interior and the NGOs that work in this field.

Classical representative democracy

Participative democracy

Public authorities

Public authorities

Elaborate and implement public policies Vote

Citizens

10 Migrant in Romania

Elaborate and implement public policies

Initiate consultations Communicate Respond to requests of citizens

Vote

Participate to all phases of public policies development.

Influence public policies

Citizens, including minority groups, citizens of other EU states and migrants

Participative Democracy National Minorities Council, a consultative body for the Romanian Government, along with the Parliamentary Representation of National Minorities and positive measures for Roma communities represent examples of successful structures and policies and reflect means of democratic management of cultural diversity.

One of the challenges in developing and efficient inclusive participative democracy is the fact that often, disadvantaged groups, or group with different cultural background are less informed about their rights and their opportunities for participation, therefore, they have a limited capacity to influence public policies. That is way they need more support and awareness of the importance of a balanced participation.

Consultancy mechanism and stimulation of migrant participation Consultation of citizens, regardless of the categories to which they belong, including citizens of other states that live in Romania, has a series of advantages. Taking into account various points of view increases the chances of developing quality public policies that answer the needs of the society.

Moreover, having citizens involved in the elaboration phase, increases the chances of support and successful implementation of these policies. It also offers the opportunity of a more realistic evaluation of the policies. The functioning of consultancy mechanism contributes to the consolidation of civil society structures, makes it more equitable, by promoting integration and diminishing exclusion, marginalisation and discrimination.

Through the project for the integration of migrants we aim a developing at national and local level consultancy mechanisms that facilitate integration.

These mechanisms need the involvement of three categories of stakeholders:  Migrants: representatives of organisations, representatives of religious communities, informal leaders, specialists, individuals that want to get involved in local community life;  Local civil society: NGOs with activities in the field of migration or integration; NGOs with activities in the field of civic participation, protection of citizens’ rights, fighting discrimination and social exclusion, interethnic and intercultural relations, formal or informal representation structures (neighbourhoods councils, federations of landlords, youth council, seniors’ council, etc.), other local non-governmental structures, public figures and citizens who want to get involved at community level;  Public institutions: County Council, Local Council, City Hall, regional, county and local structures in different areas: public administration, education, health, work, social services, etc.

Workgroup in Bucharest Workgroup in Timişoara Workgroup in Constanţa Workgroup in Iaşi Workgroup in Cluj-Napoca

Local workgroups for the integration of migrants function based on the following principles:  Openness and flexibility;  Acknowledgement of the value of all contributions and responsibility;  Attention to diversity and balance;  Neutrality;  Voluntary participation of community members;  Sustainability;  Freedom of expression, along with respect of others and respect of national and European norms;  Transparency and use of multiple communication channels, adapted to the target group;  Relevant and realistic initiatives.

The main activities of the workgroups are related to the inclusion of migrant representatives and migration issues in public consultation activities and to identification of problems of migrant communities, along with proposal for solutions to these problems.

National thematic workgroups members

proposals

problems

Administrative and judicial

Education, culture, youth

Social, heath, work

Debates on migrant.ro forum

Local and national seminars

Policy proposals sent to relevant institutions Evaluation

Migrant in Romania

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Opinion It all started back in 2008, when I was member of AIESEC Organization.

In October 2008 I received an email from AIESEC offering me a position as trainee with a Company in Pitesti that does maintenance for dynamic equipments. All my training period in the exchange program was supposed to be 3 months after the interview.

They decided to hire me. They wanted me to come with Work Visa not Visit Visa. I waited for more than 5 months to get the visa, meanwhile there was some disagreement in my family: “why Romania?? It’s not a good country to live in, you are going there for 280 Euro/month for the first 3 months.” But I didn’t listen to them, I decided to do it on my own.

June 21, 2009 I landed in Bucharest and I was so happy to discover Romania by myself, not through what the Media was telling me. The 2nd day I went to my work office I met my manager and the first shock was that he did not speak English good… actually nobody spoke English that time except one lady. They prepared my work contract and some papers for me to sign (they were written in Romanian Language).

