Co-financed by the European Commission INTI-Programme as one of the pilot actions for 2006, the INTI-Cities project brings together 12 cities from nine member states. INTI-Cities is coordinated by EUROCITIES and implemented in cooperation with the Migration Policy Group (MPG) and ‘Ethics etc’. The project has a duration of 18 months (2007-2009).
INTI-CITIES assess three dimensions of integration policy:
- Policies in support of individual migrant empowerment
- Structures and effectiveness in administrative cooperation
- Policies creating and supporting partnerships with civil society and migrant associations
The core component of the project is a set of peer review visits carried out in six European cities: Düsseldorf, Genoa, Helsinki, Lyon, Malmö and Rotterdam. Six more cities participate as reviewers: Barcelona, Belfast, Maroussi, Milan, Tampere and Utrecht.
Teams composed of city representatives and expert partners will visit the cities in order to examine integration policies, identify gaps and good practices and exchange ideas on how to make things work better in their city. City reports are produced following each visit, and the overall findings are put together in the Final Report.
The project is applying a methodology of benchmarking indicators prepared specifically for this purpose.
Another project component is the conference ‘Integrating Cities II’ that is part of the ‘Integrating Cities’ process that started in Rotterdam in 2006 between EUROCITIES, the European Commission and the cities. The Conference was held in Milano on 5-6 November 2007, and served also the project’s official launch. In Milano EUROCITIES and the European Commission signed the Milano Declaration for cooperation between the two organisations in the area of migrant integration.
Finally, the project also involves the creation of a ‘Community of Experts’, a platform for ongoing dialogue between local authorities and European institutions.
