The Intercultural City programme is a joint project of the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

 and the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

. It aims at stimulating new ideas and practice in relation to the integration of migrants and minorities.

Through the Intercultural City network

Social network

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...

, the project aims to facilitate mutual mentoring and exchange between cities which all face the challenge of migration and diversity. The network is a learning community of cities, politicians, practitioners, academics and members of society, learning from each others’ experiences in order to enable cities to respond positively to the challenge of diversity.

The activities of the network are designed in a way which should involve a broad range of actors – city officials, administrative officers, service providers, professionals and civil society organisations – in the process of building an intercultural vision and strategy for the city, reviewing polices through the “intercultural lens” and developing intercultural skills.

Purpose

Cities across Europe and the world are dealing with an increasingly diverse population. People flow across borders and from the countryside into urban area in search for jobs and opportunities. Other cities are struggling to create cohesive communities involving national minorities, especially in areas of recent regional conflict.

As latest research shows, cultural differences due to migration or the presence of minority groups can, if left unmanaged, undermine the city's sense of community and identity, and weaken its ability to respond to challenges, adapt to change, attract investment and grow. Cultural differences can even engender paralysing conflict and violence.

If cities manage diversity they can benefit from the potential of migrants and minorities for entrepreneurship and innovation. Therefore key opinion of the programme is that cities need to review a range of institutions, services and policies to create the appropriate governance structures and mechanisms to remove obstacles and enhance for the integration and contribution of migrants and minorities to the development of the city.

Target groups

The network is open to cities with a diverse or diversifying population (migrants, national minorities, Roma) wishing to minimise the threats and maximise the advantages of cultural diversity and develop an inclusive, intercultural identity.

The engagement of a city with the network is subject to a formal decision by the Mayor, the Council or an equivalent authority.

Beyond the cities participating in the network, some of the activities are open to citizen and professional groups and organisations, students, academics and other interested individuals.

Partnerships

The network is supported by:

• a multidisciplinary team of experts involving representatives of the Council of Europe and policy consultants from leading European organisations such as Comedia (consultancy)
  Comedia (consultancy)
  Comedia was founded in Britain in 1978 by Charles Landry. It stands for a combination of 'communication' and 'media'. Initially Comedia was a publisher focusing on two areas: how activist organizations got their message across and second it described the dynamics of the emerging cultural industries...
  
  http://www.comedia.org.uk/index.htm, the Change Institute http://www.changeinstitute.co.uk/, the Media Diversity Institute http://www.media-diversity.org/, Ordina Management Consulting http://www.ordina.com/ and others,

• a range of cities with proven successful experience in intercultural urban management, specialised think tanks and other partner organisations (the pilot cities listed, but also others such as Barcelona
  Barcelona
  Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
  
  ),

• a range of city networks, organisations and institutions such as ACCEPT PLURALISM of the EUI, EUROCITIES, United Cities and Local Governments, REVES, Open cities, CLIP and other relevant city projects and networks.

Operations

The Intercultural Cities policy innovation network offers a range of learning, development and exchange opportunities for city officials, administrators, professionals and active citizens. The activity offer can be adapted as much as possible to the needs and expectations of each city.

• The core learning process takes the city throughout a process of critical review of its current diversity-management practice, the building of a vision of an intercultural identity
  Identity (social science)
  Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
  
  , and the translation of this vision into a comprehensive strategy. The network helps cities to involve relevant policy
  Policy
  A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
  
  , professional and civil society
  Civil society
  Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
  
   stakeholders, including media
  Mass media
  Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
  
  , in a strategy-development process which is broad, inclusive, ambitious and result-oriented. The core curriculum involves a series of analytical reports, policy review and development sessions, training workshops, debates and consultations, study visits as well as a package of policy assessment and development tools.