When I told him I didn’t understand these documents, he asked the lady to read them in English for me. My manager started to speak broken English, and that was big mess because I never knew for sure exactly what he wanted and he used to get angry and upset and start shouting. I have been told to sign them so they can proceed, but they never explained me my rights, what will be the deductions from my salary. When I tried to ask, they never answered or they said its internal issues.

After a few months I asked for salary slip and they refused to give it to me. I used to sign on an amount of money different from the money written in official papers. I didn’t know who could help me solve this.

Most people said: “This is Romania, this how things are done.”

I had 2 choices: to give up and go back to my country or to stay there and discover this great country, because I was 100% sure that not all the people were the same and that there are great people out there. I decided to stay and fight to achieve my goal in life, I wanted to learn Romanian and I was surprised that my manager told me “No, it’s not necessary to learn it. I want you to speak English with

12 Migrant in Romania

Wesam MANAL Amman Jordan

My Story in Romania clients.” It was difficult for me to get along without knowing Romanian.

I didn’t listen to him, I decided to do it on my own. I had to work with Romanian technicians, 95% of which did not speak English. In that moment I started my wonderful experiences at professional and personal level, I interacted with them, I tried to speak in a very simple way and use body language. Little by little I built a good relation with all of them and that reflected on our work results.

My manager was happy because it was good profit for him. He was not thinking as a corporate person, he just wanted to collect the highest amount of money, no matter whether the employees were OK or not.

In 2010 he started to complain that his company was suffering from

the financial crisis, so he started to cut from the salaries by 30-40 % and tell them: “I have no work for you, you stay at home and when I will have work I will call you. If you don’t like this you can leave the company because I have no money to pay you.” The funny part was that at the same time he bought himself a new fancy car.

The thing I could not understand at all was the fact that he was interfering in my personal life, with questions like: “Where do you go? Where did you spend the weekend? Why are you online at night?”… So strange.

In August 2010 I had to renew my visa and the immigration office refused my file. I was surprised… I was legal and I have never done anything wrong, but the officer said: “It’s not about you; it’s the company you work

How Much Power Does an Employee Have? for. They didn’t pay the taxes and VAT for the last 2 years.” My boss blamed me for it: “You open new doors for the government to get their money”. I don’t know what he has done, but he could arrange an agreement of payments.

Despite that, I never thought badly about Romanian people and Romanian culture, I never allowed him to affect my personal life, because I used to give my free time for volunteering in Romania in many different events with NGOs like AIESEC and Scoala de Valori. I kept myself busy with many programs that focus on helping Romanian education and developing young people. I prepared Romanian students to go to exchange programs and I participated in preparing trainers to deliver GROW program in 15 cities in Romania. This program represents a long term, non-formal educational engagement designed to improve the quality of education in Romania. It is a program organized in partnership with AIESEC for highschool students in Romania (age 14-18). The program offers highschool students a professionally designed educational curriculum that complements the formal education system. It has been developed with the support of an Educational Board, gathering personalities and top-notch experts in education and adolescent psychology, especially to address key needs of the development of teenage participants.

Being part of that kind of activities helped me realize the reality of the Romanian people, how they can be close to the heart and the minds and to understand the Romanians traditions

and habits. The way they see the relations in the family, well bonded and strong, was somehow close to my culture. People changed my life and left big impact in my life. That was why I stayed in Romania for all that time, even with the tough working environment and an arrogant manager, who cares only about himself and not the society, even though I tried to explain him many times that he has rights, but his employees also have rights. It was difficult for him to get it.

In summer 2011, he assigned me to be (The Head of the Mechanical Workshop – Sef De Atelier); I accepted the position and in the meantime he sent me in delegations to distant cities in Romania, so I assigned my assistant to follow up when I was out of the city. I cared about my colleagues because, as I mentioned before, I had a well bonded relation with them. Every time I came back from delegation I found out that in the meantime he had organized meetings with them and started blaming and shouting at them, just because he was the manager or the owner.

When I met them again I found them so depressed and not having the energy to do the work that needed to be done. I stood up for them and I told him that he was acting unprofessional.

He fought back saying that my attitude was based on my position… honestly that was a lame excuse.

