Histories Meet Histories: A Pilot Study of Migration and Civil Society in Swedish Medium-Sized Cities, Small Towns, and Villages

Learning to live in a new Country – everyday social integration

“…Nordic rural areas face several societal challenges such as deindustrialisation, ageing and shrinking populations, or loss of public services (Åberg and Högman, 2015). Integrating newcomers in rural areas has been an additional challenge, because rural policy finds itself at crossroads between integration and the regeneration of rural societies (Arora-Jonsson, 2017).…”

“…In such contexts, the organisation of civil society differs between urban and rural areas. In rural areas, as distinct from urban ones, civic life is strongly tied to informal networks such as family or neighbours, and identity is more related to place and the locality (Åberg and Högman, 2015). These are factors heavily involved in the role of civil society organisations.…”