Report speaks about work ongoing on integrating refugees in Scotland

A report on New Scots and the work ongoing on integrating refugees in Scotland written by a team of researchers from the University of Glasgow is published today.

“The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy: A report on the local and international dimensions of integrating refugees in Scotland” contains 70 recommendations.

Written by Professor Alison Phipps, Dr Esa Aldegheri and Dr Dan Fisher, it is based on the academic research conducted by the University of Glasgow on the New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project (NSRIDP).

The report provides a comprehensive presentation of the academic research undertaken over a two-year period (2020 – 2022). It is one of a number of NSRIDP outputs that are intended to inform the development of the third iteration of the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy

Professor Alison Phipps, the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts based at the University of Glasgow, said: “Our report contains 70 recommendations. This underscores the abundance and importance of our findings.. It also demonstrates the seriousness with which participants in the research viewed matters of whole society integration and key structural and practical ways in which improvements can be made, within the devolved context of Scotland.

“The report shows that there is much to celebrate in the strength, enthusiasm and commitment to the work of welcoming people who have sought to rebuild their lives in Scotland, but the barriers are also real, and the challenges presented require mitigation.”

Some of the recommendations are short term and focus on ensuring that good practices can continue to grow and expand. Some are for the longer term and address issues which are affecting much of the population of Scotland, but where those who have arrived as New Scots are particularly at risk. Some of the recommendations also pertain to how we think about, describe and practice the work of integrating over time.

The report was launched at Scotland House Brussels as part of an event The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy – Learning from Scotland.