The communication gap between us became even bigger. He started to ask impossible things from my part, for example writing reports in Romanian language (back in 2009, he didn’t

even want me to learn Romanian).

I knew that if I resigned from my work, I’d have to leave Romania – where I spent most beautiful times from 2009 till 2011 – because the immigration law says the company makes your work permit; if you resign you leave the country or find another company within 30 days. So that was what happened, I resigned on 12 October, 2011 and I left Romania on 08 November, 2011.

When I resigned I told my boss I could work 1 month legal notice by law and he said: “No, it’s not necessary, the company will not fall if you are not here”. I asked them for my papers: experience certificate, showing that I worked for them and my social security.

HR manager (his wife) said: “We will send them to you in Jordan by courier”.

I arrived in Jordan and tried to contact them many times by email without getting any response. I tried to call and when he heard my voice he hung up. I didn’t lose hope and I wrote an official email to the Embassy of Jordan in Bucharest, explaining my situation, and finally the Embassy could get my papers from them. What I wrote above is still a very small part of what happened during my stay in Romania.

I am still wondering what will happen with my social security savings from 06/2009 till 10/2011. I could not find a way to get the money back or the right person to contact for this issue.

My Love to Romania and Romanian people will never stop, it does not matter how bad ex-manager I had at my professional work, and I’m still in Love with Romania.

God Bless Romania & Romanians.

Migrant in Romania

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Interview

I Did Not Choose Romania, Romania Chose Me! Interview by

Oana Neştian Sandu

To begin with, please tell us why you chose Romania.

I did not choose Romania, Romania chose me. I come from Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaïre). I was forced to leave my country in 1997 due to some political problems that my husband had. I could not think then of a country where I wanted to live, the priority for us was to arrive in a place where we could be safe.

We arrived in Romania, but not by coincidence, because I do not believe in coincidences. I knew little about Romania. I knew that it was a former communist country and a francophone one. Hence, the surprise I got when I arrived here and I realised that without learning Romanian there was no way for me to feel like home here.

I’ve been through some harsh moments, when I used to ask myself:

14 Migrant in Romania

Mbela Nzuzi Born in The Democratic Republic of Congo, lives in Romania since 1997.

In 1999 she established The Organisation for Refugee Women in Romania, with the support of UNHCR. In 1999 she started a music band called “Gloria”, in order to promote African culture in Romania.

In 2005 she started to appear on the screen, moderating a debate show along with Livia Dila at B1TV (Sase vine presa). In 2010 she worked for VOX NEWS, as the hostess of Romania in Alb si Negru, a TV show having as permanent guest Florin Calinescu. In 2011 she was the front woman of “Mbela Ciao” on 10 TV. Everyday she feels blessed because she is surrounded by wonderful people. Her biggest blessing is her daughter Francine.

Where do I really belong? There was a huge difference between my life in Congo and my life here, which made my heart ache, but I learned that even though they say “there is no place like home”, what we mean by “home” can be very different. Home does not have to mean the place where we are born, but the place where we feel good, where we can express freely without feeling like a stranger. I am lucky to have people around me who love me and make me feel useful and appreciated. And I can honestly say that I have two “homes”.

Do you miss Africa? What do you miss the most?

I must admit that the most difficult part is the fact that I left behind the most precious thing in my life, my family. I come from a family with 10 children: 5 brothers and 5 sisters. In Africa the notion of family is much extended and I started to miss the celebrations in the big family. We used to spend Christmas with our relatives from all over the country. It was a great atmosphere, people were

joyful, children got presents, the best food was being prepared and we all went to church on Christmas Eve. When I got the chance to celebrate for the first time winter holidays in a Romanian family, I had the chance to discover the local specificities, the food, the smell of Christmas tree in the house.

Then I realised how blessed I was and that I needed to enjoy my life here more and to see the bright side of things.

Many people know you as a TV presenter or singer, but you are also an important figure for refugee women in Romania. How does this role fit in your life?

I remember that in 1999 I started to be worried about my carrier. I came here without any work experience and I needed to do something. I started to participate in integration programs, to discover NGOs that worked for the integration of refugees and migrants.

