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Intercultural Regions: Active Participation & Social Inclusion

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On 16 February AER will organise a webinar on how regions can foster active participation & social inclusion of third-country nationals for better integration policies and practices, together with IOM and the Council of Europe

Mutual learning to foster integration policies & best practices

Regional and local authorities are at the forefront when it comes to addressing integration needs in practice. It is therefore particularly important to create opportunities for structured and meaningful mutual learning on integration. This will enable regional and local authorities to share good practices and improve policies and practices.

Participation & Inclusion for Cohesion and Economy

Organised in the framework of the Includ-EU project, an EU-funded project which contributes to building more inclusive societies by enhancing knowledge and stimulating cooperation between local and regional authorities in the European Union, this third webinar will focus on active participation & social inclusion.

Policies and practices that foster intercultural interaction and inclusion are instrumental in enabling cities and regions to manage diversity positively and realise the diversity advantage. This webinar will therefore focus on regional and local experiences facilitating migrant’s active participation and social inclusion.

This event will be facilitated by the Council of Europe and will feature practices identified in some of the countries involved in the Project (Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain). DG HOME will provide an overview on measures promoting active participation, especially in the decision-making process, as per the new EU priorities included in the updated Action Plan.

This webinar is organised in the framework of the Includ-EU project, in close collaboration with the Intercultural Regions Network. The Intercultural Regions Network is a platform for regions to share knowledge, resources, and experiences to promote intercultural integration at the regional level, which is based on the experience and tools of the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Network.

This event will be recorded. By registering for this event, you agree to allow the Includ-EU consortium to publish the recording online and use it for the promotion of the project, capacity building, and mutual learning.

Register here

Includ-EU is funded by the European Union’s Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The project runs from January 2020 to December 2022 and involves the following partners: The International Organization for Migration, the Assembly of European Region, the Associazione Nazionale Comuni Italiani Sez. Reg. Toscana (IT), the City of Tilburg (NL), the Secretariat for Equality, Migrations, and Citizenship of Catalonia (ES), and the Region of Crete (GR).

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Intercultural Regions: Improving Labour Market Inclusion

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On November 10th, the Assembly of European Regions in cooperation with IOM and the Intercultural Regions Network hosted the webinar “Intercultural regions: improving labour market inclusion“. This was the second webinar co-organised within the framework of Includ-EU project which works towards building more inclusive and cohesive European Societies.

The webinar, which was moderated by Geertrui Lanneau, Senior Regional Labour Mobility and Human Development Specialist from the IOM Regional Office for the European Economic Area, the European Union and NATO, presented different experiences on how regions work to improve labour market integration policies and provided insights from IOM, and the European Commission.

Multistakeholder approach to support cultural diversity

Fereshteh Jalayer-Hess, co-chair of the Intercultural Regions Network, County Councillor of Värmland (SE) opened the webinar by sharing her personal experience of escaping a totalitarian regime and embracing a society which tolerates and appreciates cultural diversity.

The Intercultural Regions Network, she explained, is all about cultural diversity and encouraging all levels of government to better coordinate and adopt an intercultural approach. In this context, the multistakeholder approach is key to achieve a society where all inhabitants are included and given the chance to contribute and develop.

Ms. Jalayer-Hess explained how lowering barriers for the access to the labour market is instrumental in delivering on other objectives such as improved education, active participation, political engagement and social cohesion. The Intercultural Regions Network, provides teherfore a platform for regions to share knowledge resources, experiences.

Upcoming changes at EU level

Antoine Savary, Deputy Head of Unit, DG HOME, European Commission, provided the latest development in the field of integration of migrants in the labour market, announcing that on 24 November the European Commission is going to adopt the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion.

This Action Plan will focus on inclusion as a whole instead of focusing on migration specifically. It lays out two key commitments in the area of integration: 

  1. Adopt a comprehensive Action Plan on integration and inclusion for 2021-2024;
  2. Implement the renewed European Partnership for Integration with social and economic
    partners and look into expanding the future cooperation to the area of labour migration.

The Action Plan on integration and inclusion for 2021-2024 will:

  • provide strategic guidance and set out concrete actions to foster inclusion of migrants and broader social cohesion;
  • bring together relevant stakeholders and recognise that regional and local actors have a key part to play;
  • draw on all relevant policies and tools in key areas such as social inclusion, employment, education, health, equality, culture and sport, setting out how migrant integration should be part of efforts to achieve the EU’s goals on each;
  • ensure migrants fully benefit from the European Pillar of Social Rights;
  • recognise in its actions that people with a migrant background often face similar integration challenges to third-country nationals;
  • directly support those active ‘on the ground’ and cover the full range of measures needed to accompany migrants and their families along the path to successful integration and social inclusion.

Mr. Savary stressed the importance of the partnership of cooperation with local and regional authorities in the preparation, implementation, and revision of the programme.

Experiences from the regions

The webinar presented three experiences from the regions

The Netherlands: a one stop shop for smoother integration pathways

Iris de Kok, Policy Advisor Asylum & Integration – City of Tilburg, presented the evolution of integration processes in the City of Tilburg. The new legislation to come into force in July 2021, allows a procedure where each migrant is guided throughout the program in order to make it easier to get familiar with the municipality they are living in. This approach combines the three-elements of participation activities, skills training, and language courses in order to enable migrants to be self-reliant.

