The EU/CoE joint project “Building an intercultural integration approach in Finland” will provide technical support to the implementation of inclusive integration policies based on the Finnish Good Relations concept and the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Integration model. The joint project will strengthen the competence of local authorities, develop structures enabling and sustaining capacity-building of all relevant actors, promote the exchange of good practices, and build a multilevel governance mechanism to inform integration policy development and implementation.

To kick-off the two-year project, representatives from the Finnish Ministry of Justice, the European Commission’s DG Reform and the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities (ICC) programme met in Helsinki on 20-21 September 2022 together with representatives from across the national, regional and local levels of government.

Based on a holistic approach, the joint project will produce and disseminate knowledge and tools to effectively promote the concepts of Good Relations and Intercultural Integration. It will review current policies and actions and present recommendations for the national level and municipalities in alignment with current ongoing reforms on the national and local level. It will bring together relevant stakeholders at the local level to design and implement local integration strategies. To transfer the knowledge and to ensure the sustainability of the project outcomes, experts will be trained to provide support to local and national stakeholders during and after the project. A national coordination mechanism will also be designed to ensure continuous dialogue and co-management of the integration policies between all levels.

The project is co-funded by the European Commission via the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) 2022 and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities programme in co-operation with the European Commission and the Ministry of Justice of Finland.