The paper analyses the level of preparation of the local welfare system targeted at immigrants, focusing specifically on the social requirements of foreign citizens as well as the chance to achieve integration. On the basis of the experience acquired by the city council of Reggio Emilia, some characteristics of the intervention system aimed at the integration of immigrants are outlined.only subscribers can see the full article

By discussing a comparative study of Chinese and Egyptian immigrant entrepreneurs in Milan, this article highlights how these individuals and their support networks can chart a number of different routes to reach their goals of social empowerment and economic stability, enacting diverse strategies according to the opportunity structure and the specific set of resources they are able to access, crossing the borders of the enclave economy, exploiting economic niches and creating new markets well beyond the limits of ethnic business.only subscribers can see the full article

In 2001 and 2002 two sample surveys were carried out in Rome on the integration of five immigrant communities: Albanians, Filipinos, Moroccans, Peruvians and Romanians. The study demonstrated very different immigrant situations. The article presents the results of these surveys on the «immaterial» component of integration, focussing on the relational behaviours of the respondents. From this perspective substantial differences emerge at the collective rather than individual level. Furthermore, the multiplicity of migratory models pursued by the various communities has a corresponding complex pattern of relational models.only subscribers can see the full article

The paper examines the main evolutions in international migrations in Oecd countries, whose flows have been profoundly modified by important geopolitical events which marked the beginning of the third millennium and the end of the previous one. Along side the persistence of traditional migrations, new migratory currents emerge. Starting out from this analysis, the authors identify some of the future challenges, especially regarding the international mobility of workforce - particularly highly qualified personnel - and the integration of foreign or migrant workers in the labour market. Migratory policies must respond to this situation in order to satisfy labour market requirements and at the same time adhere to international and humanitarian commitments.only subscribers can see the full article

The paper examines the integration of Senegalese immigrants in factories in the territory of Bergamo given the local entrepreneurial class’s positive perception of these workers. Along side processes of convergence and interchange between enterprises and Senegalese workers at the production level, there are also ethical and symbolic connotations of employment which have drawn together these two actors. The existential commitment stemming from the young immigrants’ background, combined with their particular Islamic creed centred on work and toil are in harmony with the elderly local industrialists’ vision of work thus bringing about a sort of «intergenerational» identification. only subscribers can see the full article