Diversity, Inclusiveness and Social Cohesion

‘Cuidamos Centro’ (‘We Take Care of the Centro District’) is an employment training and practice programme that targets groups at risk of exclusion and long term unemployment in Madrid. The programme is coordinated by the Madrid Municipal Employment Agency and District Board. The initiative provides training and paid employment opportunities for those deemed most excluded from the city’s labour market. Whilst it does not exclusively target foreign-born migrants, the latter group are over-represented among the project’s participants (also known as dynamizers).

In the region of Los Santos in Costa Rica, public servants are given lessons on the indigenous language Ngäbe-Buglé in order to increase the access of indigenous trans-border communities to public services in the areas of health, education and employment. Clearer communication between immigrant groups and service providers can lead to a higher quality of services and a higher usage of services provided to target populations.

The city of Bilbao in Spain uses the local application of the Intercultural Cities Index to help assess needs and guide migration policy and programming.

Migrantour is an international project coordinated by the NGO Terra Vera, providing a new instrument for integration that promotes the cultural heritage brought by migrant citizens, asylum seekers and refugees. The project contributes to the development of a new narrative on the phenomenon of migration.

Through this project, migrants lead city tours for tourists and locals which showcase the contributions of migrants in to their home cities, and help to to share the personal stories of the guides.

The IOM's 'I am a migrant' campaign is a platform to promote diversity and inclusion of migrants in society. It’s specifically designed to support volunteer groups, local authorities, companies, associations, groups, indeed, anyone of goodwill who is concerned about the hostile public discourse against migrants.

The Anti Rumor Strategy (ARS) is a long-term process of social change that proposes to explore and influence the causes of xenophobia, taking into account specific socio-cultural contexts. Its purpose is to prevent discrimination, improve coexistence, and harness the potential of diversity by triggering a change in perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors among the general population and specific target groups. The ARS was first promoted in 2010 in Barcelona with a current presence in six Spanish cities and 12 in Europe.

The Moroccan Network of Journalists on Migration was created in November 2018 in Morocco, and seeks to promote the ethical, balanced and professional reporting of migration issues in Morocco. It aims to provide a space for exchange, reflection, collaboration and mutual assistance on themes relating to migration. 

The Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI) is a joint initiative led by the Government of Canada; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the Open Society Foundations; the Giustra Foundation; and the University of Ottawa, which works to share good practices and support the creation of new programs to assit countries around the world to open new pathways for refugee protection through community sponsorship programs. 

AMICALL was a transnational action project, coordinated by COMPAS in 2011-2012, exploring the role of Local and Regional Authorities (LRAs) in communicating with their citizens about the difficult questions raised by migration. Led by a partnership of six European research institutions, with the Council of Europe as an associate partner, the project provided a platform for the sharing of good practice and the development of new strategies for the communication of positive attitudes towards migrants and migrant integration at the local and regional level.