Representatives of religious communities can play an important role in the integration of their communities’ members into new societies. The project ‘Dialogue for Integration: Engaging Religious Communities’ (DIRECT), implemented during 2009-2011 in seven EU countries, aimed at exploring this role in more detail by conducting research and through the promotion of an active dialogue between representatives of religious communities and host societies. DIRECT emphasized genuine two-way dialogue and integration, while employing a multifaith approach that seeks to include all religious denominations.

The DIRECT project was built on the assumption that the role of religious communities’ representatives in integration could be better utilized to complement existing forms of integration practices in the European Union.

Based on the research conducted and multifaith and multistakeholder fora held in all partner countries, DIRECT produced a Discussion Paper summarizing the project's findings and presenting recommendations on how to better accommodate migrant religious communities in integration efforts and, in consquence, enhance the overall integration of immigrants.

Activities:

1. Outreach to religious communities
■to inform about the project and collect their feedback

2. Research on integration and religion in the EU
■ Policy and literature review on integration and religion in the EU Member States.
■Survey and focus interviews with representatives of migrant religious groups in DIRECT partner countries.
■The research aims to shed light on the knowledge and views on host societies and integration processes among representatives of religious communities.
■The research also aims at assessing respondents’ existing capacities and main needs for acting as efficient integration agents.

3. National “two-way integration” fora in DIRECT partner countries
■Proposed topics: “Knowledge and Networking”, “Two-way Integration in Focus”, and “Capacity Building”; precise themes depend on the national needs discovered in the research.

4. Discussion paper and EU-wide seminar
■To summarize and share the results of the research and outcomes of the national fora.
■ To contribute to the discussion on the role of religious communities in integration processes in the EU

Partners
Governmental partners:
■ Belgium: Flemish Ministry for Administrative Affairs, Home Affairs, Integration, Tourism and Flemish border community
■ France: tbc.
■ Germany: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF
■ Lithuania: Ministry of Culture
■ Spain: Ministry of Labour Affairs and Immigration

Implementing partners:
■ Belgium: Kom-Pas Gent
■ Finland: IOM Helsinki
■ France: IOM Marseille
■ Germany: IOM Nuremberg
■ Lithuania: IOM Vilnius
■ Spain: Circulo Africano

Academic partner:
■ Latvia: Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Latvia

Donors
■ European Community under the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals, Community Actions for 2008
■ Belgium: Kom-Pas Gent
■ Germany: Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, BAMF
■ Spain: Circulo Africano

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