The EU-Belong knowledge-sharing event was hosted by Donegal (Ireland) from 19 to 21 March 2024 on the occasion of One Donegal Social Inclusion Week. One Donegal Social Inclusion Week is coordinated by Donegal County Council and aims to highlight the very positive work being done, not only by the Council but also by other statutory and community organisations, to raise awareness of social inclusion-related issues in Donegal.

The EU-Belong knowledge-sharing event was co-organised by the AER and Donegal County. It gathered international experts, regional politicians and civil servants, professionals, and volunteers engaged in creating intercultural societies to:

• Learn in detail about the policies and practices employed in Donegal for intercultural integration.
• Meet peers working on similar challenges in different regions across Europe
• Engage in mutual learning, get inspired by each other’s experiences and insights, create sounding boards, spaces for reflexivity and continuously improve policies and practices.
• Showcase regional initiatives: Feature speakers from Donegal and EU-Belong regions sharing approaches to building inclusive and intercultural communities.
• Highlight the principles of interculturalism and their translation in real life: Emphasize core principles such as equality, the diversity advantage, meaningful interaction, and active citizenship.
• Discuss key operational elements

AGENDA & PRESENTATIONS

EU-Belong One Donegal Social Inclusion Week Conference

• Welcome address, Emanuela Pisanò, EU Belong Project Manager, Assembly of European Regions

Donegal: a Landscape of Multiple Collaborations

• One Donegal Social Inclusion Week & The Donegal Black and Ethnic Minority Strategy, Charles Sweeney, Social Inclusion, Donegal County Council
• EU-Belong pilot projects in Donegal: Supporting Pathways, Denise McCool, Team Lead Community Development & Sustainability, and Sinead McDaid, Team Lead, Enterprise & Employment at Inishowen Development Partnership
• Communities Against Racism Actions (CARA) Donegal, Nolunga Shologu, Community Links Worker & Project Lead for CARA- DONEGAL, and Sheril Davies, CARA facilitator

Moderated by Fadl Mustapha, Donegal Youth Service and Co-Chair of Implementation Group – Donegal Black and Ethnic Minority Strategy

Journeying towards equality and belonging: experiences from regions across Europe

• Listening better to improve policymaking: the case of the Timis Minority Council, Agneta Kardos, EU-Belong Project manager, Timis, Romania
• Addressing the issue of youth gangs through street education, Marzio Barbieri, Social, inclusion and equal opportunities policies, Emilia Romagna, Italy
• The intercultural approach in rural areas: an instrument for regional attractiveness, Joakim Sandberg, Director of Cultural Affairs, Västerbotten, Sweden
• Introducing interculturalism into public institutions and their agenda to address societal challenges, Agnieszka Szczepanik, Migration Specialist – Intercultural Advisor, Poznan, Poland

Moderated by Emanuela Pisanò, EU Belong Project Manager, Assembly of European Regions. Co-moderated by Vania Freitas, Coordinator for Institutional Relations & Advocacy, Assembly of European Regions.

Charting the course of intercultural policies & practices in Ireland

• Presentation by Geraldine McTavish, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Gaelic Athletic Association
• Presentation by Sharon McLaughlin, EDI Lead for Atlantic Technology University Letterkenny,  and 2 students
• Presentation by Carmel Irandoust, Founder of NETLOVE

Moderated by Micheal O’Heanaigh, AER Vice President for Youth, Culture & Tourism

Visit to Intercultural Coffee Morning: Inishowen Partnership’s projects

Visit One Million Stars Exhibition

Community Cornerstones: learning with and from stakeholders

• Donegal Intercultural Platform, Paul Kernan, Project Coordinator DIP, and Balume Dube, Community Worker DIP and Training & Development lead, Think Equality Donegal project
• Donegal Travellers Project, Kate Hagan, Community Development & Health Worker, Hugh Friel, North West Roma Health Coordinator
• Donegal Youth Service, Loraine Thompson and Fadl Mustapha
• Donegal Volunteer Centre, John Curran, Manager
• Donegal Local Development Company, Joleen Kuyper Machado, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Officer
• Donegal Regional Culture Centre, Jeremy Howard, Director, Regional Cultural Centre, and Dr. Harriet Purkis, Curator, Living in Donegal Project

Facilitated by Johanna Pacevicius, Coordinator Policy & Knowledge Transfer, Assembly of European Regions

Closing Addresses

• Christina O’Donnell, Staff Officer, Social Inclusion Unit Donegal County Council & EU-Belong project Manager
• Emanuela Pisanò, EU Belong Project Manager, Assembly of European Regions

Read the full concept and agenda of the event

For more information, contact Mirjam de Jong (m.dejong@aer.eu)

The event is the second EU-BELONG transnational knowledge sharing event aimed at supporting regions in addressing current societal challenges through intercultural and multi-stakeholder policies.  EU-Belong is a 3-year project run by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) and 12 partners, and co-funded by the AMIF Programme (AMIF-2020-AG-CALL) of the European Union.