Social integration of internally displaced persons in Ukraine: Problems and challenges for governing local communities

  • Received October 5, 2023;
    Accepted November 22, 2023;
    Published March 29, 2024
  • Author(s)
  • DOI
    http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.22(1).2024.57
  • Article Info
    Volume 22 2024, Issue #1, pp. 728-740
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

This study aims to evaluate social integration and obstacles for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in local communities for further improvement of governing local communities regarding the integration of IDPs in new surroundings. The expert sample included 38 representatives of relevant authorities, scientists, NGOs, and volunteer organizations from 11 Ukrainian regions. The survey was conducted using the online questionnaire method via Google Forms. The results show the low participation of IDPs in most political and civil activities in new communities. The level of social integration according to these criteria is, respectively, 3.0 and 3.2 points out of 6 possible. At the same time, the level of economic integration (3.7 points) and integration into cultural and sports initiatives (3.6 points) are comparatively high, which are a feature illustrating the readiness to be involved in some kinds of activities in a new community. A significant result is also the fact that according to most signs of social integration, in the evaluations of experts, there are assessments of the activity of IDPs at a level that exceeds the activity of residents (6 points). Such results indicate the existence of a resource for developing communities due to the use of the potential of IDPs. This is especially characteristic of activities in counteraction to russian aggression, involvement in grant and project activities, search for opportunities for legal income, and support of social justice principles in labor relations.

Acknowledgment
This study is funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine under project No.2021.01/0343 “Ensuring social protection of ATO/JFO participants and social integration of IDP under the condition of increasing threats to social security.”

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    • Figure 1. Average expert assessments of integration of IDPs according to defined criteria, points
    • Table 1. Distribution of respondents involved in the survey on social integration of IDPs
    • Table 2. Assessment of the level of problems hindering social adaptation and integration of IDPs into public life, % of the number of respondents
    • Table A1. Assessments of social integration of IDPs
    • Conceptualization
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Data curation
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Formal Analysis
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Funding acquisition
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol
    • Investigation
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Methodology
      Iryna Roshchyk, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Project administration
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan
    • Resources
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Supervision
      Iryna Roshchyk, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Writing – original draft
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Writing – review & editing
      Iryna Roshchyk, Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Software
      Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol
    • Validation
      Yuriy Bilan, Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk
    • Visualization
      Vita Krol, Halyna Mishchuk