Task 4

First 5 concepts of the list below which you explain shortly. Reflect on your own possible experiences.

Emigrant - a person traveling outside their country for work or personal reasons for a long-term stay

Migrant - a person moving for economic, social, or other reasons (can be both an immigrant and an emigrant)

Equality - having the same opportunities regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, and other personal qualities that people don’t have control over

Diversity - variety of opinions or people in some group

Non-discrimination - not treating someone worse because of their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or other similar personal qualities

Integration policies and processes - methods that governments use to help immigrants become part of their country’s society and job market

Acculturation strategies - methods that immigrants and locals can use to make the life of immigrants easier when they come (to not have such strong culture shock)

Second, analyze critically the current situation regarding immigration in your home country/city/town. Where can you find reliable information? What kind of challenges and opportunities are there?

China is the second largest economy in the world and there are many opportunities for business as well as personal development. The first major challenge for foreigners coming to China should be the language problem, bearing in mind that China has a population of 1.4 billion, but not many Chinese can communicate completely in English. 

According to the EF English fluency ranking, China scored 455 out of 119 countries worldwide, lower than the global average score of 477, and ranked 97th; it ranked 15th out of 23 countries in Asia, with an overall lower-middle level.https://www.ef.com.cn/epi/regions/asia/china/

This situation is completely different from Europe, where even though each country has its own language, most of them are better educated and most of them can communicate in English. So in Europe, as long as you know English, you will not have a big problem in your personal life, work and study, but in China, the situation is different, unless you go to some foreign trade enterprises or factories, general shops, hospitals, restaurants, the staff do not know English. So language is a problem when you come to live in China.

We have the following cultural adaptation strategies to help international students adapt to life in China. Author Kelin Guo from China Education News said based on Code of Quality of Higher Education for International Students in China 2018 (for Trial Implementation), states that international students in China should be familiar with the basic knowledge of Chinese national conditions and culture such as China's history, geography, society, economy, etc., understand China's political system and foreign policy, and comprehend the mainstream values of the Chinese society and the concepts of public morality; institutions of higher education should organize international students in China to take part in activities such as China's national conditions and culture in a systematic manner Institutions of higher education should systematically organize activities for international students to participate in Chinese national conditions and cultural experiences, and actively co-operate with group organizations and communities, to promote positive and benign interaction between international students and society. 

The following pictures are from the opening of the World Cultures Festival at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Third, read about the Non-discrimination Act in Finland. How is the act visible in your (host) university / at work in Finland?

Does your (host) university / work place have a non-discrimination and equality plan/strategy?  (Note, that different names may appear such as a Diversity and Equality Plan/Strategy etc.)

*) For example, Finland needs labor migration in order to offset its aging population. 

 

UEF has The Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities of The University of Eastern Finland. It also has the Non-discrimination Act available on its website.

I didn’t see much of how it is visible in the university. But there were some things. For example, there are restrooms for disabled people. And there are ways for disabled people to move around, for example at entrances there are ramps. Also, teachers respect when students ask or express some opinions regardless of who says them. There are also courses available for English-speaking students and I saw students from all over the world there. So the courses are accessible.