multicultural & integration

Multi-culturalism’ and ‘integration’?

Check the Mark Scheme:

‘A multicultural community is a community made up of people from many different cultural backgrounds who maintain their distinct identities. An integrated community is one in which a dominant culture takes precedence. Multicultural societies encourage differences and integrated societies don’t maintain differences.’

BUT there is no harm in saying that definitions change according to political need.

Read the BBC Magazine site: 'Multiculturalism: What does it mean?' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12381027

Find examples of a multicultural community a) locally and b) in another country.

a) Example of a multicultural community locally: Milton Keynes Council policy on bereavement services is stated as follows:

• To ensure that the needs of the whole community are met –the council will seek to meet the differing requirements for burial within the community.
• The Council will ensure a flexible approach to memorialisation providing a choice of facilities to meet the needs of our multicultural society.

Dealing with processes of death when bereaved families may have particular practices, services, rites, and requirements shows whether or not we can be a society tolerant to many religions and belief systems. Times such as birth, death, marriage, separation or divorce are often testing moments which demonstrate how 'multicultural' a society can be.

b) Example of a multicultural society around the world. You could say that a multicultural society is one where different ethnic groups are brought under one legal system working over a defined territory, for example Canada. Multiculturalism was the official policy of the Canadian government in the 1970s and 1980s. Canada created the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 to 'recognize and respect its society included diversity in languages, customs, religions, and so on'.


Find examples of an integrated community a) locally and b) in another country.

First off, this statement from Wiki: 'Social Integration can be seen as a dynamic and principled process where all members participate in dialogue to achieve and maintain peaceful social relations. Social integration does not mean forced assimilation.'

a) Example of an integrated community locally - Chickenshed Theatre. We attended drama groups in London and Milton Keynes. The theatre group invites involvement of children, teenagers and adults, of all backgrounds and abilities. It has strong roots in a belief and practice of 'inclusive theatre' – theatre that is open to everyone, regardless of wheelchairs, sticks, variations in skin colours, all shapes and sizes...

b) Example of an integrated community in another country. I'll use here a pan-country example of social networking. Over the internet, members of any discussion group may be unaware of the skin colour / belief system / class background / cultural heritage of the other members in the group. Global communities can be formed where people are interested in the subject under study. Perhaps these can be a new form of socially integrated communities?

(Examples above started from Wiki. Check text books. Check the talk around the dinner table.)