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15 IntroductIonary sPeech Ahmed Aboutaleb Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honour and a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you for nearly a whole evening on matters that are close to my heart as a Dutch politician. I would like once again to thank you for this invitation. The organisers have asked me to address the question of what integration means in (Dutch) society - with the word ‘Dutch’ in parentheses. Therefore I may speak of Belgian society as well. But if you don’t mind, I will limit myself to my own, with an occasional brief excursus across the border. Perhaps, in light of increasing globalisation, we will all soon be talking about our society. But that will take a while yet. Though you never know, human beings need to have something to dream about… I want to acknowledge from the outset: I don’t have a ready-made answer to your question. I struggle with the concept of integration. I would like you to share in that struggle this evening. To take part in my struggle to discover how to bring population groups closer to each other. A process that is accompanied by a great many personal considerations. In the end, the political is also personal. Telling each other the truth is far from easy. And yet I choose to tell you my truth. For there can be no shine without friction. I hope that are prepared to think along with me. The title of this lecture series, on which I have the privilege of occupying the first spot, ‘Crises are challenges’, is one that I can identify with. But as I said: I struggle with it. As a true Dutchman, my motto, like that of Zeeland, is ‘Luctor et emergo’. I struggle and rise to the top. Ladies and Gentlemen. For over a year now I have been Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Employment in a centre-left cabinet, that of Balkenende/Bos. A cabinet consisting of Labour (PvdA), Christian Democrats (CDA) and Christian Socialists (ChristenUnie). My political/governmental career began when I was a city councillor in Amsterdam, where I gained the necessary political experience in the areas of education, youth, employment, income and urban policy. As a secretary of state, my aim is during the time I have to help more people find employment. At the same time, I would like to combat poverty and see fewer people require social assistance. 16 Ahmed Aboutaleb Social assistance – I believe you call that ‘minimum income’ in the context of social services. My goal is to do both those things simultaneously and jointly, together with what in the Netherlands we call all stakeholders in the employment and income chain in the region. Integration is not itself my core business, although you might say that for people of immigrant backgrounds, participation in the labour market may well be the best road to integration. Paid work is one of the scarcest resources a society can offer. In the Netherlands we have opted for a separate minister of Integration, linked to Housing and Communities. The underlying idea is that housing, the home environment are the basis for individual and social development and thus for integration and settlement. Concretely, this means that we intend within ten years to transform some forty problem neighbourhoods into vital residential, working and living environments where people enjoy living and working and are involved in society. And I hope to be able to make my own modest contribution to this plan in the area of paid employment. But I am the first to admit that the degree of integration cannot be measured solely by hard indicators such as housing and participation in education and work. That is indeed the basis, and I will come back to that shortly, but it is much more than that. For instance, there is the question of whether migrants are prepared to immerse themselves in the Dutch language and culture, history and rule of law. In these areas as well there is a long road ahead. But indispensable for a successful integration. And here we come to one part of my struggle. Back to the title ‘Crises are challenges’. To make a challenge out of a crisis demands daring and flexibility of mind. The fact is that migration and integration leaves no one indifferent. In our country, as in yours, the issue has been occupying our minds for many years. Everywhere, in meeting rooms large and small, it...

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