ICT-enabled Refugee Integration: A Research Agenda

Abstract

The recent phenomenon that has become known as the European refugee crisis is, in reality, a global problem. Accordingly, issues regarding refugee integration have become a central debate topic worldwide. In this paper, we examine how refugees use information and communication technology (ICT) in different regions across the world to understand how ICT supports their desperate journey to safety, their stay in temporary settlement camps, and their post-settlement inclusion in host countries. We conducted a series of interviews with Syrian refugees in Berlin, Germany, to collect preliminary insights. Then, we organized panel discussions at two key information systems conferences (ICIS 2016 and ECIS 2017) that involved participants from various countries. The panel discussions revealed seven key research themes: accessibility to information, availability of education and linguistic resources, admissibility to labor markets and entrepreneurship opportunities, communicability with home country, connectedness with local population, interactivity with host government, and volunteer coordination. We discuss how ICT might help to address issues related to each theme, present research questions relevant to each theme, and supply an illustration of how ICT has been employed to address an aspect of each theme. Insights gathered lead to theoretical implications and future opportunities for research in the information systems field, practical implications for different stakeholders interested in refugee integration to consider, and social implications related to refugee crisis that we cannot ignore.

Technology as a Source of Power: Exploring How ICT Use Contributes to the Social Inclusion of Refugees in Germany

“…From the very beginning, researchers have observed that this crisis is different from previous ones due to the significant reliance of refugees on technology, with the use of the Internet by refugees and asylum seekers reaching new records [2]. In response, IS studies have focused on the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in alleviating the ongoing humanitarian crisis [3].…”

“Ideal Speech” on Wikipedia: Balancing Social Marginalization Risks and Social Inclusion Benefits for Individuals and Groups

“…The field of IS has recently devoted much attention to issues of social inclusion of a variety of marginalized groups. For instance, IS researchers have examined how systems can be used to promote social inclusion of refugees [16,26,27] and people with disabilities [14,28,29,30]. A prominent theme in the IS social inclusion literature relates to gender diversity in the IT workforce [31,32,33].…”

An Overview of Mobile Learning for Refugee Students: Juxtaposing Refugee Needs with Mobile Applications’ Characteristics

“…A significant portion of these numbers was considered digital literate youths worldwide [48]. As far as refugee populations are concerned, they seem to use mobile devices daily to face everyday difficulties [4,5,49,50]. The research revealed that most refugees own a mobile device, and more than 50% of young refugees use the Internet daily [19,50].…”

“…Upon the refugees' arrival in a host country, mobile devices constitute essential means for various uses. The ways refugees use mobile devices can be categorized into 12 categories based on the reviewed literature: (1) orientation, (2) accessibility to information, (3) availability of aid services for refugees, (4) availability of education and linguistic resources, (5) word/phrase translation in their native language, (6) admissibility to labor markets and entrepreneurship opportunities, (7) communication with loved ones in the home country, (8) socializing with the local population and other refugees in their host country, (9) money transfer, (10) interactivity with the host government, (11) volunteer coordination, and (12) self-help aid services [4,51,52].…”

“…In 2015 in Europe, 1.3 million asylum applications were received, far exceeding the number of applications in previous years [3]. The unprecedented number of refugees (over 100 million people) during the second decade of the 21st century (2010-2019) made many researchers talk about a "global refugee crisis" [4][5][6].…”