Title  The Social and Cultural Integration of Portuguese Emigrants in Switzerland (Canton of Vaud)
Author  Virgília Piedade Amaro Camões
Supervisor  Maria do Nascimento Mateus
Year  2019
Institution  Escola Superior de Educação de Bragança
Degree  Master
Area  Social education and lifelong education and intervention
URI  http://hdl.handle.net/10198/20570

Abstract

This master’s dissertation analyses the social and cultural integration of Portuguese emigrants living in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The study seeks to understand the extent to which Portuguese emigrants feel integrated into the host society, by identifying their migration profile, their motivations for emigrating, the main difficulties they face in the integration process, and the role played by institutional support and migrant associations. The research is designed as a case study and adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining a questionnaire survey administered to 24 Portuguese emigrants with an interview with the president of the Portuguese Community Support Association (Associação de Apoio à Comunidade Portuguesa – AACP). The findings show that, although Portuguese emigrants generally feel integrated into Swiss society, they continue to face some difficulties in the integration process. The study also highlights the importance of the AACP and of Portuguese associational life in helping emigrants solve problems, preserve their cultural identity, and promote social integration. Finally, the dissertation concludes that most respondents do not consider returning to Portugal, regarding existing return support measures as insufficiently attractive.