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SIXTH
INTERNATIONAL METROPOLIS CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
14: Political Participation of Migrants
within the Conference Theme: Citizenship, Equality and Diversity Tuesday November 27, 2001
14:00 - 17:30
ORGANIZERS
Prof
Dr. Anver Saloojee
Professor Department of Politics and School of Public Administration
Ryerson Polytechnic University
350 Victoria Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
M5B-2K3
Ph. (416) 979-5000 ext 6413
Fax (416) 979-5289
E-mail: Saloojee@ryerson.ca Dr.
Anja van Heelsum
Researcher
Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies
University of Amsterdam
Rokin 84
1012 KX Amsterdam
the Netherlands
tel. (31) 20-5253622
fax (31) 20-5253628
E-mail: vanheelsum@pscw.uva.nl
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION
The
workshop will first examine the political participation of migrants in
local elections in two Canadian cities (Toronto, Montreal) and one Belgian
city (Brussels) and five Dutch cities. In addition to the challenges associated
with settling in a new country, migrants begin to engage with the electoral
and political process fairly early in their settlement trajectory. This
workshop will focus on the forms of political participation, the challenges
of political participation, the barriers to political participation and
the practical implications of political participation. The workshop will
also assess the degree of representation of migrant communities in the
institutions of governance at the city level.
Session
One: Political Participation of migrants in local elections: comparison
of cities
Duration:
1.5hrs, Chair:
Anver Saloojee
Papers: (15 minutes each *)
- Myer Siemiatycki and Anver
Saloojee, both Professor, Department of Politics and School of Public
Administration, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada .
- Carolle Simard, Professor,
University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada.
- Dirk Jacobs and Marco Martinello,
University of Brussels, Belgium The workshop will look at a
number of cities and address the issues of representativeness and responsiveness
by providing comprehensive information on the degree to which the ethno-racial
composition of municipal politicians and institutions reflect the demographic
composition of the cities themselves. The Panelists will address the political
participation (turn out rate in elections as well as amount of migrants
represented) in local elections in Canada and Belgium. The workshop will
be comparative, interactive and an opportunity for participants to learn
from the experiences of each other. Respondent : Dr. Meindert Fennema (20 minutes after the three
papers):
The
respondent will compare and analyze the factors that determine the differences
between cities (opportunity structure) and level of political participation
of migrants. The respondent will suggest three statements for discussion.
Discussion (25 minutes) the discussion will
focus on comparing cities and countries and the consequences of different
policies in cities and countries.
Session
Two: Improving Political Participation of Migrants: Causes and practical
implications
Duration:
1.5hrs, Chair:
Anja van Heelsum
Papers: (15 minutes each *)
- Remie Bhugwansing, Stichting
Krosbe/Stimulans, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
- Joke Koning, Mayor of Stadsdeel
Amsterdam Oost, the Netherlands
- Hassan Bousetta, University
of Bristol, UK
-
Anja van Heelsum, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University
of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
In
the workshop we would like to:
-
Outline strategies politicians and policy makers are pursuing to meet
the demands immigrant communities are making for greater representation
and responsiveness.
-
Explore whether it is important for politicians, bureaucrats and for political
and administrative institutions to reflect the ethno-racial diversity
of the citizenry.
-
Identify strategies that are being pursued and that can be pursued to
increase political participation by immigrant communities in municipal
politics.
Panelists
will address the question whether the Diversity Policy in Amsterdam causes
greater empowerment or backlash, secondly panelist will describe methods
of increasing political participation as have been used in Amsterdam and
Rotterdam from the perspective of the city government and from the perspective
of an NGO, finally the role that migrant organizations can play in increasing
political participation will be addressed.
Respondent:
John Biles (20 minutes after presentations)
The
respondents will identify and analyze the main factors, which determine
success or failure of all the methods and
approaches that the panelists have suggested. The respondent will suggest
three statements for discussion.
Discussion (25 minutes)
This
session will engage discussion on what are the ideal conditions and methods
could be used in the future.
DURATION
This workshop will be three
hours long. It will be divided into two sessions at one hour and thirty
minutes per session. There will be a small break between the sessions.
PARTICIPANTS
·
Researchers:
- Anver Saloojee, Department
of Politics and School of Public Administration, Ryerson Polytechnic University
Toronto, Canada.
- Anja van Heelsum, Researcher,
Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of Amsterdam, the
Netherlands.
- Dirk Jacobs, [ Slides ] University of
Brussels, Belgium
- Carolle Simard, Professor,
University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada .
- Hassan Bousseta, University
of Bristol, UK
- Marco Martinello, University
of Liege, Belgium
- Meindert
Fennema, Univerisity of Amsterdam, the Netherlands-
Myer Siemiatycki, Professor, Department of Politics and School of Public
Administration, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Canada. ·
Policy-makers:
- Mayor Joke Koning, Mayor
of Stadsdeel Amsterdam Oost
- John Biles from the Government
of Canada (workshop referent). ·
NGOs:
- Remie Bhugwansing, Stichting
Krosbe/Stimulans, Rotterdam, the Netherlands |
