BORDELOT Federica

How cities are shifting the narrative on migration

Mechelen, Belgium. A middle-aged woman dressed in light colours sits in a public library. It seems like someone interrupted her while she was reading a book, but she doesn’t mind. She looks straight, and you immediately feel there is a story to tell behind those warm brown eyes.

This is Farida, a woman, a mother of three children, a grandmother of five, an accountant. She speaks five languages, likes to cook and loves to read. She lives in Mechelen, but fled from Syria five years ago: she is a refugee. This picture, placed on a window near the public library in Mechelen was part of the ‘People Make the City’ exhibition and Farida’s story is just one of many in the series.

‘People Make the City’ is a storytelling project that translates residents’ stories into public content such as street art, podcasts, exhibitions, images and texts, building a more nuanced narrative of migrants and refugees’ impact on their local neighbourhoods. These features show the diversity and the rich multi-layered identities of people living in the local community.

The people concerned can co-create the way they want to be presented because it’s up to them how they want their story to be told and where. “Listening to a story is the first step to connect with someone you don’t know”, explains Sara Lanoye, the project’s coordinator. Storytelling is a powerful way of strengthening social cohesion by promoting mutual understanding.

Tackling rumours

We tend to make up stories about people we don’t know well. An animated story, ‘It all started accidentally’, sets a mirror to people who spread assumptions about other people without checking the facts first. Such rumours can spread like wildfire and thus contribute to exclusion and discrimination.

This animated video has been made for children and adults alike as part of the Antirumours Project in Fuenlabrada, Spain. It aims to raise awareness about the negative impact of rumours. “If we don’t stop the rumours, they grow into more dangerous forms, which are used to spread fear and misinformation”, warns Juan Carlos Hernandez of the City of Fuenlabrada.

The Spanish city has experienced rapid population growth due to migration over the past 40 years. Therefore, the municipality put social participation and inclusion programmes in place that helped the city become multicultural.

‘Antirumours’ is one such project, bringing together 25 cities to discredit false rumours through the collection of data and the creation of a network of local civil society actors. The project has been running since 2013 as part of the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities initiative.

It Takes a Community to shift the narrative

Nowadays, media narratives tend to be reactive, related to specific events or tragedies, and frame migration with negative words such as waves, crisis, invasion. In addition, migrants are portrayed either as dangerous or helpless victims. Personal stories, messages that evoke emotions work better. This is one of the lessons learned from the ‘It Takes a Community’ campaign.

This multilevel campaign showcases how migration enriches our lives by sharing concrete stories of families, friends, neighbours, co-workers or classmates from around the world who are making our local communities a better place. ‘It Takes a Community’ is a collaborative effort of national and local governments, civil society, the private sector, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“The international level tries to build upon the richness coming from the local level”, says  Sophie van Haasen of the GFMD Mayors Mechanism.“Engaging with national governments is sometimes difficult. The problem is, the national levels usually don’t have a lot of communication campaigns fostering inclusion and integration of migrants.”

Migrants in Europe are sometimes are portrayed as a threat to national identity and economic prosperity, and this is even the predominant political discourse in some countries. However, local and regional governments are taking the lead with campaigns and projects promoting integration and inclusion. These initiatives often achieve better outcomes than overly centralised ones.

Tackling rumours and prejudice, letting newcomers tell their stories, fostering an environment where locals can engage with newcomers and their stories: all these actions can change attitudes towards migration in the local community. However, connecting the dots between different levels of government remains the main challenge in changing the way we frame and shape migration.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact

Interview with the mayor of Capaci: “I dream of an inclusive and welcoming Europe”

Migration is a global phenomenon with a strong local impact. Cities bear the burden the migration crisis by receiving newcomers – sometimes providing life-saving support – but also reap the long-term benefits of successful integration. This applies to cities and islands across Europe, in particular in southern Italy.

Ahead of International Migrants Day (18 Dec) we spoke with Pietro Puccio, the CEMR spokesperson on migration and the mayor of Capaci, a Sicilian city taking part in the IncluCities project to improve migrant integration and build more inclusive cities. He shared with us his town’s experience welcoming newcomers, as well his vision of a united Europe that is open and inclusive.

How have Capaci and the Palermo district been affected by migration in recent years? What tools can local communities and local governments use when the main responsibilities and competences are with national governments?

When the responsibilities fall to national governments, local authorities have little room for maneuver. Despite this, we can achieve a lot by mobilising all the local associations through their widespread and active volunteers. In our region for instance, an important solidarity network has been created.

Capaci and Palermo have perhaps been on the margins of immigration in recent years. The main arrival routes have been elsewhere, such as Agrigento, Lampedusa, Ragusa and Syracuse, from where immigrants have been directly relocated to other places.

However, the Port of Palermo also continues to experience significant arrivals. The volunteer associations are playing a fundamental role there in receiving immigrants. Through their work we were able to provide a meaningful response to the rising number of new arrivals. 

You have often said that we should move from the emergency management of receiving immigrants to structured practices of inclusion and integration of newcomers in our societies. Looking at the EU’s migration and asylum policy, and in particular in light of the recent events in Afghanistan, it appears that the EU is trying to keep the migration issue at its external borders. What do you think about this management approach? 