This is how I got my first job at Arca-FRRM. It was very helpful as I started to analyse the society through the lenses of the services I offered for other people and it helped me improve my knowledge of Romanian language. Not long afterwards, I got the offer to establish an association for refugee women and to become its president. This was my biggest challenge, taking into account the lack of experience in the field. But I was motivated by the trust people from UNHCR and Arca had in me.

Helping other refugees and migrants to get over difficult situations (that I have also been through before) was a great job for me. I started to feel useful, to feel that I had a place of my own in society.

However, I still felt strange walking around the city without seeing anything related to my culture, to my traditions.

I wanted to prepare a special meal from Congo made of manioc leafs with banana puree, but I could not find any African shop. Nor could I find a bar with African music… and this is how “Gloria” was born, an African music band with me as vocal.

We had a very small public in the beginning, mainly Africans and their friends. But soon, more and more

Romanians wanted to hear us. We got a lot of coverage in the media and we got to play at humanitarian actions of UNHCR and Romanian NGOs. Romania means a lot to me. I learned a lot of things here, about life and about myself. There is a French saying « la plus belle fille du monde ne peut offrir que ce qu’elle a », meaning that “even the most beautiful girl in the world can only offer what she has”.

But I started to offer more than I had.

I used the socio-cultural richness of the people around me and I started to promote the values of the people coming from different countries like Irak, Iran, Afganistan, Turkey etc.

This way, not only did I manage to feel part of the society, but I have many friends who consider themselves Romanians, even if they do not have the citizenship yet, they have families here and believe in their future here.

What advice would you give the other refugees and migrants in Romania?

I come from Africa, a continent of contrasts. We have so many resources in our land, but we still speak about poverty, lack of access to drinking water, to education, to quality health services, not to mention the armed conflicts. Even if I live in Romania, I do my best to bring my contribution to the improvement of the situation in Africa, and I believe each one of us has this moral duty.

I learned a lot since I came to Romania. I learned that we have to be brave, bold, to use the opportunities that we have. That is the only way people can grow, discover and rediscover themselves. I know this might sound very philosophical, but it is not. These are principles that must guide our lives if we want to live a full life. People need to analyse objectively everything that happens to them and to surround themselves by people they can learn from. I believe in complementarity. Every human being has special qualities and together we can be better.

What do you think about the possibilities for the integration of migrants in Romania?

Life is not easy for migrants, they have to struggle for every piece of bread. But I believe that Romania has evolved a lot regarding the integration of migrants in the last years. More and more migrants feel at home here.

There are still legislative problems and cases of discrimination but we cannot speak of hostility towards strangers.

Every migrant is surrounded by people who accept and support him/her.

I believe in this country, in the fact that we will get over the problems and the society will be more organized. I believe this, because I believe in people.

That is why I am not planning to leave.

I would like to go back to Congo one day to see my land, to smell the palm oil and to drink the palm wine… but you know what, every time I go to Africa to visit my family I’m missing Romania, I’m missing the language and the Romanian food and I am looking forward to come home.

How do you see your future in Romania?

In 5 to 10 years I see myself still working in the media and in humanitarian aid, because I feel that I have the moral duty to give back to society a part of what it has offered me. So I will continue to help migrants from all over the world to integrate in Romanian society. I have been in their place and I can understand them very well. I want to give them joy, only this way my life has a meaning.

I try to make time for special people in my life. And it is not easy, because if in 1997, when I came to Romania, I had a simple life with small problems related to administrative aspects, now, after so many years, my life is so full that I feel I need a few more hours to the 24 in a day. I am involved in many activities during the day and spend most nights in front of the computer, but I am not complaining, as I believe that we get as much as we can carry and as much as we deserve.

Had I not come to Romania, I have no idea how my life would have been. For sure I wouldn’t have had the motivation and the determination to do what I have done here.

Briefly, why I came to Romania?

This is how it was supposed to be. I did not choose Romania, Romania chose me and I am grateful for that.