This broader and interactive programme is developed in three phases:

Phase 1 – IntakeAn early-stage to choose the direction of integration, to understand talents & skills
Phase 2 – OrientationPractical and tailored approach with a Personal Integration Plan which stipulates the route for the Dutch labour market
Phase 3 – Work & Skills routeThe participative part were migrants actually work within the Dutch labour market

Greece: support towards self-reliance

Kostas Kousaxidis & Anastasia Arapidou, from IOM Greece, shared the example of the HELIOS project – Hellenic Integration Support for Beneficiaries of International Protection. It aims at increasing the beneficiaries’ self-reliance working on five areas of integration:

Integration coursesHELIOS provides courses at Integration Learning Centres (ILCs) on the Greek language and soft skills.
Accommodation supportHELIOS helps beneficiaries of international protection to find accommodations by providing economic contributions and through networking with apartment owners
Employability supportIndividual job counseling is provided to acknowledge strengths and weaknesses and prepare the Career Action Plan
Integration monitoringAssessment of the integration process to valuate the self-reliance of the migrant once the program ends
Sensitisation of the host communityThrough initiatives and activities, the interactions between the migrants and the host communities bring value to the integration process

Italy: the experience from the business sector

Several sectors of the labour market suffer from a shortage of skilled labour, especially in the informatics sector. In this context, Roberto Strocco, Head of Projects and Local Development Area, Unioncamere Piemonte presented the MATCH project – Migration of African Talents through the Capacity-building and Hiring is a 36‑month initiative funded by the European Union (EU) aimed at providing highly skilled talents from Senegal and Nigeria, where the IT, engineering and new technologies workforce is highly qualified, to private sector companies whose needs for qualified staff cannot be satisfied by the offer available on the EU labour market.

What can be done further?

Labour market integration is not only essential to migrants, but also to receiving societies: it reduces the costs to the welfare system, and ultimately the cost of the asylum system. Some of the barriers to the labour market highlighted during the session constitute a challenge, such as languages, and cultural differences, which can marginalise migrants. The recognition of qualifications was identified as a major obstacle to labour market integration. A stronger collaboration between both private an public stakeholders is needed for better results.

Next steps

The next webinar will be organised in March 2021 and will focus on active participation and social inclusion.

Regions interested in joining the Intercultural Regions Network should contact Vania Freitas [email protected]

This webinar is organised in the context of INCLUD-EU, an EU project funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration fund (AMIF) which contributes to building more inclusive and cohesive European societies by enhancing knowledge, driving innovation, and stimulating cooperation between local and regional authorities in the European Union. To know more about the project, visit the project webpage, and consult this info sheet.

Watch back Click here
AgendaClick here to download
HandoutsInclud-EU infosheet
City of Tilburg Netherlands
HELIOS project Greece
Click to discoverCorporate Social Responsibility Strategy
Unioncamere Piemonte homepage
MATCH project Piemonte
(in Italian)
Contact[email protected]

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Partner Search: Develop Integrated Interventions for Vulnerable People with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality

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Are you currently developing a project proposal addressing the EaSI call VP/2020/003 “Establishing and testing integrated interventions aimed at supporting people in (the most) vulnerable situations” or do you wish to do so? Then, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, the third-largest municipality in Turkey and a hub for multiculturalism and integration, is eager to either join an established consortium or to find partners willing to co-create an effective project application to be submitted by 15/10/2020.

About the Call

By means of the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI), the European Union finances actions needed to pursue one of its core objectives, i.e. “the promotion of high-level quality and sustainable employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social protection, combating social exclusion and poverty and improving working conditions”.

Despite the increase in the living conditions in the European Union over the last decade, threats to the social and economic wellbeing of people are still persisting and in need of an active response. Long-term employment and activity are still lacking across the continent, while poverty and social exclusion remain a major concern for many individuals. Making social protection and social inclusion as resilient as possible becomes even more urgent at the current time, when, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, urgent needs of disadvantaged groups are increasing, whereas accessibility to public services and employability rate are dramatically decreasing all over the world.

Through the “(EaSI) – VP/2020/003”, the EU is calling for authorities and organisations to address this persisting gaps in the effectiveness of social benefits hindering the wellbeing, inclusion, and social mobility of most vulnerable people, referring to people facing the greatest barriers to social and labor market integration.  

The call supports the development and testing of policy innovations and experimentations aimed at the effective delivery of Principle 14 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, according to which“everyone lacking sufficient resources has the right to adequate minimum income benefits ensuring a life in dignity at all stages of life, and effective access to enabling goods and service”. The action must build on the integrated approach combining three strands: the provision of adequate minimum income benefits; activation services supporting the access to employment; and effective access to enabling goods and services.   

  • The EU co-financing rate for the projects implemented under this call is 80%
  • The deadline for the submission of the application is 15/10/2020
  • Access the call for more information

About Izmir Metropolitan Municipality

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) holds a very important place in the local administration organization of Izmir, being the third-largest city in Turkey and an important logistic hub. IMM, as the local authority of the whole province, is responsible for the wide variety of areas, including social projects, community services, vocational education, health, culture, tourism, environment, climate change, IT, transportation, energy, natural resources, water, and sewerage administration, infrastructure, planning, and development, etc.

Izmir has been a remarkable city for both internal and external migration movements throughout history. Especially internal migration movements (from rural cities to metropolitan cities) that have been continuing since the 1970s and Syrians’ refugee movements for several years their repercussions raise vulnerable groups in Izmir like other metropolitan cities. Since then, IMM has given great importance to these and implemented a variety of projects and activities for vulnerable groups and other disadvantageous groups.

