Impact community Society208

Multi-level cooperation in practice: How Marmara Region, Türkiye, pioneered a participatory approach

The Marmara Region in Türkiye is home to astonishing cultural treasures and diverse landscapes. But it is also a territory of great risks in terms of earthquakes, droughts, flooding and other natural disasters. As a result, disaster planning and resilience are essential to people’s safety. Cities in the region must find more interactive, comprehensive, responsive and innovative solutions to these challenges.

To meet these challenges and broader development goals, the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) partnered with Istanbul Technical University and initiated the Marmara Region Spatial Development Strategic Framework Research Project in June 2020. The project, funded by the MMU, aimed to identify problems with the participation of all stakeholders at the provincial and regional levels and to find solutions in harmony with the projects and activities of the various organisations in the region.

Specific objectives included:

• Strengthening the integration of sub-regional plans, which have been prepared by sub-regional development agencies and which have not been adequately integrated so far
• Creating a dialogue platform and a road map for local governments and other relevant stakeholders
• Minimising the side effects and externalities of big infrastructure projects such as airports, bridges, etc
• Creating a regional approach to maximise the common interests of all cities
• Raising awareness of inter-city and interregional planning
• Contributing to regional development in line with the New Urban Agenda and SDGs

Staff collected data from governorships, provincial special institutions, local governments, trade associations and NGOs located in the 14 cities covered by the project. This enabled the identification of the cities’ and region’s problems. A series of workshops with the participation of relevant stakeholders were also held to get their recommendations and ideas on the earliest results of the analysis.

The project identified themes requiring cooperation between cities in the region and prepared sectoral programmes, short-term action plans and spatial development schemes.

The conclusions were outlighted in a three-volume Marmara Region Spatial Development Strategic Framework presented in October 2021. This action-oriented, flexible and participatory strategic document seeks to reduce territorial disparities, increase global competitiveness and local cooperation, and respect climate and ecological sensitivities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With this future-oriented strategic framework and the creation of an effective platform for exchange, all the players in the Marmara Region are now working together for a prosperous, sustainable and safe territory.

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy

LGA’s case studies database: a wealth of local best practices from climate to COVID

Local and regional governments are genuine laboratories for democratic politics and policymaking. Decentralisation enables each locality to experiment with different approaches, enabling the discovery of what works best.

The Local Government Association, our English and Welsh member, has a dedicated database of case studies which showcases the many innovative actions its local councils are taking. The database includes over 2000 entries searchable by date and topic, including youth, health, safety, culture, data and much more. LGA also maintains a dedicated page on COVID-19 best practices and case studies.

English and Welsh councils’ actions are striking because of their sheer diversity and the range of topics covered. For example, Devon County Council’s Apricot Centre is training local farmers to transition to regenerative farming. In contrast to the overuse of pesticides and monocultures, methods such as growing hedgerows and diversifying produce can restore local biodiversity and increase resilience to climate change.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Council has developed a programme to reduce overweight among South Asian women, a group at particular risk of obesity. The city has created Bollyfit Active, a simple scheme for South Asian women to come together to exercise and bond. The scheme responds to the isolation experienced by many during the COVID crisis and to the fact South Asian women may be less likely to use mixed-gender gyms.

These are just a taster of the wide variety of case studies undertaken by local councils in England and Wales. Have a look to discover for yourself and find inspiration for local action!

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy

Storytelling as a powerful way of strengthening social cohesion by promoting mutual understanding

Mechelen. 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 does not mind. She looks straight ahead, 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, and an accountant. She speaks five languages, likes to cook and loves to read. She lives in Mechelen, but fled from Syria years ago: she is a refugee. Her 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’ experiences 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. Storytelling is a powerful way of strengthening social cohesion by promoting mutual understanding.

You can find out more about the People Make the City project and other good practices and tools on migrant integration from the OECD website.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact

Everyone needs a buddy: fostering migrant integration in Mechelen, Belgium, through mentoring

Buddy programmes are an excellent way to integrate immigrants into a new society. A buddy is someone from the host community who spends a few hours a month with a newcomer in the city. 

There are many possibilities: a buddy can help a refugee learn a language, finish school, find a job or accommodation, or you can just hang out with them. A buddy programme is an opportunity to discover other cultures, contribute to an inclusive society and even develop lasting friendships. 

Belgian cities have many excellent examples of buddy programmes, that serve as best practices for the integration and inclusion of newcomers. In particular, the IncluCities partner city Mechelen has been running several different buddy mentoring projects. 

Mechelen started the buddy project Samen Inburgeren (Dutch for “Integrate Together”) in 2012. A native of Mechelen becomes a buddy of a newcomer in the city. They are matched on the basis of common interests and, during the pandemic, communicate via WhatsApp, Skype, Zoom or Google chat. During a six-month period, the buddies meet regularly. Together they practise Dutch, discover the city and learn about each other’s cultures.

Buddy projects can also be designed with specific activities and needs in mind. Mechelen also runs a jogging buddy project called ‘Samen Lopen’ and a school buddies project for migrant and refugee children.

Different localities can pioneer best practices that can be shared elsewhere, especially within the IncluCities network. As such, Mechelen’s buddy programme approach is replicated in Capaci, a town in Sicily, under the name “Tutti Capaci”.

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy

Fuenlabrada, Spain, is promoting inclusion by discrediting false rumours

We tend to make up stories about people we don’t know well. An animated story, ‘It all started accidentally’ (“Todo empezó sin querer”), 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 Anti-rumours Project in Fuenlabrada, Spain. It aims to raise awareness about the negative impact of rumours. 

The Spanish city has experienced rapid population growth due to migration over the past 40 years. “Antirumours” is one of many projects in the city boosting social cohesion. The project has been running since 2013 as part of the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities initiative and brings together 25 cities across Spain.

The project aims to tackle discrimination and harness the potential of diversity by triggering a change in perceptions and behaviours. The objective is to identify significant rumours by collecting objective data and emotional arguments to dismantle false rumours.

It is also creating an anti-rumour network of local actors from civil society, empowering anti-rumour agents and designing a campaign to raise awareness about the damage rumours can inflict.

THOMAS Carol

Senior Adviser, Governance, Gender Equality, Local Democracy