IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION IN AKUREYRI, ICELAND: Identifying ways to cultivate a ‘Sense of Belonging,’ From the Perspective of Foreigners

Iceland has experienced significant demographic changes since the 1990s. As climate change intensifies, raising the global temperature, migration to cooler climates such as Iceland will increase. To minimize ‘othering’ and rhetoric conducive to anti-immigrant environments, Iceland must work on integration issues, especially while opportunities and perceptions of other groups are still manageable. Through a series of interviews and discussions with foreigners in Akureyri and a focus group with employees from the University Centre of the Westfjords, integration was defined as a ‘sense of belonging’ and the ability to communicate with the native majority. To aid integration, this study identified a desire amongst participants for more validation and patience from Icelanders to cultivate this sense of belonging. Additionally, this paper explores a lack of multiculturalist effort from native Icelanders that interferes with foreigners ability to integrate.