IMM provides a wide range of services in reference to fields of social support and social investment, and it has many service centers peculiar to each vulnerable group. To name a few examples: Milk Fed Lamb (Süt Kuzusu) is providing milk for kids between 1 to 5 years old. Vocational Factory (Meslek Fabrikası) is a project which improves the employability of job seekers with its local labor market-sensitive vocational training programs. Accessible Izmir (EngelsizIzmir) aims to form better conditions in all public services for disabled citizens. Grocery of Public (Halkın Bakkalı) is a project which provides urgent nutrition products to low-income neighborhoods while supplying them from local small producers. Hanging Meal (AskıdaYemek) and Hanging Invoices (AskıdaFatura) are the projects contributing to the solidarity of people who lives in the city for supporting low-income people by paying their invoices and fundamental food needs with donations. We are providing a diversity of services through our infrastructure and participating in grant projects (EU, UN, etc.)  for vulnerable groups such as women, disabled, refugees, NEETs. IMM has a good level of experience, implementation and cooperation capacity, infrastructure facilities, and responsiveness to changing local needs. 

In order to ensure social, cultural, educational, and economic cohesion and to transform the multicultural and multi-identity structure of the city into a richness, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality creates inclusive urban policies with a rights-based and holistic perspective always pushing for delivering the necessary. In light of the new threats posed by the Covid-19 and new migration flows in terms of supporting and providing proper services for vulnerable groups (including NEETs, disabled people, women with low educational attainment), IMM especially values the work that can be developed by being part of the EaSI project as it will enable to structure beneficial and inclusive policies, feed and support coexistence culture and social cohesion in the city.

For more information contact:

Derkay TAN, Directorate of EU Grant Projects at Izmir Metropolitan Municipality [email protected]

Photo from Unsplash Larm Rmah

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Opportunity: Capacity Building Of City Services For The Inclusion Of Migrants

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Helping city services to fight gender-based violence

The EU-funded project Equalcity is supporting local services to better identify, prevent and tackle sexual and gender-based violence in migrant communities.

This initiative was first introduced during the Q&A session of the “Intercultural Regions: Improving Access to Services” webinar organised by AER, IOM, and the Council of Europe. The opportunities Equalcity provides for cities will ultimately have an impact on the regional capacity to become more intercultural. AER, therefore, invites its members working on inclusion and migration to share these with cities in their territories.

Practical training tools

The Equalcity project, coordinated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), supports local authorities to foster the inclusion and protection of migrants. The project will achieve this through the development of practical training tools and awareness-raising material.

The project tackles sexual and gender-based violence against migrants in EU cities by building capacity of local services to

  • identify sexual and gender-based violence
  • protect and assist migrants who are confronted with, or who survived sexual and gender-based violence. This whether it happened during their journey, or upon arrival in their host country.

4 cities, 4 different focuses

The project is piloted in Brussels, Luxembourg, Rome and Gothenburg. Each city has a specific focus:

  1. the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQI+ migrants and people with a migrant background (Brussels)
  2. gender-based violence against migrant women and girls (Luxembourg)
  3. the wellbeing of unaccompanied migrant children (Rome)
  4. gender-based violence in a family context, including honour-based violence (Gothenburg).

Each city will develop and pilot training and awareness raising material. All the tools will be reviewed by a diverse panel of experts, including expert cities. Multiple review sessions will allow the material to be duplicable in various EU contexts.

Becoming a “trainee city”

As a project funded by the European Commission (DG Justice), Equalcity aims at having many more cities benefiting from the tools developed across Europe.

In this context it is possible to become a “trainee city” to benefit both from the process and the outcomes of the project. Many different cities have already joined the project as “trainee cities”. Trainee cities will participate in a 1-day workshop in Autumn 2021. They will receive the finalised toolboxes once the project ends.

For more information on the project and on how cities in your Region can join as a trainee, please contact Elisabeth Palmero ([email protected]).

For more information, check out the Equalcity website, on which you can find the list of Trainee Cities
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Farewell Message from AER Secretary General

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It is with much gratitude and appreciation that the AER President and Executive Board members share the following message from the AER Secretary General.

Dear AER members, partners and friends,
 
I hope this message finds you in good health and that you have had a nice Summer. I write to you today to inform you that I am embarking upon a new professional challenge, and that my time at the Assembly of European Regions has come to an end. The process to find my successor is underway. In the meantime, Ms Vania Freitas will be the acting Secretary General. 
 
Running an ambitious and transformative organisation such as AER, made up of passionate and dedicated people, has been truly awe-inspiring. Together, we played our part in building stronger regions and striving for more sustainability and solidarity in Europe.
 
Stronger regions come with a strong cohesion policy. The latest positive developments on that front show the strength of AER’s advocacy and the power of working together with members, fellow networks and partners.
 
More sustainability comes with further localisation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The AER agenda on informing and assisting regions to achieve these goals, as well as our contributions to the SDG and climate negotiations, make us a key European regional player in the field. Read more here.
 
Greater solidarity is illustrated by the leading role we have taken in helping regions deal with the influx and integration of refugees and migrants through European projects and the launch of the Intercultural Regions’ Network.
 
For a more comprehensive picture of our latest actions see our new activity report.
 
As a final note, I would like to thank the AER President and Executive Board members for their support and trust; my team for their commitment and professionalism and all the AER members, partners and friends for their engagement and passion.
 
In my new assignment as Director of the Interreg North West Europe programme, I shall uphold the same passion for territorial cooperation.
 
I wish you all the best. Let us keep in touch!

