The Centre for Migration Studies and Intercultural Relations (CEMyRI) of the University of Almería participates in the Cross-border Cooperation Spain-North of Morocco (POCTEFEXT) through the ANDALUCIA INTEGRA programme (Socio-labour integration of Moroccan immigrants) and is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The project is an initiative of the Seville Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping that is the leader of the project and has two other European partners (University of Almeria and the Directorate General of the Migration Policies’ Coordination of the Justice and Interior Ministry of the Regional Government of Andalusia) and three Moroccan ones (University of Abdelmalek Essaâdi – Tangier-Tetouan-, Chabaka’s Network – Tangier- and Association Marocaine d’Études et de Recherche sur les Migrations – Rabat-). The aim is to “Contribute to the socio-labour integration in Andalusia of Moroccan immigrants and erase their integration barriers in order to achieve a mutual benefit for the group and the host society” and to do so, it has 6 activities: 1) Preliminary studies, 2) Organisation of Training and Social integration activities, 3) Employability in companies, 4) Evaluation, quality and durability, 5) Coordination and Management of the project, and 6) Communication.
CEMyRI is responsible of the Activity 1, focused on research and that contains three actions: 1) Work groups’ creation and methodology definition, 2) Technical visits and experience sharing, and 3) Preliminary results and reports. To accomplish this task we have finished an ambitious research named Preliminary study of the socio-labour integration of Moroccan population in Andalusia. CEMyRI’s attached researchers and collaborators have been involved in this project which deepens in the state of the socio-labour integration of this population in terms of: Employment and labour market; Education and second generation; Health; Social spaces, urban and residential areas; Behaviour and racism; Religion and idiomatic aspects; and Assessment of the origin’s reality.
This interdisciplinary and multi-methodological investigation involved visiting centres of immigrant population’s care in Andalusia, carrying out 75 deep interviews to social agents (public administration, civil society, unions, business sector, anonymous Moroccan sources, etc.) and observation, discussion groups and phone questionnaires. Furthermore, we have contacted in Tangier (Morocco) family members of the Moroccan migrants in Andalusia to know the impact of the economic crisis in origin.