4.2.1 The difference between an ‘inclusion’ and an ‘inclusive’ community

Before entering the subject of community networks, we would like to clarify our understanding of ‘inclusion’ and ‘inclusive community’.
To use Busatto’s metaphor “Inclusion is community. No one becomes included by receiving handouts, even if these handouts are given by public bodies and with public resources. No one becomes included by being treated by a program in which no more than a number or a statistic. Inclusion is connection to the network of community development, to become more than a speck of dust, to have a name and surname, with one’s own distinctive features, skills and abilities, able to receive and give stimulus, to imitate and be imitated, to participate in a process of changing one’s own life and collective life.”
This quote underlines the role that everyone can play while building an inclusive community and the importance of the relations between individuals, where everyone acts in mutual respect, activating processes and practices that support personal and collective development.
Moreover, we may ask ourselves what makes some communities more inclusive and integrated than others and what we should focus on to build inclusive and integrated community networks.
An inclusive and integrated community should be based on the fundamental human rights values as in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.
This means that all members, regardless of their provenience, backgrounds, beliefs etc , should be able and motivated to participate in their community, fostering inclusion and integration.
To build and sustain inclusive societies, it is critical that all members of society are able and motivated to participate in civic, social, economic, and political activities. A society where all members feel that they belong to and to play a role in, having access to their basic needs and bringing a contribution to the development of the community itself, affecting the decision-making processes, is a society that will best support the inclusion practices, as described in the draft paper “Creating an inclusive society: practical strategies to promote social integration”.
If we look at HEI’s community networks, it may be interesting to explore and search for:
- Existing internal policies for inclusion and integration of refugee students.
- Activities carried out to improve their inclusion and integration within the HEI’ community.
- The roles of the different members of the community in fostering inclusion and integration: staff members, local students, refugee students, professors, etc…
- Existing networks with the local community stakeholders to foster inclusion and integration of refugee students in the local environment.