NGOs as Facilitators for the Integration of Foreigners in the Czech Republic

Hui-Yu WENG

Master's thesis

A Case Study of Center for Integration of Foreigners (Centrum pro integraci cizinců)

NGOs as facilitators for the integration of foreigners in the Czech Republic: a case study of Centrum pro integraci cizinců (Center for Integration of Foreigners)

Abstract:

The Czech Republic has seen a rapid increase in the number of immigrants since 1989. While a system of integration policy was brought up as early as at the end of the 1990s, until today, the integration policy is yet to be sufficiently developed and implemented. Many of the integration measures are, in fact, only realized with considerable help from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially at the regional and local level. Nevertheless, surprisingly, there has been relatively little research on the role of NGOs in this field. To fill this research gap, this thesis aims to explore how NGOs facilitate the integration of foreigners in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it looks at NGOs' involvement in foreigners' integration from the perspective of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. A qualitative case study of the NGO Center for Integration of Foreigners (Centrum pro integraci cizinců, CIC) was adopted. Data were gathered from CIC's website, CIC's recent annual reports, and a semi-structured interview with a CIC social worker. The results of the study shed light on how NGOs engage in the ecological systems of foreigners (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem) and how they contribute to the field of integration in the Czech Republic.

Abstract:

The Czech Republic has seen a rapid increase in the number of immigrants since 1989. While a system of integration policy was brought up as early as at the end of the 1990s, until today, the integration policy is yet to be sufficiently developed and implemented. Many of the integration measures are, in fact, only realized with considerable help from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), especially at the regional and local level. Nevertheless, surprisingly, there has been relatively little research on the role of NGOs in this field. To fill this research gap, this thesis aims to explore how NGOs facilitate the integration of foreigners in the Czech Republic. Specifically, it looks at NGOs' involvement in foreigners' integration from the perspective of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. A qualitative case study of the NGO Center for Integration of Foreigners (Centrum pro integraci cizinců, CIC) was adopted. Data were gathered from CIC's website, CIC's recent annual reports, and a semi-structured interview with a CIC social worker. The results of the study shed light on how NGOs engage in the ecological systems of foreigners (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem) and how they contribute to the field of integration in the Czech Republic.

Keywords

NGOs, non-governmental organizations, integration, foreigners, immigrants, ecological systems theory, Czech Republic

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 18. 8. 2022

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 5. 9. 2022
• Supervisor: Mgr. et Mgr. Agnieszka Zogata Kusz, Ph.D.

Palacký University Olomouc

Faculty of Arts

Master programme / field:
Humanities / Euroculture