Intercultural cities: good practice examples - Intercultural cities programme

International Migrants Day in the Lisbon City Hall

Portugal Lisbon 2017-2021

Purpose: Show political commitment towards interculturalism Stimulus/Rationale: It is important to show political commitment to Diversity and Migration, and a positive image of migrants as an asset...

Nga Kete Akoranga (NKA)

New Zealand Auckland 2018 onwards

Purpose: Promoting cultural competence amongst Auckland’s staff: A training programme for staff to respond effectively to Māori people. Stimulus/Rationale: The implementation of a refreshed Ngā...

The Ubuntu Bridges Programme in Lisbon (“Programa Pontes Ubuntu”)

Portugal Lisbon 2010-ongoing

Purpose: Tackling social exclusion and restoring human dignity, empowering young people to make a change and to fulfil their potential, building bridges and promoting a culture of care, respect,...

The Auckland Plan 2050

New Zealand Auckland 2019-2050

Purpose: ‘Fostering an inclusive Auckland where everyone belongs’ Stimulus/Rationale: The Auckland Plan 2050 outlines a 30-year strategy for Auckland to tackle three key challenges: Population...

Multilingual initiatives improve the intercultural dialogue and the inclusive integration

Cyprus Limassol Ongoing

Purpose: The purpose of the activity is to foster intercultural dialogue and inclusive integration through multilingual initiatives. The city of Limassol, Cyprus, takes significant steps to...

Boosting the citizens’ social life with art and festivities

Cyprus Limassol

The City Council of Limassol promotes access to culture for the whole population with a broad programme of free events and activities. The City Council uses interculturalism as a criterion when...

Bergen Inclusion Center

Norway Bergen 2024

Purpose: To create a new Inclusion Centre, bringing all essential activities under one roof at an attractive location. Stimulus/Rationale: To co-locate inclusion services, which have previously...

SCOUT: aSsessing Competences fOr fUTure

Greece Patras 1.10.2017-30.9.2029

Purpose: The integration into the labor market is an essential prerequisite for migrants and refugees so that to be capable of building up a new life in their host countries. Within this process,...

Montreal launches a policy of non-discriminatory access to all municipal services

Canada Montreal

On June 5, Rosannie Filato, head of public security on the Executive Committee, and Magda Popeanu, vice-president of the Executive Committee and head of culture and diversity in Montreal, unveiled...

Young Mayor

United Kingdom London-Lewisham 2018 onwards

Purpose: Putting power and responsibility in the hands of young people. Stimulus/Rationale: Lewisham Young Mayor is a robust attempt to put real power and responsibility in the hands of young...

Lisbon’s ethnic economy

Portugal Lisbon 2016

Purpose: The study aimed to support the development of immigrant entrepreneurship initiatives in Lisbon, and the main objectives were the following: Provide some basic socio‐economic features about...

Urban art for Intercultural Interaction - “o Bairro i o Mundo”

Portugal Loures 2013-July 2023

Purpose: Regenerating a stigmatised neighbourhood through large-scale art project Stimulus/Rationale: Quinta do Mocho was for many years the most stigmatised of neighbourhoods in Loures, associated...

Local Assemblies

United Kingdom London-Lewisham 2008 onwards

Purpose: A network of citizen forums which empower local decision making and action Process: This programme started in 2008 and consists in a forum during which the Council talks to the residents,...

Welcoming internationals to the city

Norway Stavanger Ongoing for several years

Purpose: Several years ago, the Stavanger Chamber of Commerce and Industries started a program to introduce international employees and their families to the city. The region’s Welcome Center is...

First Welcome

Italy Reggio Emilia 2016

Purpose: The city is applying an intercultural approach to dealing with welcoming newcomers, via a two-stage process. The First Welcome deals with the basic issues of identification, certification,...

Having Faith in Lewisham

United Kingdom London-Lewisham 2016 onwards

Purpose: Putting faith groups at the heart of community building Stimulus/Rationale: A large number of residents subscribe to a religion and of the rapidly growing number of faith groups (over...