Mathieu MORI
[email protected]
Linkedin
Twitter
 +33624291933


 

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The intercultural approach: a key for better service provision

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Regional and local authorities are at the forefront when it comes to addressing integration needs in practice. The Covid-19 pandemic has strongly tested the current systems in place, revealing tremendous needs of authorities but also the resourcefulness which exists at local and regional levels. This shows how essential it is to create opportunities for structured and meaningful mutual learning on integration in order to enable regional and local authorities to share experiences and improve policies and practices.

Mutual learning to improve services

In order to facilitate mutual learning between regions, AER, IOM and the Council of Europe are a organising series of activities open to all. These will build a mutual learning community across Europe on integration policies and practices at the regional level.

The webinar “Intercultural regions: improving access to services” was organised in the context of the Includ-EU project. Speakers from the Intercultural Regions Network, The European Commission’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, IOM and the Council of Europe shared their experiences on how an intercultural approach helps to increase efficacy of public services by reducing cultural distances.

Foster exchanges opportunities

Two interconnected frameworks provide space for these exchanges. On the one hand, AER and the Council of Europe launched the Intercultural Regions Network. The network provides support for regions to design, implement, and evaluate diversity and inclusion strategies.

On the other hand, AER and IOM are cooperating in the context of the Includ-EU project, which is funded by the European Union and is mapping regional practices, providing opportunities for experience exchange and social innovation, and supporting the development of a mutual learning community.

Acknowledging diversity

The discussion was launched by Oriol Amorós, Chair of the Intercultural Regions Network, and Secretary of Equality, Migration and Citizenship for the Government of Catalonia. He outlined the diversity of citizens in the European Union and the need for more cohesive societies. The intercultural approach, he explained, is a way to recognise the equality of rights and duties, to acknowledge and value diversity, and to foster interaction. To promote interculturalism helps developing more effective and more resilient systems. It is with this in mind that the Intercultural Regions Network was launched in 2019 based on the positive experience of the intercultural cities of the Council of Europe.

The network is open to any region committed to enforce the principles and objectives of the network. For further information, visit the Intercultural Regions Network page.

The role of the European Commission

Nuria Diez Guardia, Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs then underlined the role of the European Commission, which is to provide incentives and to support all levels of governance to improve integration policies and practices.

She presented two particularly successful initiatives:

On top of these initiatives, DG HOME supports data analysis, mutual learning and funds initiatives and projects. Further information can be found on the European Web Site on Integration.

A need for cultural competences

Participants to the webinar provided insights on the barriers to access to services in their region. The lack of cultural competences in public services was clearly identified as a stumbling point.

Universal access to health services is in everybody’s interest

This need for cultural competences is particularly visible in the field of health. Dominik Zenner, Senior Migration Health Advisor at IOM Regional in Brussels, insisted on the fact that universal health coverage is part of the Sustainable Development Goals. He presented findings from research on the bidirectional relationship between migration and health as well as a series of initiatives aimed at improving the health of migrants*. Cultural health mediation specifically, acts as a bridge between people of different socio-cultural backgrounds and health professionals and has proven to lead to better health outcomes.

While knowledge about migrants’ health is still surprisingly low, it is known that living and working conditions, as well as social integration, have an impact on migrants’ health. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, migrants have been particularly adversely affected by COVID-19 not only in terms of transmission but also in terms of outcomes for those who contracted the virus. This shows how access to health services for all protects the health and wellbeing of society as a whole.

Unlocking the diversity advantage

Finally, Irena Guidikova, Head of Division, Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Programmes, at the Council of Europe, explained the main lines of the intercultural integration approach. Perceptions, cultural sensitivity, the tone and feel of the interactions with service providers matter in guaranteeing access to services. Diversifying the staff and bringing intercultural competences are ways to reduce the cultural distance and unlock the “diversity advantage”. User participation is crucial for public services, and all the more so in diverse communities.

How to implement an intercultural approach?

When participants to the webinar were asked how they ensure that public services are designed and delivered with an intercultural approach, “Policy co-design process” was their top response (50%). The discussion, which followed between panelists made it possible to further develop the concept of intersectionality and hear about additional initiatives.

Watch back!

All presentations, the agenda as well as the infosheet about Includ-EU are available below:

You can also watch back the full webinar below:

*IOM defines a migrant as any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is.

Includ-EU is funded by the European Union’s Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).

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COVID-19: What is at stake for youth development?

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Undeniably, youth play a crucial role in the action plans to limit the spread of the COVID-19 and its adverse impact on public health, society and the economy at large. Young people are also among the most vulnerable groups who suffer from the pernicious consequences derived from this crisis.

Labour turmoils

The pandemic is admittedly making young people the main victims of labour market shocks. According to Eurostat, in April 2020 while the general unemployment rate increased by 0.2%, from 6.4% to 6.6%, the youth unemployment rate increased by 0.8%, from 14.6% to 15.4%. In OECD countries, the unemployment rate rose faster among women and young people aged 15 to 24 as reflected in the graphic below:  

Source: OECD Statistics

Over 1 in 6 young people worldwide have stopped working since the start of the crisis, according to ILO. This disproportionate escalation of youth unemployment can only be attributed to the fact that young people are overrepresented in informal employment –77% of employed young people hold informal jobs worldwide [1]– and in job sectors most at risk (ex. tourism, retail trades, personal services) from the COVID-19 shutdown. In light of these negative developments, the quality of jobs for young people will severely deteriorate and temporary contracts will become more prominent.

