Independent knowledge institute
FORUM is an independent knowledge institute and centre of expertise for multicultural affairs. FORUM operates out of the frame of reference of the democratic constitutional state, social cohesion and shared citizenship. The institute gathers knowledge on the wide field of integration, disseminates it and applies it to practical methods and products.
The Institute for Multicultural Affairs FORUM is the largest non-governmental actor in the field of integration policy in the Netherlands. It aims to create stable, critical and constructive contributions with a view to developing effective social relationships within multicultural society.
Mission
FORUM’s social mission is threefold, i.e. to promote:
• social cohesion;
• shared citizenship;
• a multi-ethnic society of equal citizens.
The institute operates in a turbulent environment, on the cutting edge between policy and implementation and within a dynamic social and politico-governmental context.
Modus operandi
FORUM is chiefly led by the social context in which governments, citizens and institutions operate. By mapping out developments within society, conducting or commissioning research and translating theory into workable methods and new alliances, FORUM fulfils the role of knowledge director, catalyst and communicator.
- Knowledge director: Gathering, explaining and disseminating knowledge on integration and diversity policy and by doing so fulfilling a social need;
- Catalyst: (Where necessary) accelerating and intensifying integration and diversity policy, and forming alliances with those organisations and institutions which can effect the acceleration;
- Communicator: Participating in and encouraging an evidence-based, wide-ranging social debate on all aspects of integration and diversity policy.
FORUM applies various methods for contributing to the acceleration of integration processes and the improved functioning of multicultural society: studies, intervention programmes, debates and publications, alliances with partner organisations, specific support for emancipation processes, expert meetings and masterclasses, coordinatory consultations with administrators and politicians, mosque visits, competitions for youngsters, women’s salons, company visits and legal aid.
Personnel diversity
FORUM is itself a reflection of society. The institute has over 100 employees: about fifty percent are men and fifty percent women. At managerial level, 47% have ethnic minority origins and one in three is female.
Funding
FORUM receives funding from various Dutch ministries, including the ministries of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, Foreign Affairs, the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Justice. FORUM also receives financing from private funds.