(In)formal social participation of immigrants - are migrants from Poland socially active?

Abstract

The analysis of the patterns of formal and informal participation of Polish migrants in nine selected countries shows the prevalence of informal modes of engagement over the formal ones. This is especially visible while analysing formal membership and volunteering in NGOs, which are typically used as indicators of a formal engagement. In both cases - non-immigrant NGOs and PIOs - their values are relatively low, and in each case do not exceed 6% of the researched population. On the other hand, the indicators of informal engagement are significantly higher. This applies especially to some of the dimensions of informal social activities like selfless help for neighbours and other people in close social environment, collecting for those in need and different forms of internet activity.