Migrant in Romania

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Europe

European Mandate to Oana Neştian Sandu Intercultural Institute of Timisoara

Lisbon Treaty – entered into force in 2009 For the first time, the Treaty provides a legal basis for the promotion of integration at EU level. Article 79.4 states: “The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, may establish measures to provide incentives and support for the action of Member States with a view to promoting the integration of third-country nationals residing legally in their territories, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States.”

Stockholm Programme – entered into force in 2009 The European Council adopted an ambitious programme in relation to integration. It states that “Member States‘ integration policies should be supported through the further development of structures and tools for knowledge exchange and coordination with other relevant policy areas, such as employment, education and social inclusion.” In particular, it invites the Commission to support Member States‘ efforts “through the development of a coordination mechanism using a common reference framework, which should improve structures and tools for European knowledge exchange”. It also invites the Commission to identify European modules to support the integration process and to develop core indicators for monitoring of the results of integration policies.

Europe 2020 – a strategy adopted in 2010 Europe 2020 is articulated around a set of EU-wide targets. These constitute

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shared objectives guiding the action of both Member States and the EU. Out of the five EU-wide targets, three are relevant to immigrant integration:  Aiming to bring to 75% the employment rate for women and men aged 20-64, including through the greater participation of youth, older workers and low skilled workers and the better integration of legal migrants;  Improving education levels, in particular by aiming to reduce school drop-out rates to less than 10% and by increasing the share of 30-34 years old having completed tertiary or equivalent education to at least 40%;  Promoting social inclusion, in particular through the reduction of poverty, by aiming to lift at least 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion.

The Europe 2020 Integrated Guidelines set out the framework for the Europe 2020 strategy and reforms at Member State level.

Part II of these guidelines, which concern the employment policies of Member States, are directly relevant to the integration of immigrants.  Guideline 7 states that “Member States should increase labour force participation through policies to promote active ageing, gender equality and equal pay and labour market integration of young people, disabled, legal migrants and other vulnerable groups”.  Guideline 7 further states that “Member States should also remove barriers to labour market entry for newcomers”.  Guideline 8 mentions “targeted migration and integration policies”, as well as the need to “remove barriers to occupational and geographical mobility of workers”.  Guideline 9 states that “higher education should become more open to non-traditional learners”.  Guideline 10 presses for efforts to also concentrate on ensuring equal opportunities, including through access to affordable, sustainable and high quality services and public services and in particular health care. Legal migrants are specifically mentioned with regard

to the need for benefit systems to focus on ensuring income security during transitions and reducing poverty.

EU actions to facilitate integration Common Basic Principles - 2004 The Common Basic Principles for Immigrant Integration Policy in the EU were adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council in November 2004 and form the foundations of EU initiatives in the field of integration.  CBP 1 ‘Integration is a dynamic, two-way process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and residents of Member States’  CBP 2 ‘Integration implies respect for the basic values of the European Union’  CBP 3 ‘Employment is a key part of the integration process and is central to the participation of immigrants, to the contributions immigrants make to the host society, and to making such contributions visible’  CBP 4 ‘Basic knowledge of the host society’s language, history, and institutions is indispensable to integration; enabling immigrants to acquire this basic knowledge is essential to successful integration’  CBP 5 ‘Efforts in education are critical to preparing immigrants, and particularly their descendants, to be more successful and more active participants in society’  CBP 6 ‘Access for immigrants to institutions, as well as to public and private goods and services, on a basis equal to national citizens and in a non-discriminatory way is a critical foundation for better integration’  CBP 7 ‘Frequent interaction between immigrants and Member State citizens is a fundamental mechanism for integration. Shared forums, intercultural dialogue, education about immigrants and immigrant cultures, and stimulating living conditions in urban environments enhance the interactions between immigrants and Member State citizens’  CBP 8 ‘The practice of diverse cultures and religions is guaranteed

Promote Integration under the Charter of Fundamental Rights and must be safeguarded, unless practices conflict with other inviolable European rights or with national law’  CBP 9 ‘The participation of immigrants in the democratic process and in the formulation of integration policies and measures, especially at the local level, supports their integration’  CBP 10 ‘Mainstreaming integration policies and measures in all relevant policy portfolios and levels of government and public services is an important consideration in public policy formation and implementation.’  CBP 11 ‘Developing clear goals, indicators and evaluation mechanisms are necessary to adjust policy, evaluate progress on integration and to make the exchange of information more effective.’

