Foundations for Belonging 2021 – Insights on Newly Arrived Refugees: Family Separation and Reunion and COVID-19 Challenges

Summary

A snapshot of newly arrived refugees, to be launched in collaboration with Settlement Services International in July 2022, reveals that refugees are building mixed social networks, which helps them to trust Australian institutions and fulfil social responsibilities. The research examines social and civic dimensions such as social bonds, social bridges, social links and rights and responsibilities from the perspectives of refugees themselves and their everyday experiences of welcome, participation and belonging in the early stages of settlement. It points to a series of actions that governments, policymakers, service providers and civil society can pursue to strengthen their contribution to settlement and integration.

Researchers

(previously led by Dr Shanthi Robertson; previous researcher Professor Karen Soldatic)

Funding: Settlement Services International

Period of latest iteration: 2021 – 2022

Resources: This is the third stage in a multi-stage project undertaken by the Institute for Culture and Society and Settlement Services International. Previous reports:

Foundations for Belonging: A snapshot of newly arrived refugees, by Ingrid Culos, Hussain Rajwani, Tadgh McMahon and Shanthi Robertson, Settlement Services International/Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, June 2020 (further information at: https://apo.org.au/node/306331)
Foundations for Belonging: Insights on Newly Arrived Refugees: Women and Digital Inclusion, by Ingrid Culos, Tadgh McMahon, Shanthi Robertson, Emilie Baganz and Liam Magee, Settlement Services International/Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University, September 2021 (further information, click here)

Further information on the past projects:

Contact: Dr Sukhmani Khorana

Projects

Research at ICS

People at ICS

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The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.