Socio-economic gaps

As unemployment grows, the socio-economic gaps between young people, and across generations, become more profound amid the economic and health crisis. Access to social protection is one of the major concerns and significantly varies depending on a person’s background (including age). As many welfare programmes are linked to formal employment, that leaves many young people unprotected, especially young women, and more exposed to health-related hazards [2].

In Education, the COVID-19 pandemic is altering learning, compromising nutrition and increasing the drop-out rates as a result of the nationwide closures of educational institutions. In this context, disadvantaged children and youth who have fewer economic or educational opportunities outside of school, limited access to e-learning tools and depend on free or discounted school meals are at risk of falling further behind [3].

Not to mention the young migrants and refugees. Given that 70% of all international migrants are below 30 years of age globally [4], epidemics like the COVID-19 will hit this concrete population group the hardest. What is more, the pandemic will limit even more their access to healthcare and livelihood provisions while exacerbating the social stigmas towards any minority group.

Building mental resilience

The COVID-19 outbreak has triggered detrimental effects on the wellness and mental health of children and young people. The short-term quarantine measures and social distancing turn out to have greater psychological implications for the young population and contribute to exacerbating other household and individual circumstances: personal safety, prospects of job and income losses, medical conditions in the household, social connectedness or trust in other people and in institutions [5].

According to an OECD survey, more than half of young people express great concerns about their mental health. This requires immediate policy responses and long-term solutions to mitigate harm and proactively improve systems of support for young people and children. These measures may include: providing online resources; advice to general practitioners and youth workers; inclusive telemedicine consultations; and, overall, reinforcing resources for mental health services in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Source: Eurofund

The WHO or Voices of Youth have published a compilation of resources such as guidance documents and Q&As in the area of COVID-19 & youth mental health. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Global survey on youth rights and COVID-19, a joint effort of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth (DJY) and its partners, will shed further light, among various areas, on the psychological implications of COVID-19 for young individuals.

A call for intergenerational solidarity!

It is more imperative than ever that every administration level across Europe and beyond include young people in the recovery strategies and cooperates with every economic and social player to safeguard their rights and wellbeing. The Sustainable Development Goals are paramount in accelerating a vigorous response to overcome the epidemic as well as build resilience and “social immunity” that the world needs to prevent the next pandemic.

References

[1] UN DESA, World Economic Situation and Prospects, April 2019 briefing, no 123.

[2] Special issue on COVID-19 and Youth (27 March 2020). Programme on Youth Unit, Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), United Nations.

[3] UNESCO ”COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response”: https://en.unesco.org/themes/education-emergencies/coronavirus-schoolclosures

[4] 2019 International Migration and Displacement Trends and Policies Report to the G20: https://www.oecd.org/migration/mig/G20-migrationand-displacement-trends-and-policies-report-2019.pdf

[5] “The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people”. March 2020 The Children’s Society – United Kingdom. Policy and Research team.

Photo credits: Mathias Jensen on Unsplash

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European Youth Foundation: Funding Opportunities Responding to COVID-19

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If you are a local or a national non-governmental youth organisation looking for funding for activities aimed at demonstrating solidarity and supporting all persons affected by the COVID-19 crisis, this call is made for you.

The Assembly of European Regions (AER) is happy to share this special call from the European Youth Foundation (EYF). The EYF is a fund established by the Council of Europe providing financial and educational support for European youth activities.

For this call, priority will be given to pilot activities that aim at demonstrating solidarity and support to all persons affected by the COVID-19 crisis, such as:

  • Reaching out to and supporting particularly vulnerable groups of people, including homeless, refugees and asylum-seekers, people with disabilities, people living in isolation or in remote communities;
  • Support to health, social and educational services;
  • Education and awareness-raising of the importance of human rights in responses to the COVID-19 crisis.

Important to note: pilot activities MUST respect the sanitary and safety measures implemented by health services or national/local authorities. There should be coordinated with competent authorities and indicated in the project proposal.

 The maximum available EYF grant for a pilot activity is €10,000.

Only youth organisations which are registered with the EYF can submit applications. The youth NGO must be located in one of the 50 signatories to the European Cultural Convention. More information on registering can be found here. 

Deadline:  10 May 2020

For further information (see here)

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the AER Secretariat. 

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Road to the Future Final Conference – The curtain has not yet fallen

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The EU funded project “Road to the Future” came to an end when its Final Conference took place on 20-21 January 2020. Young Europeans from all over the continent gathered together with civil society organisations and representatives of the European institutions to reflect on the “I Choose Europe” electoral campaign implemented in the run-up to May 2019. 

The two-day conference aimed to analyse the objectives, the activities implemented and the results achieved over the past months, while at the same time, it was an occasion for the participants to discuss the role of young people and civil society in shaping Europe’s future, going beyond the 2019 European elections. 

Share, Coexist & Learn from Each Other

The Assembly of European Regions (AER), as a project partner, contributed to the success of this initiative by taking responsibility for the evaluation and monitoring of the project, at the same time, an active role was played by the AER-Youth Regional Network (YRN). Throughout the project, YRN members attended several events at local and European levels while establishing connections with other European youth organisations. In this context, Gloria Vitaly, President of YRN, was invited to participate in the round table debate entitled ‘The Future of Europe after the 2019 Elections’ where she particularly emphasised the importance of the bottom-up approach as regards youth involvement in the European democratic life. In line with AER-YRN priorities, Gloria Vitaly stated:

Everything starts at the local and regional level, and the YRN tries to involve as many actors as possible, such as all the organisations present today. We cannot do it alone, together we can achieve real change.

