The YOUMIG partner – the district municipality of Bratislava-Rača organised its second local event in the project on March 28, 2018. An open seminar was held at the local municipality office. The first aim of this event was to discuss results of the project activities with different policy stakeholders. The second aim was to present ongoing work to the wider public and collect external insights and feedback on YOUMIG’s one-stop-shop programme and the local pilot activity.

The meeting was attended by experts from INFOSTAT, the representatives of local primary schools, the local authorities, officials from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic and from the International Organization for Migration. Participants from different scientific institutions include The Institute of Ethnology SAS, The Institute of Economic Research SAS, The Department of Human Geography and Demography, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava.

The open seminar started with a presentation of results and findings from the local analysis (The Local Status Quo Analysis – Rača) elaborated by Rača's thematic experts in close cooperation with the national partner INFOSTAT (Institute of Informatics and Statistics) at the end of 2017. Branislav Šprocha (Project Manager of YOUMIG INFOSTAT) summarised the results of the local demographic analysis, with an emphasis on migration trends concerning Rača. The analysis shows that the population of Rača has recently grown, mainly due to internal migration within Slovakia. One half of the migrants arriving to Rača come from the capital city area and its surroundings. However, international net migration also represents a quarter of net migration in Rača. A population projection was also presented. Future demographic developments were shown in two scenarios - with and without the presence of migration.  Šprocha talked about the substantial impact of migration on demographic development in Rača, a highly relevant topic also for the YOUMIG project and its activities.

Lucia Kováčová (YOUMIG local thematic expert) talked mainly about the motivations of migrants to come to or leave Rača, based on the research she coordinated using interviews and focus groups. She examined perceptions on local policies and the view of policy stakeholders on the topic of migration and integration policies in a wider context. The findings clearly indicate that motivations of both immigrants and emigrants from Bratislava-Rača are complex. The good conditions on the labour market (in terms of higher wages and better working conditions) in the Bratislava region is a main motivational factor for immigration, accompanied by the desire to travel and acquire new life experiences. Returnees decided to come back to Bratislava-Rača because of better opportunities on the labour market and a desire to start a family and raise children with the help of grandparents and other family members. Thus, motivations to immigrate, emigrate and return clearly go beyond economic dimensions. It was also pointed out that local policy stakeholders perceive immigration as positive for addressing labour force shortages in the Bratislava region. They also consider the work and life experiences returnees bring with them as beneficial for the labour market and civil society. Nevertheless, the local policy stakeholders do not yet realize that they can play a more active role in the process of improving the quality of life for both immigrants and returnees.

The six major local challenges related to youth migration were identified by Ján Buček (YOUMIG local thematic expert): housing, labour market, public services, education, community activities and assistance to foreign immigrants. Taking into account local self-government capacities and responsibilities the most suitable areas for immediate local action were proposed:

• providing support for learning the Slovak language
• improving communication and direct assistance to new foreign migrants

Focusing local attention on these recommendations is firmly backed by key findings in previous research, connecting local demographic and economic conditions. The integration of young foreign migrants promises to bring vital solutions to the gaps generated by a rapidly aging local population in Rača and to the booming local labour and housing markets in Bratislava. The internal migration situation in Bratislava and Rača is already very active as a result, as stressed by Buček, who is a researcher at Comenius University.

Zuzana Hirschnerová, the headmaster of a local primary school, as well as Tomáš Tahy from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Slovakia were mainly interested in specific ways in which YOUMIG pilot actions would be implemented and the expected inputs from local government authorities. Hirschnerová offered close cooperation in organizing Slovak language courses. She noted that the possibility of organizing a Slovak language course for children and their parents, especially migrant mothers staying at home, can be highly beneficial for the support of skills to learn a language. The details of implementation still need fine-tuning, for example, Ms Hirschnerová noted that the current legislation only allows reimbursement for language courses for children enrolled in primary school.

Tahy talked about Slovak language courses offered free of charge by the IOM Migration Information Centre. However, the IOM centre is unable to provide courses to foreigners who really need it, since their target group for courses is foreigners from countries outside European Union. On the other hand, language courses provided by Rača would be beneficial for local emigrants both from and outside the EU.

The idea of establishing a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) at the Bratislava - Rača municipality was presented by Slavomír Ondoš (YOUMIG local thematic expert) from the Comenius University in Bratislava. OSS should become the first place in Rača where foreigners can turn to for advice and help. The OSS should also serve as a key partner for the local businesses when it comes to communication with foreigners. Ondoš presented the main mission of the OSS, which is to offer active help in finding a new home in Rača, and contribute to a more open and inclusive atmosphere allowing new citizens to join the local community.

The participants of the seminar expressed agreement and full support to the project activities planned by the municipality office in Rača. The specific steps will start to be visible during the implementation of both the pilot action and the setup of the OSS in the coming months.

Text and photos by YOUMIG Rača team

Video (in Slovak):