Intercultural cities: good practice examples
The Intercultural city aims at building its policies and identity on the explicit acknowledgement that diversity can be a resource for the development of the society.
The first step is the adoption (and implementation) of strategies that facilitate positive intercultural encounters and exchanges, and promote equal and active participation of residents and communities in the development of the city, thus responding to the needs of a diverse population. The Intercultural integration policy model is based on extensive research evidence, on a range of international legal instruments, and on the collective input of the cities member of the Intercultural Cities programme that share their good practice examples on how to better manage diversity, address possible conflicts, and benefit from the diversity advantage.
This section offers examples of intercultural approaches that facilitate the development and implementation of intercultural strategies.
BizFeira - Bilateral overseas business development
Purpose: An online platform - BizFeira - that enhances entrepreneurship and internationalisation through establishing links between local business owners of all backgrounds with the Portuguese...
DNA Cascais: a creative approach to promote entrepreneurship
Purpose: DNA is a business incubator to: Develop innovative potential of young people Promote entrepreneurship Support the creation of new companies, organisation of seminars and conferences DNA...
Local Social Assessment (Diagnóstico social)
Purpose: To monitor citizens’ well-being, promote a participative and cohesive municipality and establish Networks that promote social development, fight poverty and social exclusion....
The Counsellor for Gender Equality
Purpose: The “Conselheira para a Igualdade” (Counsellor for Equality) is a person of reference appointed by the Cascais City Council to defend Gender Equality. Stimulus/Rationale: Gender Equality...
Database of refugees
Purpose: A database to protect private data and speed up the stream of information between different departments. Stimulus/Rationale: For a long time, data about refugees in Erlangen were...
”Engage in Copenhagen” – a three year inclusion programme
Purpose: ”Engage in Copenhagen” was a three year inclusion programme, designed to function as a catalyst for the Municipality of Copenhagen’s new inclusion policy and vision for the city, from...
Immigration City Erlangen
Purpose: Revising the relationship between migrants and receiving societies Stimulus/Rationale: There is a popular fallacy that dominates Europe's immigration discourse: understanding immigration...
Intercultural public space
Purpose: The purpose of these actions is to encourage the creation of spaces and opportunities for positive interaction and the generation of ties and relationships on equal terms....
Reggio Emilia – Burkina Faso: the true spirit of co-development
Purpose: In Reggio Emilia, the migrant inclusion is enhanced through projects for development cooperation with countries of origin. Creating thousands of workplaces for the agricultural development...
Anti-Rumour Web App
Purpose: A game to raise awareness of rumours and stereotypes that negatively affect coexistence in Bilbao. Rationale: Awareness-raising and the fight against discrimination is a priority line of...
Campus Rütli
Purpose: A segregated and failing school is transformed into a centre of educational excellence Stimulus/Rationale: The Rütli school had become notorious all over Germany in 2006, when the...
EMPO Multicultural Resource Center
Purpose: The EMPO Multicultural Resource Center acts as a resource centre for migrants through providing information and counselling that enable participants to develop their own resources to...
Barcelona Centre for Linguistic Normalisation
Purpose: The Consortium for Linguistic Normalisation (CPNL) is a public body created from the common will of the Regional Government and numerous local, county and provincial councils with the aim...
XEIX
Purpose: The XEIX project aims at promoting commercial associations as a meeting point and generation of neighbourhood identity. The project is about fostering intercultural relations in...
The Copenhagen Host Programme
Purpose: The aim of Copenhagen’s Host Programme is to facilitate encounters between newly arrived migrants and Copenhageners who wish to volunteer as hosts to promote integration into Danish...
Action Plan for Inclusion and Diversity
Purpose: The city council of Bergen wanted to formally adopt a public statement of its intentions as an Intercultural city. Stimulus/Rationale: The primary driver for this initiative was political...
The Danish Centre for Arts & Interculture (DCAI)
Purpose: The aim of the Danish Centre for Arts & Interculture (DCAI) is to create a national platform that reflects the diversity of Danish society in the cultural sector, by building intercultural...
A Smile of a Child
Purpose: Therapeutic hospitality for refugees Process: Melitopol has taken in very many Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) as a consequence of the troubles in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. “A Smile...
Democratic citizenship in Ansan
Under the Public Official Election Act of the Republic of Korea, only Korean nationals aged 25 or older may run for a local election. Those with foreign nationality are not allowed to be a...
Measuring cultural empathy
A sociological study on cultural competences in Ukraine, leading to policy development Melitopol is a city of the Azov region where, for more than 225 years, there has been a harmonious coexistence...
Barka
Purpose: Barka creates opportunities to return home for people facing homelessness or difficult social and economic situation, and they run a Social Economy Centre, supporting migrants on their way...
Setúbal - Office for Immigrants and Ethnic Minorities
Purpose: A transversal approach to managing intercultural issues on a municipality Stimulus/Rationale: The City Council, for more than a decade, has been working on the integration of immigrants,...
The Big Lunch
Purpose: A big lunch to promote community, friendship and fun Stimulus/Rationale: The Big Lunch is an idea which has grown in popularity across the UK, but the London Borough of Lewisham is...
Amadora Empreende
Entrepreneurship programme to encourage minorities business The Programme “Amadora Empreende” seeks to identify, in association with the youth and people in situations of social vulnerability,...
Integrated Impact Assessment
Purpose: Kirklees Council has developed an Integrated Impact Assessment process that is implemented when new services, policies or strategies are being developed or existing ones being changed or...
Shared Values
Purpose: Identifying shared values to build stronger communities Stimulus/Rationale: Values were identified as key by Bradford Council given how they underpin and motivate behaviours. They are...
Data collection and analysis to counteract discrimination: the case of Barcelona Discrimination Observatory
Purpose: The Barcelona Discrimination Observatory works, since 2018, to make visible any situations of discrimination in the city, and to contribute to the scale and design of the actions...
Policies to decrease inequalities and structural issues
Under the Equality Act 2010, the city runs Equality Impact Assessments. These ensure that they give due regard to equality, diversity, cohesion and integration when making key decisions on...
A common public space through cooperation
As part of the ‘Our Spaces’ Strategy[1], the city considers a number of principles, one of which is that ‘our spaces will be inclusive, designed for all ages, abilities and reflect Leeds’ diverse...
Equalities Assembly in Leeds
Local authorities have statutory obligations to consider equality in the United Kingdom (UK). The Equalities Assembly was set up by Leeds to ensure all diverse communities are involved in the...
Participatory Processes to Ensure Equal Access
Leeds organises an Equalities Assembly, participatory budgeting, intercultural dialogue platforms/round tables as well as MAP+ and the Migrant Community Networkers weekly drop-in. Additionally, the...
A Folk Doll’s Tale - Melitopol
Purpose: Fostering intercultural exchange and sharing traditions Process: Ms. Natalia Berenga, an artist of Belorussian origin from Melitopol, has been making rag dolls for quite some time but the...
Music of Words - Odessa
Process: In 2021, ICC Odesa launched an inspiring new annual initiative, the literary and musical Festival "Music of Words", to celebrate the variety of artistic expressions and creative arts that...
The DIVERSITY = INNOVATION project
Purpose: Monitoring the diversity of recruitment and promotion locally, and working with employers to champion diverse workplaces. Stimulus/Rationale: Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is...
Recruitment practices in favour of diversity in the workforce
Camden is involved with many local, regional and national organisations promoting diversity and non-discrimination in the labour market, including: Stonewall, a charity that works with institutions...
Campaigns and communication for inclusion
Purpose: Lisbon, Portugal, developed a programme (“Somos os Direitos que temos” – We are our rights) targeting more awareness towards diversity, human rights, and inclusion. The awareness of the...
Camden’s residents and the authorities building together a safe and welcoming borough
Camden has been carrying out surveys on the feeling of security/safety with respect to people with migrant/minority backgrounds. The Council has a community lead response to supporting communities...
Valladolid’s Plan for intercultural coexistence 2019-2023
Purpose: The Plan is a tool that develops a comprehensive policy of living together from an intercultural perspective and helps the city harness the potential of diversity. It also enables to...
Want to make your workplace more inclusive?
Purpose: Stimulus/Rationale: In 2021 the Italian municipalities of Novellara, Reggio Emilia, and the union of municipalities “Rubicone e Mare” were awarded an ICC intercity grant to develop...
ICC Strategies are in Place in all ICCUA Cities
Process: As of the end of 2021, all member cities of the ICC-Ukraine network had developed and four of them had officially adopted their ICC City Strategies, which represents a considerable...
Carrying out an Inclusive Economy Strategy for social and environmental value
Calderdale, United Kingdom, has committed to social value creation through its Inclusive Economy Strategy. All its procurement activity must be in line with social value requirements and...
Participatory mechanisms and initiatives encouraging all Camden residents to engage in political life and decision-making processes
Camden Council services work in a range of ways that enable all of Camden’s residents, in particular people with migrant/minority backgrounds, to voice their concerns, examples are: Communication...
Providing intercultural mediation in Camden: an efficient tool for a harmonious life in the borough
In Camden, intercultural mediation is provided in the neighbourhoods and on the streets actively seeking to meet residents and discuss problems. The Family Group Conference (FGC) offers a...
Gender equality: voices of the women in Camden
Camden Council put in place mechanisms to make sure that gender equality is respected in organisations that participate in the decision-making process on matters related to the inclusion of Camden...
Parks for Health: promotion of health assets for the local community
Camden is working with its neighbouring authority, Islington, on a joint project called Parks for Health. This major project seeks to change the passive focus of parks into active health assets for...
Mediation is a priority in Barcelona
Purpose: Different mediation services are in place with the aim of providing resources to municipal service professionals to facilitate intercultural communication and to prevent and resolve...
Lublin, Krakow and Wrocław together against hate speech
Purpose: This public awareness-raising initiative was undertaken by the three Polish cities: Lublin, Krakow and Wrocław, to address the burning problem of hate speech targeting minorities by...
Intercultural and integration strategy for the five-year period 2021-2025
The main activity consists in the development of an intercultural and integration strategy for the five-year period 2021-2025. The development of the strategy was entrusted to the Dublin City Local...
Barcelona’s Neighbourhood Plan
Purpose: The Neighbourhoods Plan (Pla de Barris) is a municipal initiative that implements social, economic, and urban actions to reduce inequalities between the city's neighbourhoods. It is an...
Roma school promoters
Purpose: To address the inequalities in the education system through a “school promoters” project. The School Promoters aims to achieve full schooling, school success and the socio-labour promotion...