Seite - 98 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Leen d’Haenens | Whither Cultural Diversity on the Dutch TV Screen? 98 recent events in the Netherlands such as the assassination of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam in 2004 have affected citizens’ level of tolerance. The Dutch integration policy of the 1980s characterized by “freedom from obligation” and the multicultural ideal has made way for key words like “self-sufficiency” and “personal responsibility” in the 1990s. While in the 1980s immigrant groups were expected to promote cultural diversity by preserving their own identity within the current political values of the country (Castles & Miller, 1993), this changed drastically as of the mid-1990s when the emphasis shifted to integration and assimilation. Immigrants were confronted with the Newcomers Integration Act (WIN) as of 1998, stating that each newcomer was obliged to participate in an integration program with Dutch language lessons, courses on social and employment- related familiarization and support, and a test on the degree of integration after one year. Until the end of 2003, the Employment of Minorities Promotion Act (SAMEN Act, 1998), which made it compulsory for firms that employed at least 35 people to maintain separate registration of multicultural staff, was one of the most important legal integration instruments. Both acts aimed at improving the position of the newcomers with education and employment measures, but the SAMEN Act (1998) also indirectly promoted the presence of more “colour” in the media and consequently had more impact on the immigrants’ cultural rights. As of March 15, 2006, the Civic Integration Abroad Act became law as a consequence of the Dutch Cabinet’s Outline Agreement dated May 16, 2003, aiming at the following: “Any person who wishes to settle permanently in the Netherlands must actively take part in society, learn Dutch, be aware of Dutch values and abide by the rules”. The Civic Integration Abroad Act is to be seen as a set of additional conditions to the Newcomers Integration Act that one should meet in order to obtain an authorization for temporary stay in the Netherlands, the major change being that newcomers must now have a basic knowledge of Dutch language and society even before coming to the Netherlands. This gradual stiffening of the law demonstrates that the freedom from obligation of the integration policy during the early 1980s has made way for self-sufficiency and personal responsibility in the new millennium. As a central point in the integration policy the preservation of one’s identity has now been replaced with assimilation. This means that adaptation and personal responsibility are considered more important to active citizenship than the preservation of one’s own identity and culture. There is a growing emphasis on the independence and self-sufficiency of the individual. Government measures are aimed at equipping immigrants with the knowledge and skills that will promote their independence and self-sufficiency.