“Fighting to Get Friends” - The Effect of Civil Society Activities on Social Integration of Refugees: Experiences of Refugees from a Danish Civil Society Organization

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates how refugees experience their participation in civil society organizations and how such participation affects their social integration. Focusing on the experiences of refugees from a community center in Denmark, this qualitative study explores what resources refugees gain from civil society activities and whether these gains affect their social relationships within the host society. Data collected via seven semi-structured interviews and observations is analyzed using the concepts of social capital, human capital and social integration. The findings demonstrate that resources gained through civil society participation pave the way for socialization opportunities between refugees and communities in the host society, thus, enhance social integration. Social resources such as social networks, mental support and civic values, as well as human capital gains in the form of language skills and information foster refugees’ social integration. The study demonstrates that social capital, human capital and social integration are interconnected, as social and human capital affect each other’s accumulation and eventually contribute to social integration. Another significant finding is that refugees think integration needs to be a mutual process between newcomers and the native population. The study further indicates the importance refugees attach to language as an essential tool for social integration.