The project brings together four major Slovak civil society organizations dealing with the integration of foreigners in various areas. The Union of Towns and Cities of Slovakia and 4 municipalities are involved.
KapaCITY Project - Supporting the integration of newcomers at a local level
Date of implementation: 1.1.2018 - 31.12.2020
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First coordination meeting of partners also involved self-governments.
Initiator: Human Rights League, o.z.
Partners: Centre for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture (CVEK), Marginal, oz, Milan Šimeček Foundation
Supporters: The Union of Towns and Cities of Slovakia, Košice Self-governing Region, Bratislava, Banská Bystrica and Trnava
Read more about the project in the interview with Elena Gallová Kriglerová in The Slovak Spectator or listen to the interview with Radio Slovakia International.
Brief description:
The project brings together four major organizations from civil society which deal with the integration of foreigners in different areas. The Union of Towns and Cities of Slovakia and 4 municipalities wish to strengthen their activities in relation to third-country nationals living in their territory. The aim of the project is to broaden the development of professional capacities of municipalities, to transfer good practice at local, regional and national level and abroad, to develop the communication skills of municipalities so as to promote the integration of foreigners locally and support self-governments in rendering services to foreigners have become a stable part of their activities. At the same time, we want to inspire other self-governments to take similar action and activities and to become more involved in the topic of PCT integration. In this respect, mentoring and communication will help the Union of Towns and Cities of Slovakia, which also fulfills the role of the bridge towards other self-governments.
| The main objective |
| To develop the professional, networking, coordination, advocacy and communication capacities of local actors in the field of integration of third-country nationals and create know-how and mechanisms at the local level that will ensure the implementation of integration measures even after the end of the project. |
| Other objectives |
| 1. Elaborating new or revising integration policies for third-country nationals at the level of local authorities, towns, and municipalities. |
| 2. Building the expertise, skills, and capacities of local actors in the field of integration of third-country nationals through education, networking, advocacy and communication activities. |
| 3. Sharing good practice, exchanging experience and increasing coordination and mutual communication of relevant actors at the local level. |
4. Facilitating the access of third-country nationals to governmental integration services and improving self-government orientation. |
Main activities:
ACTIVITY 1. PRODUCTION OF NEW / REVISION OF EXISTING INTEGRATION STRATEGIES AT LOCAL LEVEL
Within the activity, we will map the need for specific self-government in the field of integration of third-country nationals, propose a mechanism for the regular provision of statistical data on local government migration to local authorities to know how many foreigners are in their territory, to propose a new / revision of the existing strategy of third-country nationals at local level and propose the inclusion of missing social services for foreigners in the normal exercise of competences of local authorities
Methodology: Regular consultation and networking meetings of self-governments and other local integration actors to discuss and exchange experiences on how to work with NGOs, associations and foreigners.
ACTIVITY 2: EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING ACTIVITIES
We prepare a series of intercultural and legal training for local governments. Intercultural training will focus on bringing the participants into the themes of migration, integration, culture, cultural identity and intercultural communication and its methods and significance and social cohesion and linked to the specific situation in the local government. Legal training will provide a basic overview of residence legislation and practice, integration of aliens and integration of social services.
This activity will also include a visit of foreign self-governments with good practice for the integration of foreigners.
ACTIVITY 3: DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-EMPLOYMENT COMMUNICATIONS IN THE FIELD OF INTEGRATION
We will support the development of communication skills of self-government representatives towards foreigners and different groups of the population, the development of the skills of municipalities necessary for creating platforms for discussion between representatives of self-government, foreigners and the majority population,
ACTIVITY 4: RELATIONSHIP OF RELEVANT ACTORS AND TRANSFER OF GOOD PRACTICE AT LOCAL / REGIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL
As part of this activity, we will connect local governments and other local actors with foreigners living in certain city/region and let them know each other's needs. We also mediate the transfer of requests by local authorities in the area of integration of foreigners to the state administration.
ACTIVITY 5. DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION MATERIALS TO BE USED IN THE PROVISION OF SERVICES TO THE THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS OF THIRD COUNTRIES
As for self-governments, we will create an online learning tool that includes instructions about how to proceed with the provision of services to foreigners, including the practical information necessary for the provision of services. We will also prepare information materials that can be used in their activities.
ACTIVITY 6. MUNICIPAL ACTIVITY COORDINATORS
Coordinators of city activities will be directly staffed by the city /region/union, who will provide support and assistance to local governments in implementing the project and in implementing their own activities that the involved self-governments themselves implement in response to needs that will come out of the project. (self-government: 800hrs / project; 200th Union / project)
The output of the project will be many benefits for self-government, newcomers living in the certain area and also for the local population, especially:
- Better preparation of self-government and local actors to increase the number of foreigners living in their territory
- Identification of problems, barriers, and opportunities for the integration of aliens as a basis for "evidence-based" policy making
- Created know-how and mechanisms for the systematic and sustainable implementation of integration measures
- Defined tools and measures to support integration that the government will have in its agenda
- Secure information within The Union of Towns and Cities of Slovakia (sharing and dissemination of information) and its membership in terms of coordination of activities and mutual communication of subjects interested in integration)
- At the national level, an open discussion of competences that the self-government could / should implement in the field of integration of foreigners, models of integration at the self-governing level and sources of their financing
- Created know-how for communication with the public by the local government in order to prevent social tension
The project is co-funded by the European Union from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Affairs Funds.