The statement was later confirmed by the representatives of the other project partners, the common thread that emerged from the round table was the need for coordination, especially as regards European institutions and local institutions. In addition to this, the ‘I Choose Europe’ campaign confirmed the necessity of engaging young people from the very beginning because the overall goal is not only to enhance participation, but also to achieve meaningful participation.

Conference on the Future of Europe – Shaped by Citizens, Made for Citizens

The second day focused on the upcoming Conference on the Future of Europe, a topic particularly debated in the last weeks. On this occasion, several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were invited to give more details about this brand new initiative aiming at giving citizens the chance to contribute in shaping the future of Europe. At this early stage, the Conference is still in the planning phase, but most of the MEPs agreed on the fact that a continuous dialogue with citizens has to be maintained and it is essential to collect as many opinions as possible. Following the discussion with the MEPs, the participants experienced a simulation of a meeting of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The discussion touched on a variety of topics, whereby the main issues that emerged were climate change, education, refugees and migrants. The lively debate ended with a set of policy recommendations addressed to European decision-makers and this interactive exercise gave participants to have a glimpse at how the Conference might look like.


AER is proud to have taken part in this inspiring project, which is just the beginning of even more activities in the youth engagement field. Thanks to the support of our member regions and the YRN, we are strongly committed to promoting youth engagement in European democratic life and we want to make young people’s voices stronger for the sake of the future of Europe. 

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Basque Country Initiative on Integration of Migrants and Refugees

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On 4 December 2019, the Assembly of European Regions participated actively in a seminar organized by the Basque country (ES) on the reception and integration of migrants and refugees, in Brussels. Indeed, AER work closely with our member regions by sharing knowledge and good practices on the topic.

The purpose of the Basque country seminar was to present an initiative called “SHARE” about the principles of solidarity and co-responsibility in the reception, distribution and integration of migrants and refugees across the European regions. An update on the proposal for a new European Pact on Migration and Asylum (DG HOME, European Commission) was also provided.

What is the Basque Country proposal about?

SHARE proposal is led by the Basque Government with the support of several European regions. The objective of SHARE is to promote solidarity and co-responsibility in the reception of refugees and migrants, for which it proposes to agree, at European level and on a transversal basis, a key of territorial distribution of the effort of reception and inclusion of migrants in most vulnerable situation.

For this territorial distribution, a formula based on three parameters is proposed: tax revenues (or Average Available Income, or GDP per capita), with a weight of 50%; the population, with an incidence of 30%; and the unemployment rate, with 20%. The application of SHARE in States, regions and municipalities would be directed to refugees and asylum seekers, migrants in an unregulated situation and special vulnerability, and minors and young people who migrate alone.

Logically, this is an open proposal. The objective is to have the greatest possible consensus. At the moment, following the meetings that took place on 2 April and 4 December in Brussels, the “SHARE project” is supported by the regions of Canary Islands, Navarre, Catalonia, Melilla, Communauté d’Agglomération Pays Basque, Attica, Nouvelle Aquitaine and Basque Country. The Basque country is now inviting more European regions to join this initiative.

Need more information? Interested to support and join the Basque country initiative?

Contact Project Manager, Eduardo Nadal:
[email protected] / (+32) 2 400 10 12

Why the Basque initiative is relevant for the AER advocacy work?

On the European level, AER has a dedicated taskforce on Migration within our Bureau which adopted a position paper on intercultural regions at our General Assembly in Larnaca in June 2019 – basically, calling for European institutions and national governments to adopt a proactive agenda on migration and to build a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the security-driven measures. Equally, AER considers that inclusion and humanitarian support actions as well as the provision of more accessible and sustainable funding and resources are key priorities for our regions to better integrate migrants and refugees, using a multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder approach, as well.

Following our Bureau position on intercultural regions, AER is also supporting the proposal for a network on intercultural regions coordinated by Catalonia with the involvement of the Council of Europe with the view to establish an EU-wide collaborative community of regions working together to develop intercultural strategies to better manage diversity and migration.

On the project management side, AER has also been an active partner in the DG HOME funded project called AMID – Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities that among various activities, has resulted in the creation of a specific Online Needs Assessment Tool to allow regional and local authorities to better take into account the disability dimension while assessing the profile of asylum-seekers with the final goal to create a common standard approach to this specific vulnerable group of asylum-seekers at European level. Importantly also is that as of January 2020, AER will be co-leading – in collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration – a new DG HOME funded project called INCLUD-EU that will aim to improve regional and local actors expertise in putting in place integration measures and to promote the implementation of social cohesion actions at territorial level with a focus on the reception-conditions of migrants and refugees.

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Competition “INTEGRATION THROUGH YOUR LENS”

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Calling all budding photographers!

The European Committee of the Regions, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the Assembly of European Regions are organising a photo exhibition and contest on the topic of integration of migrants and refugees in Europe.

Selected pictures will be displayed at the conference “GO LOCAL: SUPPORTING REGIONS, CITIES AND RURAL AREAS IN MIGRANTS’ INCLUSION” and on the premises of the European Committee of the Regions.

If you’re interested in participating, you can find more information here.

Please submit up to 2 photographs per entrant (accompanied by a caption of up to 80 words) to: [email protected] (cc-ed to [email protected]) by 31 October 2019 (midnight).

The deadline has been extended until 7 November 2019.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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National insights. AMiD closer look at everyday situation of migrant with disabilities

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AMiD project looks at the topic of migrant with disabilities under different angles.

