| dc.description.abstract | Refugees and their integration in the host countries have raised significant global challenges in recent years. Despite its national scale, many obstacles towards integration effects will need to be managed locally. As a result, the attention to the integration of refugee into Norwegian society and its consequences has also increased at the national level. The integration of refugees is considered an essential instrument for an inclusive community.
Based on this research’s findings, refugees’ primary challenges in Norway are the language barrier, digital exclusion, and non-recognition of education documents acquired in their home country, resulting in higher isolation among refugees in many local municipalities. While the national government and local municipalities primarily acknowledged the need to establish an inclusive society in Norway are working hard to expedite the integration process of refugees in the local communities. One of the obstacles is the bureaucratic functioning of systems in governmental entities and a lack of guiding capacities to feed relevant information for refugees to plan education and career goals.
In this background, this thesis has sought to investigate further the claim that the availability and quality of the current introduction program might explain the limitation of refugees in the local municipalities. Therefore, this written thesis aimed to assess the designed Norwegian introduction program, the role of housing for refugees integration, and their integration and sense of belonging in Norway.
Seeking an answer to this, interviews are conducted with refugees who are entitled to the introduction program and their program advisors as the public officials involved in the planning, design processes, and implementation of the integration program in the local municipalities of the Trondheim region. In addition, the interview data is supported by secondary sources such as academic journals, introduction program documents, and official reports related to refugee integration.
The analysis starts by looking at how the Norwegian introduction program is helping refugees’ integration, the role of owning a house for refugees integration, and establishing a sense of belonging by refugees’ in a local neighborhood.
In conclusion, the research will dive into a more academic approach to determine whether the introduction program effectively addresses the integration challenges of refugees in Norwegian society.
The findings will identify the gaps between the refugees’ needs, Norwegian society, and the available opportunities for refugees to integrate effectively. The research brings up real-life stories explaining why the current services have not addressed the integration needs. Proper guidelines during the introduction program’s initial phase and internship opportunities in the municipal entities could expedite the integration process.
In the meantime, refugees who migrate to Norway are challenged with digital platforms. They need to know the digital skills required in the language school and working life and participate in all the digital platforms used in the hosting country. It might be crucial for enhancing the adaptation and integration of the target groups. Considering the findings from the interviews, the rapid digitalization of citizens after the pandemic crisis, and the more recent component of literature on integration confirm that improving digital capacity has an essential role in helping refugees be self-sufficient. It will significantly enhance refugees’ effectiveness among Norwegian citizens. | en_US |
