ICON S Conference 17 – 19 June 2016 Humboldt University Berlin

4 COPING WITH DIVERSITY –
PUBLIC POLICIES AND THE
INTEGRATION OF INDIVIDUALS
IN PLURALISTIC SOCIETIES
The panel aims to illustrate the problems that face rule
of law in pluralistic societies. Integration policies and
the (moving) line defining the boundary between refugees
and migrants must find their way through education
for democracy and citizenship identity. Furthermore,
the limits of state intervention must somehow
admit autonomy of individuals and question the legitimacy
of the protection of the individual from himself.
Topics to be discussed: i) Faraway so close – crossborder
migration in the Euro-region Galicia-North
of Portugal and the unmet expectations of an easy
socio-cultural integration ii) Refugees In, Migrants Out?
iii) Democratic Standards for Education iv) Religious
symbols, paternalism and protection of the individual
from himself.
Participants Patrícia P. Mendes Jerónimo
Andreia Sofia Pinto Oliveira
Benedita F. da Silva Mac Crorie
Maria Luísa Alves da Silva Neto
Teixeira Botelho
Anabela de Fátima da Costa Leão
Name of Chair Patrícia P. Mendes Jerónimo
Room UL6 3071
Maria Luísa Alves da Silva Neto Teixeira Botelho:
Democratic Standards For Education
The article discusses the nowadays importance
of education for democracy and citizenship as a way
of building or reinforcing a sense of belonging in a
democratic and pluralist society. Legitimacy and constitutional
identity are also addressed issues.
Anabela de Fátima da Costa Leão and Benedita
Ferreira da Silva Mac Crorie: Religious Symbols,
Paternalism And Protection Of The Individual
From Himself
Although aiming to safeguard the autonomy of
individuals, many of the bans imposed on the use of
religious symbols in public spaces are based on paternalistic
grounds, since the use of these symbols may
reflect, many times, a deliberate choice. These bans
seem, therefore, hardly compatible with autonomy itself,
since autonomy should include the possibility of
adopting a behavior that appears in the eyes of others
as an option (a free exercise of choice) for inequality
or exclusion. Thus, from an autonomy’s point of view,
we intend to discuss the limits of state intervention
and the legitimacy of the protection of the individual
from himself, concerning the use of religious symbols.
Patrícia Penélope Mendes Jerónimo: Faraway so
close – cross-border migration in the euro-region
galicia-north of Portugal and the unmet expectations
of an easy socio-cultural integration
Discussion of the cross-border migration in the
Euro-region Galicia-North of Portugal against the
background provided by a strong narrative of historical,
cultural and linguistic ties, on the one hand, and
the increasing reports of discrimination against Portuguese
workers in Galicia, of their disenfranchisement
in the political field and their exposition to a range
of negative stereotypes that hinder their chances for
integration.
Andreia Sofia Pinto Oliveira and Benedita Ferreira
da Silva Mac Crorie: Refugees In Migrants Out?
The present refugee crisis has a reflex in migratory
management policies. Given the high number of
asylum seekers trying to access Europe, deportation
policies regarding other migrants tend to be more severe.
This is a good opportunity to re-think the concept
of refugee of the Geneva Convention – with multiple
interpretations – and the (moving) line defining the
boundary between refugees and migrants.
Concurring panels 30