The potential role of the arts in generating socail capital that supports refugee local integration in Nakivale refugee settlement.

As one of its “durable solutions” to the protracted nature of refugee issues, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) promotes “local integration” of refugees in their host communities or countries. Both academic and policy debate, in conceptualizing local integration, acknowledge that it is a complex process characterized by legal, economic, social and cultural dimensions. There also appears an agreement that a successful local integration process is heavily reliant on relationships between refugees and the host community. Therefore, for local integration to achieve its intended purpose, it is important to devise means of stimulating contact and interaction between refugees and members of the host community. This thesis explores ways in which the arts can contribute to local integration in the context of refugee settlements. Through an abductive methodological approach, the thesis uses theorization around social capital and local integration, linking it with the arts to develop an analytical framework to study the potential impact of the arts in local integration processes. The framework suggests relevant characteristics of artistic activity with potential to generate social capital that can support refugee local integration. The framework is also used to guide data collection. Data is generated from an artistic project, Speak Open the Conversation, that took place in Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda. The thesis suggests that engagement in artistic activity among refugees and between refugees and their hosts has potential to generate different kinds of social capital that can support refugee local integration.