On 11-15 October, the project team and the regional intercultural coordinators will meet with key stakeholders in Cyprus for the ‘Building structures for intercultural integration” project. The programme includes meetings with the mayors and staff of: Larnaca, Limmasol, Nicosia, Paphos and Paralmini municipalities to ensure the close coordination and involvement of the municipalities in the project. Meetings will also be held with local authority associations, and civil society organisations, as well as with the EU Representation and the UNHCR.

The co-ordinators have started mapping intercultural stakeholders in their districts, which include local authorities and officials, NGOs, public organisations and agencies (welfare, employment, education, culture, sport, safety, urbanism etc.), migrant groups and organisations, professionals, private organisations and community leaders.

The "Building structures for intercultural integration in Cyprus" is a 2-year project (June 2021 to May 2023) being implemented by the Intercultural Cities Programme and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support, in partnership with the Civil Registry and Migration Department of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Cyprus.

The project aims to support the Republic of Cyprus in implementing its National Action Plan on the Integration of Third-Country Nationals 2020-2022, by empowering local authorities, NGOs, and migrant organisations to be part of the integration process. It will use the Intercultural Cities conceptual, analytical and policymaking tools to address the challenges of migrant integration, in particular related to building trust, fostering community cohesion and managing diversity as a resource.

The “Building structures for intercultural integration in Cyprus” project is being carried out with funding from the European Union, via its Structural Reform Support Programme, and in co-operation with the European Commission's DG Structural Reform Support.