• Additional assistance:

- Diagnostic of the current integration approach

- Recommendations for re-orientation

- Advice on specific governance or policy issues

- Intercultural competence training for policy-makers and/or various professional groups

- City debates, vision-building and policy-development workshops

• Additional output:

- carrying out research

- organising public seminars and conferences

Interculturalism - what it is

Interculturalism is a concept which adds another dimension to the management of culturally diverse populations. In addition to non-discrimination, equal opportunities and the right to maintain and transmit one’s own culture, interculturalism is about building trust through encouraging interaction and mixing between cultural groups in the public realm. It is also about improving the efficiency of public services by making them more culturally sensitive and adapted. Finally, it is about generating cohesion and preventing conflict and discrimination by encouraging a positive public attitude to diversity (though public discourse, media, and specially designed campaigns). Interculturalism is about the “software” of integration as opposed to the “hardware” (jobs, housing, health etc.).

Interculturalism is closely related to the concept of intercultural dialogue as defined by the Council of Europe White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue.

Member cities

Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...  South East (the Netherlands)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/amsterdam_en.asp Berlin Neukölln Neukölln Neukölln is the eighth borough of Berlin, located in the southeastern part of the city and was part of the former American sector under the Four-Power occupation of the city...  (Germany)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/neukolln_en.asp Botkyrka (Sweden)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/Botkyrka_en.asp Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...  (Denmark)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/copenhagen_en.asp Dublin (Ireland)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/dublin_en.asp Geneva Geneva Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...  (Switzerland)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/geneva_en.asp Izhevsk Izhevsk Izhevsk is the capital city of the Udmurt Republic, Russia, situated on the Izh River in the Western Urals. Population: From 1984 to 1987 Izhevsk carried the name Ustinov |Minister of Defense of the USSR]], Marshal of the Soviet Union, Dmitry Ustinov). The city is an important industrial center,...  (Russian Federation)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/izhevsk_en.asp Limassol Limassol Limassol is the second-largest city in Cyprus, with a population of 228,000 . It is the largest city in geographical size, and the biggest municipality on the island. The city is located on Akrotiri Bay, on the island's southern coast and it is the capital of Limassol District.Limassol is the...  (Cyprus)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/limassol_en.asp Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...  (Portugal)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/lisbon_en.asp London Lewisham Lewisham Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...  (United Kingdom)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/lewisham_en.asp Lublin Lublin Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...  (Poland)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/lublin_en.asp Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....  (France)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/lyon_en.asp Melitopol Melitopol Melitopol is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of the southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River that flows through the eastern edge of the city and into the Molochnyi Liman, which eventually joins the Sea of Azov....  (Ukraine)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/melitopol_en.asp Neuchâtel (Switzerland)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/neuchatel_en.asp Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...  (Norway)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/oslo_en.asp Patras Patras Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...  (Greece)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/patras_en.asp Pecs Pécs Pécs is the fifth largest city of Hungary, located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the south-west of the country, close to its border with Croatia. It is the administrative and economical centre of Baranya county...  (Hungary)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/pecs_en.asp Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....  (Italy)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/reggio_en.asp San Sebastian San Sebastián Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...  (Spain)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/cities/sebastien_en.asp Subotica Subotica Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...  (Serbia)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/subotica_en.asp Tilburg Tilburg Tilburg is a landlocked municipality and a city in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant.Tilburg municipality also includes the villages of Berkel-Enschot and Udenhout.... (the Netherlands)http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/tilburg_en.asp

External links

http://www.coe.int/interculturalcities

• http://www.interculturalcity.com/

• PowerPoint presentation "Intercultural cities":
• http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Source/Cities/intercultural_cities_presentation_EN.ppt

• Cities' information:

Berlin Neukölln: http://www.berlin.de/ba-neukoelln/verwaltung/eu-beauftragte/interculturalcities.html

Lublin: http://kultura.lublin.eu/projekty,1,276,Intercultural_Cities.html?locale=en_GB

Lyon: http://www.polville.lyon.fr/polville/sections/fr/les_thematiques/culture/cucs_2007-2009/les_thematiques/la_diversite_culture/le_programme_cites_i/

Subotica: http://www.lda-subotica.org/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=25&Itemid=91

Tilburg: http://www.tilburgcoe.eu/

• External information from other stakeholders:
• Intercultural Cities: A Journey Through 23 European Cities
• http://www.ifacca.org/events/2008/05/01/intercultural-cities-conference/
• http://www.eaea.org/events.php?aid=15451
• http://www.culture.info/intercultural-cities-conference
• http://accept-pluralism.eu/Links/Index.aspx