The CITIES-GroW (integration of migrants through economic activity in cities) project provides practical advice to municipal leaders and decision makers in Europe on how best to address migrant integration challenges and develop effective integration strategies.
The project started on 1 February 2017 and lasts for 24 months. A successor of the ImpleMentoring project, CITIES-GroW is coordinated by EUROCITIES with the support of Migration Work-CIC, Migration Policy Group, and Migration Policy Institute, and involves 16 European cities: Athens, Barcelona, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Dresden, Gdansk, Ghent, Helsinki, Lisbon, Munich, Nantes, Nicosia, Riga, Rotterdam, Tampere, and Utrecht.
CITIES GROW aims to enhance mutual learning between cities and to improve the implementation of migration policies through concrete actions to facilitate the integration of migrants and refugees.
CITIES GROW aims to provide city-to-city support through tailored mentoring schemes in four specific areas:
- matching buyers and suppliers: access to public and private contracts for immigrant entrepreneurs
- engaging with businesses, local employment agencies, and local educational institutions
- services to support migrant entrepreneurs
- anti-discrimination strategies on local job markets
Each cluster will offer:
- study visits by representatives of each implementing city to a mentor city to see how policy initiatives are implemented, and to learn about good practices through brief presentations, site visits, and peer-to-peer discussions
- mentoring visits by representatives of each mentor city to an implementing city to assist with the process of sharing experiences and knowledge and exchanging good practices. All visits involve EUROCITIES and one expert partner as facilitator
- work on a benchmark for integration policies based on agreed European standards
- action plans to bring about changes in the implementing cities – with the endorsement of public administration and involving relevant stakeholders
» CITIES-GROW – Integration of migrants through economic activity in cities (PDF)
