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.
Multilingual initiatives improve the intercultural dialogue and the inclusive integration
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
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...
Bradford for Everyone or how to create a more inclusive city for all
Purpose: To create an inclusive city for all Stimulus/Rationale: Bradford Council is pioneering new ways to end segregation by bringing together people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds...
Diversitours
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
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...
Units for Homeless - an inspiring action from Patras, Greece
Purpose: The purpose of these structures is to provide reception, daily living care, immediate health assistance, and psychosocial support to individuals and families facing homelessness or...
Annual ICC Forums Tradition – Melitopol
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
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
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...
Culture Camp in Vinnytsia
Impact: A five-day international culture camp was held in Vinnytsia from 27 to 31 July 2021 in the city’s Peoples' Friendship Park. More than a hundred schoolkids, aged 8 to 17, were introduced to...
Empowering Roma Students
Purpose: The purpose of the collaboration between the Social Organisation of the Municipality of Patras and the University of Patras is to address the educational inequality and marginalization...
“The thousand faces of Sherbrooke”: a project to emphasise the plural reality and the diversity of the city
In order to make its plural reality visible, valued and recognised, Sherbrooke collaborated with the Humans of Sherbrooke collective to initiate the inspiring project "The thousand faces of...
Interreligious dialogue in Valladolid
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...
Pròxim: Access to the labour market
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...
Roma inclusion policies in Reggio Emilia, Italy
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...
Fans for diversity: inclusion through a community of football supporters
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...
Schools for equality and diversity
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...
Iroko 7 C u Kirklizu – Fokus na zajednicu
Ciljane inicijative za podatke o jednakosti Svrha: Projekat Iroko je osmišljen tokom perioda od osam meseci, i to u cilju pružanja odgovora na kontekst: oštrih nejednakosti za crne i afričke...
Multilingual health information
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...
New generations on the wave
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...
SCOUT: aSsessing Competences fOr fUTure
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,...
The Open Mosque Project – Increasing contact in the neighbourhood
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...
Diversity policy in Geneva - New roadmap for the 2020-2025 legislature
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...
Refugee reception and integration policies- pilot project
Purpose: The purpose of the pilot project for Refugee reception was to offer answers to questions about how intercultural integration and reception should be handled in the city in order to promote...
OBITen - The Immigration Observatory of Tenerife
Purpose: The OBITen promoting scientific research into migratory movements on the island of Tenerife. It prioritises the need to apply theoretical knowledge to the planning and management of...
Together in the same direction (Juntas en la misma dirección)
Purpose: ‘Together in the same direction’ is a strategy for managing diversity that brings rigour and clarity to the actions to be implemented. This Strategic Plan also defines three main lines of...
Diverse Tenerife – Intercultural Strategy
Purpose: ‘Tenerife Lives Diversity’ is a strategic framework aimed at serving as a reference point for public administrations, associations and the citizens of the island of Tenerife, assisting...
Grupo de Diálogo Interreligioso (Group of Interfaith dialogue)
Purpose: The group of interfaith dialogue promotes spirituality through knowledge and understanding of different beliefs and religious or spiritual developments with a learning attitude. The...
The Diversity Lab
Purpose: The municipality launched the Diversity Lab programme to explore the advantages of cultural diversity, with reference to new plural economies and open innovation processes. An...
Maribyrnong - Regeneration with a Focus on the Holistic Community
Stimulus/Rationale: The City of Maribyrnong is within the municipality of Melbourne, Australia, and is one of the most multicultural municipalities in Victoria. It aims to be an ‘Intercultural...
Intercultural Interaction: collective healing and memory of this time
Purpose: Using storytelling to build connections, address fears and ease anxiety. Stimulus/Rationale: In 2020 the Cities of Ballarat, Melton and Maribyrnong launched a Storytelling project...
Statistics in help of city’s policy formulation
Purpose: The City of Salisbury’s Council policy formulation is heavily informed by demographic statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Stimulus/Rationale: Quantitative and qualitative...
Community Grants
Purpose: Encourage citizens’ participation and involvement in the city through access to public grants for community projects Process: Community Development is a process where community members...
Salisbury develops inclusive welcoming and participation actions
Purpose: The “Welcome to Salisbury Information Booklet” and the “Community Engagement Framework” improves the intercultural profile of the Australian city. Process: The comprehensive city-specific...
Sister and Friendship City Policy
Purpose: The Australian City of Salisbury has an explicit policy to encourage international cooperation in the economic, scientific, cultural and other areas. Process: The “Sister City and...
Residents’ participation shows meaningful community engagement
Purpose: Salisbury seeks the participation of all residents through community workshops and surveys Process: The adoption of the Intercultural Strategic Plan 2017-2027 of the City of Salisbury was...
Public Participation Networks (PPN)
Purpose: A Network to enhance community participation in local government - Promotes social inclusion - Links citizens with local authorities Stimulus/Rationale: Public Participation Networks (PPN)...
Erlangen-Nürnberg: University enables access to education for refugees
Purpose: A database to protect private data and speed up the stream of information between different departments. Stimulus/Rationale: In 2015, four times as many people fled to Europe from their...
Human Libraries
Purpose: Within the project "Braga: an Intercultural Journey", Human Library sessions are promoted in the schools of the municipality, until December 2021. The Human Library is a strategy of social...
Community action plan — community development (CAP-CD 2022-2023) of the city of Sherbrooke
In the interest of the residents’ quality of life, Sherbrooke wants to support community organisations in delivering projects related to the fields of activity identified in the Community and...
III Bilbao Intercultural City Plan
Purpose: The III Bilbao Intercultural City Plan aims to guide public policies, from an intercultural perspective, in order to strengthen social cohesion and urban development in the city. To this...
School Participatory Budgeting - Vinnytsia
Purpose: School participatory budgeting for community participation Stimulus/Rationale: Citizen participation in government decision-making is one of the common democratic principles of the Council...
Employment opportunities as a factor of cohesion
Purpose: Employment supporting cohesion Stimulus/Rationale: Process: In Manchester (United Kingdom), the Manchester International Festival’s Factory Academy partnered with the construction firm...
The Inclusive Anchors Network
In Leeds (United Kingdom), a group of the thirteen largest (primarily) public sector employers, including the city council, local universities and Yorkshire Water, have formed the Inclusive Anchors...
Cultural projects reflecting and promoting the diversity of Camden’s communities
Culture is at the centre of Camden Council’s work. It aims to deliver inspiring arts projects on Camden’s estates and neighbourhoods that are co-created, engage with the most disadvantaged...
Involvement of Camden’s communities in its urban planning
Camden always takes into account the diversity of the population in the design, renovation and management of new public buildings or spaces. The Camden Local Plan (2017) is the key strategic...
Information sharing with civil society and grassroots organisations on intercultural inclusion goals
Camden collaborates with civil society and grassroots organisations that are active in the various fields concerned by intercultural inclusion, through regular meetings but also information sharing...
Initiatives of hospitality in Camden
Camden is currently welcoming a number of Afghan evacuees for support from the Council, such as housing, health care, food and education (see Asylum Seekers and Refugees - Camden Council). The...
The inclusive employers toolkit
Purpose: Bradford Council champions inclusive business practices Stimulus/Rationale: Process: In Bradford (United Kingdom), the accountancy and consulting firm Grant Thornton have developed an...
Everyone different, Everyone matters
In Calderdale (United Kingdom), the local authority has led the development of a social cohesion strategy, produced in consultation with the local public, under the banner of ‘everyone different,...