The very starting point of the journey was getting the picture of the different situation of migrants and refugees with disabilities in some EU member countries. Mostly, the ones on the front line to the welcome.

Greece, Austria and Italy were part of the study. Finland played the role of reallocation countries.

Findings and information gave the fuel to activities and the setting of the NAT-Need Assessment Tool.

Knowing and understanding gaps and challenges in the existing disability sector and the services available to the migrants with disabilities were one of the basic cornerstones of the project.

The report, as it is

The report is the result of contributions collected in different ways and from different sources.

The voice of the migrants with disabilities were heard via focus groups in each of these countries. Positive and negative experiences, suggestions and stories back on how their day to day, month after months lives is.

Experts and professionals were interviewed as well in focus groups.

Desk research brought the current situation on migration and disability. But also spotted the concept of integration and disability, the rights of migrants and the level of discrimination (in social life, laws, healthcare, education etc.).

Final recommendations for each country sum up the sense, the need and the requests for improvements.

What AMiD learned and you will learn

Migrants with disabilities have really clear something that sounds, unfortunately, obvious.

They are facing double discrimination. First because of their disability and second because they are not European citizens.

Frustration can be higher in some cases. Even when services are available, procedures might make them inaccessible. For example, requiring an official translator. Not only easy to get one.

Or the never-ending quest for an accommodation. The whole process might last more than one year.

Not only seeing dark

Very appreciated can be little but warm things. Like when the staff made a course in sign language and decided to use this ability to support colleagues working with refugees.

Or when refugees’ families discover that their children can go to school and the National educational system fully provides assistive devices.

Leisure activities are very important. And can be a nice surprise as well. Like being able to take part in social activities, like local festivities in the different regions, both Catholic or from the Muslim calendar when there is a Muslin community in the area.

And for the future

Briefly, in the different countries there were crosscutting recommendations that came from all the different countries:

  • Refugees and asylum seekers with disabilities must stay together with their family. Splitting family members causes more stress and insecurity to those family members that have disability.
  • Simplify bureaucracy. Sometimes is difficult even for native, what for those coming for the first time in a totally new country?
  • the need for raising awareness on the topic and a help from a higher political European level Especially when right-far right coalitions are in power in national countries to balance the efforts of local authorities and local no-profit organisations

And a final say: all assistance activities must be carried out with full respect for the fundamental rights of migrants.

Take a look of the full reports, the cross country and the national ones for Austria, Finland, Greece and Italy on the AMiD project page.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme under grant agreement No 776055

Photo by Olivier Villard on Unsplash

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Throwback Thursday: reflecting on the achievements of the AMiD project…

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The AER flagship project on migration, AMiD-Access to Services for Migrants with Disabilities, has been running since early 2018.

Soon, the final conference, scheduled in Brussels on 5th November, will present a one-stop-shop of all the project’s products and findings.

AER focused in particular on how to set a common approach toward migrants and refugees with disabilities, improving cooperation among Local Authorities and NGOs.

A series of events with various formats, took place over the last year. That is in line with the interest and commitment that the AER network has brought to migration and migrants, since the “Tampere Declaration on Migration and Integration” in 2008 to the important political statement on “Facing the migration and refugee challenges” adopted at the pic of the  refugees crises in 2015.

Kick-Off in collaboration with the Task Force on Migration

Everything started with the debate on migration at the 2018 Autumn Bureau in Gelderland. The debate was the appetizer to introduce the multi-stakeholder and multilevel collaboration. That is the option suggested to overcome the issue to set a common approach among the different actors involved in the process of welcome and support of migrants and migrants with disabilities. AER members engaged in an exchange about the dynamics of migration, the European and global policies, and the funding instruments and programmes already available. 

International conference: marking International Migrants Day

The International Migrants Day marked a fundamental step in the evolution of the involvement and discussion of AER members and regional and local authorities from larger Europe.

Hosted by Catalonia Region (ES), participants came to exchange and learn, united in recognition of the vital role played by local and regional authorities in managing diversity and building cohesive societies, improving the lives and opportunities of citizens, and contributing to their social, economic and civic inclusion. This aim was echoed by Laura Corrado of the European Commission’s DG Home who shared the Commissions efforts to bring a multi-level, multi-stakeholder approach to migration policy. Kenneth Johannesson, from Varmland and member of the AMiD CAB – Community Advisory Board, appealed to a social vision of Europe that would combat discrimination in order to ensure that all people have access to “a freedom not from society, but through society.” 

Workshop at the Spring Plenaries: examples of the multi-stakeholder approach

The 2019 Spring Plenaries in Orebro (SE) welcomed a workshop under the sign of AMiD. A smaller event, where the perspective of the multi-staholder way have been discussed further. What is the added value to work with organisations that are not public authorities? Agneta Kardos from Timis County, another AMiD CAB member for AER, shared the experience of a non-formalised multi-stakeholder network that involves NGOs working on social care and child protection. Timis County is getting recommendations and knowledge from best-practices from them.

On the other hand, Aleksander Bro from Orebro County presented a consultation process where Public sector and social economy organisations work and talked together on local development. Other examples came up composing a large and various range of experiences. Participants got that the ways to collaborate and involve stakeholders can be different but all efficient and successful.

Project and programmes on migration in AER’s network

The 2019 General Assembly and Spring Bureau in Larnaca (CY) hosted a mixed panel gathering together regional authorities, cities, NGOs and European institutions. Rasoul Nejadmehr, expert on migration from Vastra Gotaland County, talked on the paradox that anti-migrant sentiments strongest in countries with very few migrants. Rasoul Nejadmehr spotted that the problem is the feeling among citizens to be politically disempowered, financially insecure and without social support. That makes citizens most likely to become extremely negative towards migrants and other vulnerable groups.

