From multiculturalism

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• From multiculturalism
• to super-diversity
• Prof. Steven Vertovec
• ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society
• University of Oxford

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Some core features of multiculturalism

• ? To ensure equality, respect, tolerance
• To enable continuity of traditions and
  identities
• Representation (community leaders) in local
  forums
• Public support for community associations,
  activities
• Culturally sensitive service provision (in
  schools, healthcare, policing, social work, etc.)
• -- mostly based on corporatist model of ethnic
  groups
• -- particularly Caribbean South Asian oriented

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In addition to recent setbacks,

• Multiculturalism faces a further serious set
  of challenges

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Immigration to/from the UK, 1966-2004

• Source ippr, based on International Passenger
  Survey and ONS

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total international migration by country of
birth, United Kingdom 1993-2002
Source Home Office
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UK 2001 Inflow by region (total 106,820)
Source Home Office
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Non-EU Immigration, change 1991-2001source IPPR
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London, home to 42 of UKs immigrants

• Migrants (born outside UK) 2 million (29) of 7
  million
• 23 came before 1970 -- 45 came after 1990
• Compared to UK-born Londoners
• More migrants with higher qualifications, more
  with none
• More migrants with dependent children
• 33 groups gt 10,000, 12 more gt 5,000
• 300 languages

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Newham (pop. 243,898) by country of birthsource
2001 Census
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Towards Super-Diversity

• In UK, increasingly more people
• -- from non-traditional source countries
  (non-colonial link)
• -- with greater linguistic diversity (300
  languages in London)
• -- in smaller groups (pockets of Columbians,
  Romanians, Ghanaians, Kurds, Japanese, Afghans,
  Fujianese, etc.)
• alongside large, longstanding migrant origin
  communities
• -- with differing gender age profiles per
  group
• -- with differing migration status (student
  spouse work permit EU national sector
  based schemes au pairs highly skilled
  asylum-seekers refugees undocumented
  citizens)
• -- with more mobility (spatially and temporally)
• -- with more sustained transnational links
  (social, religious, political)

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Super-diversity some implications

• New patterns of inequality and prejudice
• New patterns/experiences of space and contact
• may reduce prejudice / increase respect
• cross-cutting ties / networks
• may sensitize to spectrum of possible differences
• hybridity, interculturalism,
  cosmopolitanism
• Corporatist models of multiculturalism likely
  inadequate
• Prompt shift in public service provision from
  community knowledge-based to generic skills to
  respond flexibly to all encounters with
  individuals their cultural variations (Kai 2003)

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ESRC Centre on Migration, Policy and Society

• University of Oxford
• 58 Banbury Road
• Oxford
• OX2 6QS
• United Kingdom
• T 44/0 1865 274711
• F 44/0 1865 274718
• www.compas.ox.ac.uk