Centre for Conflict Mediation

Italy Reggio Emilia 2016

Purpose: The intervention is aimed at managing conflicts arising from neighbourly relations and proximity between people and is intended to improve social relationships so there is an alternative...

House of Peace and Human Rights

Spain Donostia-San Sebastian Since 2010

Purpose: The House of Peace and Human Rights aims at disseminating the culture of peace, the promotion of human rights, peace processes and the recovery of historical memory. It does so in...

Intercultural Museum

Norway Oslo 2016

Purpose: The aim of the museum is to exhibit and tell the history of diversity in Norway, conceptualizing the museum as a space of dialogue that involves as wide and diverse a range of people as...

Maio - Diálogo Intercultura / May Intercultural Dialogue

Portugal Setúbal 2008 - ongoing

Purpose: May – Intercultural Dialogue is affirmed in Setúbal as a moment of sharing and joint work, with the aim of promoting intercultural dialogue and coexistence, through the promotion of...

Educational equality in Oslo. Tackling educational segregation through raising standards

Norway Oslo 2016-

Purpose: The aim of this project is to combat educational segregation through organizational structures, activities and curricula that increase diversity and intercultural learning in public school...

School Approaches for Family Empowerment (SAFE)

Italy Reggio Emilia 2016

Purpose: SAFE aims to reach and involve public servants, intercultural mediators, school principals and families. It has been developed to give the school a central role in the process of social...

Johannes Learning Centre - a bilingual school which teaches and hires minorities

Norway Stavanger Running for several decades

Purpose: Johannes Learning Centre is Stavanger’s main vehicle for building language competence. Although originally all the staff were Norwegians, 40% are now of minority background. The school has...

Don’t Feed the Rumour

Portugal Amadora From September 2014 to May 2015 (still ongoing as part of the municipal strategy for promoting interculturality)

Fight against misconceptions, prejudices, rumours and stereotypes about migrants and the city of Amadora, and provide correct information on migration and ethnic and cultural diversity “Immigrants...

Safer Alta de Lisboa

Portugal Lisbon 2009 - ongoing

A community-policing service based on intercultural principles Purpose: Since 2007, the Lisbon Municipal Police (LMP) has been developing a community policing strategy, seeking the maintenance of...

Give Something Back to Berlin

Germany Berlin 2012 onwards

Purpose: A social enterprise that treats refugees not as victims but bringers of diversity advantage Process: The “Give Something Back to Berlin” (GSBTB) foundation is a fine example of a civil...

Siemens’ program for integrating refugees

Germany Erlangen ongoing

Purpose: Erlangen shows that labour markets can open up to refugees under favourable circumstances Process: With a population of 100 000, the City of Erlangen is home to the University of...

District Mothers

Germany Berlin-Neukölln 2016

Purpose: Migrant mothers reaching out to and integrating other migrant mothers Stimulus/Rationale: Process: The “Stadtteilmütter” (District Mothers) project is targeted at areas under Neighbourhood...

Intercultural Integration Plan 2015-2020

Ukraine Melitopol 2015-2020

Purpose: Despite inter-ethnic strife in Ukraine one city offers leadership in pursuit of an alternative way Process: Whilst war and interethnic conflict has raged to the east (Donbass) and south...

A city international policy

Italy Reggio Emilia 2016

Purpose: An aspiring intercultural city should have an international policy that seeks, at least in part, to promote a dynamic relationship with places of origin of major Diaspora groups. Such...

Salut l'étranger-ère!

Switzerland Neuchâtel 2016

Acknowledging and rewarding the intercultural heroes of Neuchatel Since 1995 Neuchâtel State Council has been making an annual award of 7,000 CHF to a group or an individual who, through a work, a...

Nachbarschaftsheim Neukölln

Germany Berlin-Neukölln 2016 onwards

Purpose: Community centre that encourages active and informed citizens Stimulus/Rationale: Process: Nachbarschaftsheim Neukölln is a community centre which aims to facilitate social cohesion and...

Diversity in the workforce

Norway 2013-

Purpose: To ensure and encourage diversity in the workforce in Bergen municipality, by supporting and facilitating career development for people with a minority background. Stimulus/Rationale: The...

