Integration

The two-way process of mutual adaptation between migrants and the societies in which they live, whereby migrants are incorporated into the social, economic, cultural and political life of the receiving community. It entails a set of joint responsibilities for migrants and communities, and incorporates other related notions such as social inclusion and social cohesion.

Note: Integration does not necessarily imply permanent residence. It does, however, imply consideration of the rights and obligations of migrants and societies of the countries of transit or destination, of access to different kinds of services and the labor market, and of identification and respect for a core set of values that bind migrants and receiving communities in a common purpose.

In the refugee context, however, local integration as a durable solution would imply permanent residence as it refers to refugees’ “permanent settlement in a country of first asylum, and eventually being granted nationality of that country”.

In education settings, integration refers to the provision of education services for children and adolescents with disabilities in the same school, but in separate classrooms, or in the same classrooms on the condition that the learners with disabilities adapt to and comply with the same school norms, standards, and requirements as their peers.