The good news is there are already examples and resources. ARCi, Italian NGO, brought the great example of JUMA, website were any service helpful to migrants is listed. City of Torino (IT) and the Prisma project proved how fruitful can be the collaboration between a local authority and an NGO, Verba association, specialized in disability. All the positive effects of the collaboration are benefiting migrants with disabilities that has access to this service first.

Irena Guidikova, head of division Inclusion and Anti-discrimination programme of the Council of Europe, made clear this statement: to turn needs in resources. The Council of Europe is supporting cities with the programme “Intercultural Cities Programme” (ICC). Experts from the Council supported Athens in 2017 to face the migration crisis, as well as smaller cities, as the sharing from Agios Athanasios 20.000 inhabitants in Cyprus showed. A the message coming from a video of a migrant with disability echoed this approach: give us an opportunity.

Meeting young politicians: AMiD at the 2020 Summer Academy

The final stop before the final conference (here the save the date), was the workshop at the 2019 Summer Academy. Angela Unafe, CAB member from Migrant & Minority Disability Network Europe, person with disability and migrant herself, led participants on the workshop among points that matters. Angela Unafe brought light on the phenomenon of people forced to leave their homes and how among them have disabilities. Participants hardly could estimate it, but they agreed that the migrants with disabilities are in need of welfare support and integral services to fulfil their right to equal opportunities.

What’s next?

The final conference is planned on 5th November in Brussels. Take a look at the programme. Come and learn more about other organisations experiences and what AMiD can provide to improve your services for migrants and migrants with disabilities.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme under grant agreement No 776055

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Interested in joining a new EU project on digital skills for migrants? Örebro region (Sweden) is looking for partners!

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AER is a partner in the EU-funded project called “AMiD-Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities” which aims to support an efficient management of the reception and integration of asylum seekers and migrants with disabilities in the EU.

Following up on the above project, our member region “the Administrative Board in Örebro County” (Sweden) is now looking for partners for a new project focusing on digital competences among third-country nationals, funded by AMIF (Asylum, Integration and Migration Fund).

What is this new project proposal about?

In today’s social and work life, digital competence is a necessary skill for achieving self-sufficiency. However, many migrants who have come to Sweden lack the digital skills required, which risks delaying their entry into the labor market and social life. The project aims to increase the digital competence among third-country nationals in the municipalities of Örebro county, thus improving their integration into work and social life. This is achieved by…

  1.  improving and developing the quality of municipal/local programmes for digital competence, partly through dialogue and information sharing with similar projects in other EU countries,
  2. establishing regional structures of collaboration between municipalities and other actors, and
  3. formalizing digital skills work as part of municipalities’ reception of newcomers. The project will establish “digital hubs” at the sub-regional level to which third-country nationals can turn for help and support in matters related to digital competence.

Interested to contribute to the social and labour integration of migrants in your region? Ready to embark on a new European project?

AER and our members are committed to the integration of migrants and refugees into our regions as a core element for more inclusive and sustainable societies from an economic, social and cultural perspective. Indeed, a common approach among the local authorities, regions and NGOs can serve to facilitate the welcoming of migrants and refugees into our regions and cities as well as empowering the EU, national and regional actors to better assess and support with adequate responses migrants and refugees in a more coordinated fashion. So, we warmly invite you to have a look at this project proposal and …. if this sounds enticing to you, please, send your declaration of interest by the  9th of September 2019. For any questions or more information, please contact Mr Hannes Hart Svedberg at [email protected]

For more detailed information related to this article, please contact directly:

EU Project Manager
Eduardo Nadal

Phone: +32 2 400 10 12
E-mail: e.nadal(at)aer.eu

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Intercultural Regions – Where to Next?

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Building on the impetus generated at the AER’s Spring Bureau Meeting in Larnaca (CY) on 6 June 2019, Catalonia has taken the initiative to lay out a plan for convening a Network of Intercultural Regions. 

The network will be based on close cooperation and information sharing between European regions. If your region is committed to developing comprehensive intercultural strategies to manage diversity and migration and promote intercultural integration at regional level across Europe, you are invited to join the network!

The members of the network will develop a mission statement and structure for their cooperation, as well as a strategy to better plan its interventions related to communication, knowledge exchange and advocacy. They will combine forces with the AER Committees to share learning, and with the Task Force on Migration to lobby European organisations. 

Ensuring this initiative complements institutional stakeholders’ efforts on integration, AER will work closely together with the Council of Europe and the European Committee of the Regions.

We will collaborate with the Council of Europe to promote its Intercultural Cities Programme at regional level, including its “Inclusive Integration Policy Lab” launched in 2017 to promote co-operation and co-ordination among local, regional and national authorities in the field of diversity management and inclusive integration.

AER will also bring complementary strengths in support of the Cities and Regions for Integration Initiative implemented by the European Committee of the Regions in collaboration with the European Commission and some European associations of regions and cities, including AER. We strongly encourage you to join us in this initiative!

If your region shares the intercultural integration principles and is interested in joining the network of intercultural regions, please send an email to: [email protected].


We would like to take this opportunity to inform that we now have a date and location for the Final Conference of AMiD – Access to services for Migrants with Disabilities project. The event will take place in Brussels on 5 November. Please save this date! More details to be announced soon.

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