Maintaining the migration emergency at the borders is an illusion. It’s unrealistic. There will be more and more emergencies in the world, simply dictated by the climate crisis. We pass from one emergency to another in Syria, Libya, then Afghanistan…

Europe can do it better. It doesn’t need “gendarmes” at the borders, nor agreements with the illegitimate Libyan government or with Turkey’s Erdogan. If we want to eliminate the shame and the indignity of the reception camps in the Balkans and elsewhere, if we really want to provide a response that looks beyond immediate emergencies, we should build a structured common response at the European level. If Europe doesn’t do it, nobody will. 

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) launched the debate on the Charter of Lampedusa, where local and regional governments are reshaping a notion of citizenship that should be defined around dignity, human rights, peace and collective memory, regardless of the status of people on the move. What do you think of this new form of “inclusive local citizenship” UCLG is developing with its members?

Europe is the cradle of world civilisation and must start over based on human dignity and respect for the human rights of all. But there is also a great economic advantage. Let me give you an example: in our area there is a municipality nearby, Balestrate, with hectares of land that are now planted with mangoes. Mangoes are typically a tropical fruit but due to climate change, the weather conditions in Sicily have become appropriate to grow mangoes. The new arrivals can be new consumers. Thus immigration can create new opportunities and new jobs. If Europe wants to provide a general response, it should focus on decent work, job opportunities and respect for human rights.

What is the main thing that Capaci could learn in the IncluCities project? What is the most necessary change that you’d like to start developing in your city?

Capaci is a town with an ancient welcoming culture, but in recent years this culture has been somewhat lost. Fear has taken over, the concern of having a neighbour who is a bit different. By taking part in IncluCities I hope the city will return to being as welcoming as we once were, no longer afraid of those with a different skin colour, those of a different religion or political orientation. I believe that this is a great and unique opportunity for our city. The first thing I would like to see is newcomers no longer hiding inside their homes, but walking around, playing with their children in squares, socialising in public places, also meeting with the citizens of Capaci. This is the most beautiful change I wish for this city.

What is your greatest dream as an Italian citizen and mayor of Capaci for the future of Europe? What role do you think migration should play in the Conference on the Future of Europe?

The theme of immigration is central in the global context. Just look at what’s happening in South America, at the border with the United States of America or every day here in Europe. The topic must have an important, leading role in the discussion at the Conference on the Future of Europe

I dream of the Europe that our founding fathers – Altiero Spinelli, Schuman – dreamed of; a Europe that is inclusive, where everyone can have the right to citizenship and respect for their human rights. The pandemic, which is unfortunately still ongoing, has taught us one crucial thing: how much we need each other. Only if each of us gets vaccinated can we beat COVID. If there is an unvaccinated part of the community, we can’t win. We are all connected.

My dream is that we work together for a Europe that is an inclusive, tolerant, welcoming place. A federal Europe where no one is left behind, where every citizen matters and each opinion counts. The future of Europe is my dream!

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact

Migration and inclusion: a snapshot of our upcoming activities

Over the past few months, the CEMR Task Force on Migration and Integration has been re-activated with a twofold mission. First, to put cities and regions at the heart of the new EU policies dealing with migration. Second, to raise awareness and share expertise on migrant integration through initiatives such as the EU Inclusion Partnership and IncluCities.

Eight member associations are currently part of the Task Force and more have expressed interest and willingness to join the group after the summer break. This shows our members’ with migration and integration topics, especially in regions and cities with significant inflows of newcomers and large immigrant background populations. All member associatiosn can take part in the two pillars’ activities on an ad hoc basis.

Preparing advocacy on the EU’s New Migration Pact

European policy in these areas is being defined in two key documents. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum issued by the European Commission in September 2020 deals with migration flows, relocation and border screening, while the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion (2021-2027) outlines future legislative and policy actions to be taken. Negotiations on these dossiers has been prolonged and difficult since the 2015 migration crisis.

Compared to that of 2016, , the current Action Plan covers not only third-country nationals, but also migrants and EU citizens with a migration background. CEMR contributed to the EU’s consultation on the Plan and indeed the Commission’s final version puts considerable emphasis on local needs, namely: long-term integration of migrants, knowledge exchange and cooperation between cities, increasing local governments’ capacities and stronger coordination between levels of government.

CEMR met with the EU vice-president responsible for migration, Margaritis Schinas, in February. The Greek commissioner emphasised the crucial role that local governments play on migration and integration. In the wake of this meeting, the Task Force decided to work on a a new resolution responding to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, presenting local governments’ views and needs on these issues

Sharing knowledge through the Inclusion Partnership of the EU Urban Agenda

On a parallel track, the Task Force will work on awareness raising and sharing knowledge and best practices between local and regional governments on migration issues. This goes to the heart of the practical work of integratingnewcomers in our towns and regions.

CEMR renewed its participation to the Inclusion Partnership of the Urban Agenda – in which cities can collaborate and provide their input to EU policymakers. We are particularly interested in the EU actions on integration of LBGTQ+ migrants, the creation of a database for evidence-based integration policymaking and financial instruments for inclusion aiming to build capacities for cities.

The Task Force will exploit synergies between CEMR’s migration on advocacy and knowledge sharing, as well as with the IncluCities project. IncluCities in particular will share examples of good practices and provide input into CEMR’s recommendations on migrant integration, which will also generate visibility for project.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact