Cities, Migrants and Diversity-ALF Final Recomendations

Cities, Migrants and Diversity

 “Valuing Diversity, Understanding Migration”

The Anna Lindh Forum 2010 has represented an important moment to consolidate or redefine the fields of action of the Foundation. A thematic approach was adopted in all the Forum’s components in order to examine the work of the ALF by field, to evaluate specific programmes and to design together with experts and civil society members the future action of the Foundation.

The five strategic fields of the Forum emanated from the ALF triennial programme and were specified thanks to the results of the ALF Report on Intercultural Trends, thematic Preparatory Meetings and different consultations with the National Networks and the institutional Partners, in order to define topics to be discussed in the Agora, best practices and project ideas to be presented in the Medina as well as experts to contribute to the Forum at large.

In order to ensure a qualitative process, the Foundation has designated a coordinator from the field to help defining the structure and the content of the discussions. Such coordinator accompanied the Foundation from the Preparatory Meeting through the Forum. Having opted for an inclusive and participatory approach, institutional bodies such as Advisory Council Members and Heads of Networks were involved in the panels as Chairs or Moderators. In addition, experts in the strategic fields were selected to give inputs on the session and to open the debate, whereas opening remarks from the civil society were presented in order to set a frame for the debates. Furthermore, a particular attention was devoted to inform about certain important topics through the info sessions, to share best practices and project ideas, and to involve the strategic partners by giving them a space in the Medina.

The thematic approach allowed the constitution of communities inside our Networks working in the same field that had the opportunity to debate about the challenges, opportunities and future of the Foundation’s work in the Agora, and shared their ideas, projects and best practices in the Medina. Such communities will be supported in the future work of the Foundation as follow-up to the Forum.

This paper will try to present the work of the Foundation, the Preparatory Meetings outcome, the Agora/Medina recommendations and the different projects and people that represented the field of Migrants, Cities and Diversity in the Forum.

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In a context of rapid internationalization of economics and culture, globalization causes an important and constant increase of inter- and transnational migrations. Diversity and migration are nowadays major challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The region has indeed become a laboratory for identities, integration and diversity management where the traditional south-north challenges are moving towards a more complex reality.  Stereotypes and stigmatization are concerns which have to be tackled, and at the same time the potential of the migrant as a major mediator for a real intercultural dialogue in the region is more and more evident. It is for these reasons that the ALF has made of Cities, Migrants and Diversity one of its priority fields of action.

The Action of the Foundation on the Field

The scope of ALF work in the field of cities and migration includes:

§ Creating spaces for expression and participation in urban contexts

§ Funding and supporting actions for the Foundation's National Networks on issues related to migration

§ Supporting transnational civil society actions focused on the role of migrants as bridges for intercultural dialogue in the Euromed Region

§ Emphasizing the positive role of persons with migrant backgrounds in plural societies, challenging stereotypes and creating spaces for positive interaction

§ Building on the proposals developed through the first regional workshop on migrations

The Preparatory Meeting

In the framework of the "Anna Lindh Forum 2010", the  ALF  held a preparatory meeting titled “Cities, Migrants and Diversity: Valuing Diversity, Understanding Migration”. The Meeting was organised in cooperation with the Foundation's Head of National Network in Germany - the Goethe Institut – and took place in Munich, Germany, from 10 to 13 February 2010.

During the Meeting, the Foundation aimed to address migration and diversity as elements providing new scenarios for dialogue, where the migrant is a key actor for the construction of a multicultural coexistence and can be a bridge between countries of origin and hosting societies. By means of such activity, the Foundation provided a space for dialogue and exchange of ideas and best practices in the fields of migration and intercultural dialogue.

In the context of the Meeting, three roundtables were proposed to address the following topics: Migrations and mutual perceptions in the Mediterranean: challenging stereotypes; Migrants and immigrated communities as key actors for cooperation and intercultural action; Intercultural approaches in dealing with strengthening social cohesion and solidarity in multicultural urban contexts.

The meeting came up with the following recommendations:

• Migration and mutual perceptions in the Mediterranean: challenging stereotypes:

To produce a working paper on stereotypes related to migration and intercultural dialogue, to support initiatives on the role of media and stereotypes, to take part in existing projects monitoring migration issues including an online database, to create an online platform for exchange and debate for the ALF Networks and actors from outside the Networks, to include in the Call for Proposals the issue of addressing and challenging stereotypes, to raise awareness and sensitivity among the network members.

• Migrants and immigrated communities as key actors of development and intercultural action:

To build up cultural policies where stakeholders have to take into account human rights respect, particularly cultural rights, to encourage cities to establish common places for creative processes, to introduce history of migrations in schools, to follow-up existing work done on diversity and equality of opportunities, to treat religion in the framework of human rights as a private and personal practice.

• Intercultural approaches in dealing with strengthening social cohesion and solidarity in multicultural urban contexts:

The ALF should work in education across the formal, informal and non-formal sectors, playing a key role in advising on and delivering teacher trainings for diversity, supporting grassroots activities which bring together host and migrant communities, organising  intercultural forums, promoting a better use of public spaces in urban contexts, campaigning for a more equitable global financial/economic system, working in support of communities which have suffered from the effects (material or otherwise) of migration, lobbying to ameliorate local living conditions through various kinds of social provision at the diplomatic and political levels.

Cities, Migrants and Diversity in the Medina

Info Sessions:

• After Copenhagen: Dialogue for Ecological Transition (Culture|Futures, Casa Mediterráneo, Institut de Cultura-Barcelona City Council, SDA), Speakers: Olaf Gerlach Hansen, Paqui Santonja, Jordi Pascual, Haythem Kamel

Partner Contributions:

• Role of Tourism in Inter-cultural Understanding (Barcelona Tourism Office), Carles Duarte, Smail Boukhalfa, Mohamed Moumni, Eulogi Bordas, Blanca Espa
• Reporting across cultures: media and migration (European Commission, UN Alliance of Civilizations, International Organisation for Migration, COPEAM), Françoise Havelange, Jean-Philippe Chauzy, Carmen Sammut, Said Essoulami
• Mediterranean identities: perceptions from the territory (Arco Latino), Assia Bensalah, Khaled  Allam Fouad, , Alba Barnusell, Octavi de la Varga

Project Ideas:

• Ville et diversité Association des Monégasques de l’Etranger (MC), Audrey Pascal
• Irregular Migration Film Andalus Institute (EG), Karim El-Shenawy
• Le tourisme culturel Association pour la Pensée, la Culture et le Tourisme (DZ, Smaïl Boukhalfa
• 2nd Generation Festival Athens Network of Collaborating Experts (GR), Aspasia Kakari
• Migrant Cultures Festival ACE - ETNIA (PT), Mário Alves
• Sustainable Shelters Pacificstream Information (UK), Roy Jones

Best Practices:

·          The Multicultural City KRUG Art Movement (BU), Radost Nikolaeva-Cohen

·          Active Citizens for Dialogue Future Worlds Center (CY), Larry Fergeson

·          Capacity Building in Egypt Development and Educational Centre European Perspective (GR), Marina Nasika

·          Building Bridges Parish Based Integration Project –Churches in Society Forum (IR), Adrian Cristea

·          1001 Actions for Dialogue Tineret Buzau 2007(RO), Eduard Nicolescu

·          Knowing Through Diversity Isla Local Council (ML), Arthur Perici

·          Day of Dialogue Nieuwe maan (NL), Kristof de Ridder

·          GOING PUBLIC ’06 aMAZElab (IT), Claudia Zanfi

·          Enjoying the Countryside Centre for Local Policy Studies Edge Hill University (UK), Mohammed Dhalech

·          Oldham is for Everyone Centre for Urban Education, Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), Richard Shotton

·          Diversity Crew - Creative Witnesses of Discrimination Le monde des Possibles (BE), Didier Van der Meeren

·          Inventing the Future Centro Sviluppo Creativo “Danilo Dolci” (IT), Marie Marzloff

·         Maritime Environment Network Escola del Mar, Centre d’Estudis Marins (SP), Enric Cahner

RECCOMENDATIONS FROM THE FORUM

§   Diversity as essence of urban life and openness:

At the level of the EuroMed Agenda, it is recommended to set up measures to reinforce the presence of diversity in cities, including the free access to public spaces and equipments or the possibility to reconvert non-used public buildings or sites into inter-associative houses or community centres, as a supporting measure to the promotion of artistic expressions of migrant communities and the valuing of those cultural competences in terms of income and employment solutions.

At the level of the ALF Programme, it is recommended to set up programmes to contribute to a better image of migrants and on their central role as agents of diversity in cities, for a new public perception of diversity as an opportunity and a richness, and of migrants as an asset and not a problem, Moreover, it is recommended to work with the media as central tool for changing perceptions by promoting best practices of media and diversity and training professionals from the field. Also, ALF should reward diversity in urban spaces in order to support and promote success stories.

§   Supporting partnerships and capacity building initiatives:

At the level of the EuroMed Agenda, it is recommended to set a common funding platform between the departure and host countries for the capacity building of people from migrant origins and for both societies. In addition, local governments should support existing networks, initiatives and NGOs working on migration.

At the level of the ALF Programme, it is recommended to invest in organising capacity building projects for multipliers from the civil society and to support institutions working on capacity building, especially those encouraging the joint involvement of migrants and nationals in their programmes. Furthermore, the ALF should award and promote innovative solutions for employment of migrants in host countries, particularly in what concerns social economy or micro-entrepreneurship local campaigns and projects. It is also important to encourage and to actively support the establishment and the work of local partnerships for change involving NGOs, migrant associations and informal groups, local authorities and other key-actors in cities and neighbourhoods.

§   Cultural citizenship as an asset:

At the level of the EuroMed Agenda, it is recommended to build infrastructures and open public spaces of expression of diversity and cultural competences and rights where people from migrant background and people from the host country can share their diversity, develop their competences and practice their rights. Also, it was underlined that cultural citizenship cannot flourish without the support, the recognition and the respect of the economic and social rights of foreign undocumented citizens and refugees, particularly women and youth.

At the level of the ALF Programme, it is recommended to establish a specific line of work concerning the affirmation of cultural diversity in cities, mainly by supporting innovative ideas, initiatives and spaces with clear intercultural purposes; and to clearly encourage in this framework the development of global education-approaches (in its formal, informal and non-formal dimensions) in activities with schools an/or youth groups, adult refugees and migrants and with the whole local communities which inculcate the Cultural Citizenship approach.

§   Investing in transnational approaches:

At the level of the EuroMed Agenda, it is recom