 An online library of key documents (legislation, policy papers, conference reports, etc)  Daily updated news and upcoming events  Information related to European, national and private funding opportunities  Links to hundreds of integration actors  Country information sheets summarising the integration policies and governance arrangements of each Member State  Exchange of information and networking between stakeholders through directories and interacting tools The Web Site acts as the focal point of the community of integration actors.

In so-doing, it is the virtual counterpart to the European Integration Forum.

The European Agenda for Integration (2011)

European Integration Forum

In July 2011, the Commission proposed a European Agenda for the Integration of Non-EU Migrants, focusing on action to increase economic, social, cultural and political participation by migrants and putting the emphasis on local action. This new agenda highlights challenges that need to be solved if the EU is to benefit fully from the potential offered by migration and the value of diversity.

It also explores the role of countries of origin in the integration process.

As part of this agenda, the Commission is putting together a flexible ‘tool-box, from which national authorities will be able to pick the measures most likely to prove effective in their specific context, and for their particular integration objectives.

European Web Site on Integration The European Web Site on Integration is a unique one-stop resource point for practitioners working on integration issues, both in non-governmental and governmental organisations.

More specifically, it offers:  A collection of good practices, presented in a clear and comparable way for easy extraction and import

The European Integration Forum provides an opportunity for civil society organisations to express their views on migrant integration issues and to discuss the EU agenda on integration.

The Forum counts about 100 participants from all Member States and meets twice a year. The development of the European Integration Forum is undertaken by the Commission in co-operation with the European Economic and Social Committee.

The Common Basic Principles serve as reference points for the Forum.

EU Immigration Portal In November 2011, the Commission launched the EU Immigration Portal, a website with hands-on information for foreign nationals interested in moving to the EU. The site is also directed at migrants who are already here and would like to move from one EU State to another. It provides specific information about procedures in all 27 EU States for each category of migrants.

Handbooks on Integration The main objective of the Handbook is to act as a driver for the exchange of information and

good practice between integration stakeholders in all Member States.

The first edition of the Handbook, published in 2004, covered introduction courses for newly arrived immigrants and recognised refugees, civic participation and integration indicators.

The second edition, released in 2007, focused on integration mainstreaming and governance, housing and economic participation.

The third edition, published in 2010, covers the following topics: the role of mass media in integration, the importance of awareness-raising and migrant empowerment, dialogue platforms, acquisition of nationality and practice of active citizenship, immigrant youth, education and the labour market.

European Integration Modules European Integration Modules are designed to become established but flexible reference frameworks that can be adapted to the different contexts of Member States in order to contribute to successful integration policies and practices across Europe.

Draft modules have been prepared by the Commission, in dialogue with representatives of Member States governments and civil society organisations. Draft modules have been prepared in the areas of 1) introductory courses and language classes; 2) a strong commitment by the receiving society; and 3) the active participation of migrants in all aspects of collective life.

A series of funds are available at EU level for the integration of migrants:  European Fund for the Integration of third-Country Nationals  PROGRESS – an EU programme to promote more and better jobs and a fairer, more inclusive society.  Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme  European Social Fund Detailed information about European level legislation, instruments and actions is available at: www.integration.eu.

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Opinion

When Cultures Cross, Integration Becomes Imperative The dawn of civilization, the approach of advanced age and the invention of new and modern technologies have obviously transformed our world into a smaller place, indeed a global village.

Consequently peace and love had blown across the axis of earth. Humanity by instinct and curiosity learnt to move from one country to another in search of knowledge, better life and adventures. However, it is very important to realize that people are not only migrating with their families, physical and material possessions. But unconsciously, with their most precious inherited aspect of identity: CULTURE. Culture in this context is defined as a structure of mankind, a guidance of man’s conscience, the beauty and pride of each ethnic group, a specific identity, a symbol and mirror of a particular group or society. Aspects of culture specific to groups of people include traditions, customs, languages, religions, norms, values, attitudes, behaviours, arts, and among others music. Histories, values, norms, hopes and dreams are somehow linked to it. It is about ways of life, ways of living, ways of hoping, ways of communicating, ways of dancing, ways of dressing, etc. It is cultivated in us by nature and transmitted from our predecessors in a multitude of circumstances, through education and socialisation and it surrounds us from cradle to grave.

