Geographia Polonica (2018) vol. 91, iss. 3

Cultural integration: Positive and negative perceptions (case of Tornio, Finland)

Ekaterina A. Shlapeko, Svetlana V. Stepanova

Geographia Polonica (2018) vol. 91, iss. 3, pp. 301-315 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0122

Abstract

Increase in the migration flows has become a challenge in the world today. In Finland there is considerable shift in the number of migrants from Africa and the Middle East countries. The paper is based on the sociological research conducted in August-September, 2016 in Tornio (Finland). The empirical observations were gained from the interviews with 12 migrants and the questionnaires on the city Tornio attractiveness (73 locals) and the human mobility challenges (89 locals). The obtained results highlight the significant role of the communication activities with the joint participation of locals and newcomers in understanding each others’ culture,decreasing negative perceptions and reactions in the integration process.

Keywords: cultural integration, migration, newcomer, asylum seeker, host community, Tornio

Ekaterina A. Shlapeko [shlapeko_kate@mail.ru], Department of Regional Economic Policy, Institute of Economics Karelian Research Centre, Russian Academy of Sciences 50 Al. Nevsky Prospect, 185030 Petrozavodsk: Republic of Karelia, Russia
Svetlana V. Stepanova [svkorka@mail.ru], Karelskie Centrum Naukowe Rosyjskiej Akademii Nauk, Instytut Ekonomii