Integration without assimilation — can a person belong in two places?

Many people who live abroad feel the same inner conflict: how much do we have to adapt in order to belong?

I think the idea of integration is often presented in the wrong way. It can seem as though a person has to erase a part of themselves completely in order to be accepted.

But I do not believe that.

I believe it is possible to build a life in another country, to respect its rules, its culture and its way of life — and at the same time to stay connected to your origin.

People rarely have only one identity, least of all today.

I see many families in Switzerland who manage to bring both worlds together: the children speak several languages, they grow up with different cultures, and they learn to be at home in more than one place at once.

Of course, it is not always simple. Sometimes there is a feeling that you are not fully "here nor there". But perhaps it is precisely out of that experience that a particular breadth is born.

I think culture plays a great part in this. Through music, film, theatre and community, people strengthen their sense of belonging — and that sense does not have to be tied to one culture alone.

At our events the focus is not only on entertainment, although it is always there. But while you are enjoying yourselves, you are at the same time giving yourself (and your children) a firm connection to one important side of your identity.

— Evica