Culture is a valued treasure we inherited by virtue of our existence. So, we are guided by it, and consistently we preserve and cherish it. Happily we pass it on to the next generation. In respect of this background, the increase of migration has given impetus for coexistence of many different cultures in some countries. Hence, when cultures have crossed countries and have come together, we speak of a multicultural society. For this reason, I make a call for duty, a call for work, a call for peace, a call to save humanity and human dignity, a call for unity, a call to

18 Migrant in Romania

maintain our cultures and observe the cultures of others… a call that requires heart and soul, mighty and strength… a call that includes blacks and whites, Muslims and Christians, Hindus and Buddhist, immigrants and all citizens.

Everyone has an interesting lesson to learn and a fundamental part to play in the development of effective integration.

In order for integration to be effective it requires and extensive contribution and participation of all the groups in the society, of all the citizens and all the institutions. Effective integration appeals citizens to adjust and readjust their concepts and assumptions, appeals to their spirit of humour, to their sense of deep understanding, tolerance, and open-mindedness. Effective integration requires greater roles from government and legislative bodies and benefits from the involvement of organizations, companies and civil society.

Furthermore effective integration does not give reasons to abandon or denounce culture, rather it offers the opportunity for different nationalities to affirm their cultures, to practice their traditions and profess their creed without any prejudice. Effective integration does not mean to give up, but to give and to give way for others to exist through peaceful dialogue and

Christian Udearo

Intercultural Mediator

compromise, in order to achieve balance and mutual respect and recognition, to achieve harmonious interaction and respect for human rights.

In the process of achieving effective integration the society is actively involved in breaking the stereotypes, fighting racism and attitudes of superiority of one colour or religion. Effective integration is something that we need to cultivate, nurture and water until it grows like a mighty giant tree and a shelter where we can shed … Until then, we really have a lot of work to do.

contents Intercultural Romania, What Else? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Coordinated Activities for the Integration of Migrants . . . . . . . 4 In Other Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Towards a Representative Structure of Migrants in Romania . . 6 Opportunities for Civic Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Promoting an Inclusive Participative Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . 10 How Much Power Does an Employee Have? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 I Did Not Choose Romania, Romania Chose Me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 European Mandate to Promote Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 When Cultures Cross, Integration Becomes Imperative . . . . . . 18

Articles for Migrant in Romania magazine Intercultural Institute of Timisoara receives proposals for articles for Migrant in Romania magazine.

The articles must address aspects relevant for the integration of third country nationals who live in Romania. The length of the article should be between 3.000 and 10.000 characters. The articles can be written in English, Romania,

French or Spanish. We accept texts that describe individual cases, communities, organizations, activities, interviews or personal stories, along with other types of texts.

magazine and on www.migrant.ro.

The authors are responsible for the content of the texts. They keep the copyright for the texts, but they give Intercultural Institute of Timisoara permission to publish the texts in Migrant in Romania

The editorial team will inform the authors whose articles are approved for publishing. The authors might also receive invitations to local, national or international activities in the field of migration and integration.

Articles must be submitted in electronic format (.rtf, .txt, .doc, .docx, .odt) at redactie@migrant.ro

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 The magazine is realised in the framework of the project “Intercultural Romania”, financed through General Programme “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows”, European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals – Annual Programme 2010  Editor: Intercultural Institute of Timisoara  Publication date: June 2012  Contact: Institutul Intercultural Timisoara, str.

16 Decembrie 1989, nr. 8.

Tel/fax.: 0040.256.498.457.

E-mail: redactie@migrant.ro; web: www.migrant.ro  The content of this magazine does not necessarily represent the official position of the European Union

20 Migrant in Romania Publication financed by the European Union through European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals in the framework of the project Intercultural Romania, coordinated by the Intercultural Institute of Timisoara