Integration of foreigners in local communities

The submitted study focuses on the approach to the issue of the integration of foreigners from third world countries outside the EU living in Central Bohemia. The project aims to clarify the conditions for the integration of foreigners from third world countries at the local level. The integration of foreigners is a long-term process taking place in resettlement areas and through work activities - namely in municipalities. Municipalities are also an important intermediary in providing feedback to the central authorities on its effectiveness. The situation and position of foreigners and the problems that arise during the integration process can be best identified by the lowest level of public administration – however, the alignment of these processes is the responsibility of central state administration. In terms of effectiveness of the integration process, the involvement of municipalities in the creation and implementation of integration policies is necessary. Municipal governments are increasingly faced with an ever faster growth in the number of foreigners in their territories, and the situation in some smaller towns and villages is close to critical. The emergence of closed communities of foreigners and the growing tensions between them and indigenous people can be considered the result of ineffective integration policies. The guideline for the selection of medium-sized cities was expected to facilitate the participation of the community of new citizens from third world countries into socio-economic events in the municipality. Some of the main indicators monitored in this study include the approach of the citizens of third-world countries to the job market (the possibility of entering into and asserting oneself on the job market) and the degree of active civic participation in local community. The paper is based on the results of two projects financed by the ESF and implemented by the Organization for Aid to Refugees, which took place from 2010 in the Central Bohemian region, and which is trying to put them in the context of European research MIPEX 2011 - Migrant Integration Policy Index (2007-2010). The sources of data for the investigative research are: statistics, information from the employment offices and the testimony of selected foreigners living in the CB region.