Surf.Art

Portugal Cascais Since 2017 - Ongoing

Purpose: Cascais regularly organises intercultural activities not only to encourage social cohesion but also to help young people to improve their self-appreciation and self-esteem....

The Welcome App

Germany Erlangen 2016 onwards

Purpose: An App to help refugees organising their everyday lives in Germany - Helps overcoming the language barrier - Provides information regarding asylum law Stimulus/Rationale: A considerable...

New generations on the wave

Italy Pontedera Olbia April - November 2022

Purpose: This project aimed at giving the opportunity to local administrations and local communities to work together to develop strategies for the promotion of civic and intercultural active...

Diversity policy in Geneva - New roadmap for the 2020-2025 legislature

Switzerland Geneva 2020-2025

Purpose: Since 2014, the City of Geneva has been developing a public policy on cultural diversity and fight against racism. Placed among its priorities by the Administrative Council (executive of...

Roma inclusion policies in Reggio Emilia, Italy

Italy Reggio Emilia 2022

Purpose: The initiative aims to support the inclusion of the Roma community in Reggio Emilia by promoting intercultural interaction. Stimulus/Rationale: The city of Reggio Emilia has approximately...

Schools for equality and diversity

Spain Barcelona Since 2014

Purpose: To promote a quality education system that is inclusive and promotes equal opportunities for all students. More precisely, to build capacity of teachers on the prevention of violence and...

Pròxim: Access to the labour market

Spain Barcelona

Purpose: Pròxim Programme is a social and labour insertion programme for people in an irregular administrative situation that could be regularised. The objectives are: To increase the level of...

Interreligious dialogue in Valladolid

Spain Valladolid 2019 - ongoing

Purpose: Promote attitudes of respect for religious diversity by involving representatives of religious communities in the representatives of religious communities in the shared management of...

Fans for diversity: inclusion through a community of football supporters

United Kingdom Bradford 2020

Purpose: Increasing the diversity and inclusion of all football fans and strengthening ties in the community. Stimulus/Rationale: A Bradford City Football supporters group, the Bangla Bantams, is...

The Open Mosque Project – Increasing contact in the neighbourhood

Italy Turin 2018-ongoing

Purpose: The event “Open Mosques” allows people to meet and to get to know each other. The project’s primary objective is to open up the unknown – the space of the mosque – and thereby reduce...

Multilingual health information

Portugal Lisbon 2018-2021

Purpose: The INFORMA em AÇÃO project aims to promote access to the SNS - National Health Service - by migrant communities and the improvement of the conditions in which it takes place, by...

The Iroko 7 Cs in Kirklees – Community focus

United Kingdom Kirklees 2021

Purpose and stimulus/rationale: The Iroko project was developed, over an eight-month period, to respond to a context of: stark inequalities for Black and African Caribbean Communities revealed by...

Diversitours

Spain Bilbao Valencia 2017 - ongoing

Purpose: Diversitours is a project to promote intercultural coexistence through urban tours that reflect the positive impact of cultural diversity in cities. Guided walks with an intercultural...

Fostering inclusive recruitment: project report and Guidebook for Employers

Portugal Amadora Loures Oeiras April to November 2021

Purpose: Through the project “Inclusive Recruitment” the Portuguese municipalities of Amadora, Loures and Oeiras worked on ways and means to encourage Portuguese employers to hire migrants and...

Annual ICC Forums Tradition – Melitopol

Ukraine Melitopol 2021

Process: Melitopol, as a member city of the Ukrainian ICC network, has managed to establish the useful tradition of hosting annual international Intercultural Forums. Despite the limitations...

EUkrainians’ Favourite Book

Ukraine Odessa 2021

Process: In 2021, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the Ukrainian cities that are member of the ICC programme had to celebrate Europe Day online for the second consecutive year....

The Council of Churches in Lutsk

Ukraine Lutsk 2021

Purpose: Establishing interfaith dialogue and guaranteeing freedom of thought and religion Stimulus/Rationale: At the initiative of the mayor of the City of Lutsk, Mr. Ihor Polishchuk, the Lutsk...