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 develop a coordinated, institutional framework to make the most of opportunities.
The overall goal of the Plan is to promote respect, tolerance and peaceful coexistence in the municipality.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The City Council of Valladolid has been working on intercultural issues since 2005, when the First Municipal Plan for the integration of the immigrant population was launched, with actions in favour of interculturality, equality and anti-discrimination.
This current Plan incorporates the lessons learned and good practices that have been drawn from those that preceded it, both the I Integration Plan for the Immigrant Population (2005-2008) and the II Intercultural Coexistence Plan (2010-2013).
Process:
In 2019, the City Council of Valladolid, taking into account the growing diversity of the city, approved the Plan de Convivencia Ciudadana Intercultural 2019-2023 (Plan for intercultural coexistence). The specific objectives of this plan are to:
- Guarantee the right to equal treatment for all people and fight against racism, xenophobia and any form of discrimination, especially on the basis of origin.
- Promote citizen coexistence in neighbourhoods and areas where there are close relations.
- Encourage citizen participation in intercultural spheres, strengthening the social and community fabric of neighbourhoods (neighbourhood associations, immigrant associations, youth associations, associations for the elderly...), coordinating them in a network.
- Develop the position of intercultural mediators in the neighbourhoods.
- Promote social cohesion through the development of bidirectional awarenessraising actions.
- Ensure transversality in municipal actions and coordination with the social entities involved in diversity issues.
The Plan is structured around two axes and six areas of work: equality and equal opportunities (I) (areas of: reception and social promotion (1) & equal opportunities (2)) and intercultural coexistence (II) (areas of: diversity management (3), mediation (4), prevention and awareness-raising (5) & citizenship and participation (6)).
To elaborate this plan, the municipality evaluated the previous plan and its achievements (qualitatively and quantitatively). Based on the reports produced both by the quantitative and the qualitative evaluations, a working group was formed and worked on the new plan based on identified opportunities for improvement. This group emerged from the Municipal Council of Immigrants, which has also taken into account the contributions of associations, groups and professionals who work to promote the full integration of immigrants in our city. To further inform the new plan, a study on the state of human rights in the city was carried out by the Human Rights Observatory of the Valladolid university.
Impact:
A full evaluation of the plan will be carried out in 2024, showing the extent to which the objectives have been achieved and the impact obtained. The evaluation report will determine future municipal policies on intercultural coexistence in the municipality.
Key reference documents: Plan de Convivencia Ciudadana Intercultural 2019-2023
