VALUES (2019-2021)

Led by EUROCITIES, the network of major cities in Europe, VALUES – Volunteering Activities to Leverage Urban and European Social integration of migrants, enables cities to exchange know-how, expertise, and good practices on how best to implement local actions. It builds on the experience and success of past EUROCITIES projects (CITIES GROW, MIXITIES, DIVE, INTI-Cities, ImpleMentoring) that together addressed the gaps in the implementation of the Integrating Cities Charter, which embodies the cities’ commitment to third-country national’s integration.

By connecting city authorities and volunteer organisations through communities of practices and staff exchange, VALUES aims to improve structural cooperation and build partnerships between cities and volunteer organisations in integrating third-country nationals, by building and developing 4 communities of practices or clusters, on the following themes:

A. Community building in cities to foster a welcoming culture

B. Innovative voluntary activities in integration: engaging migrants and refugees in volunteering activities for integration activities

C. Cities and volunteer cooperation in migrant integration at neighbourhood (or ‘community’) level

D. Mobilising volunteers in engaging young migrant population in community life.

METHODOLOGY AND ACTIVITIES

CITY-TO-CITY SUPPORT AND EXCHANGE FOR CHANGE

VALUES aims to improve coordination and mutual understanding between 16 cities and volunteer organisations by bringing them together in ‘communities of practice.’ In these thematic clusters, city officials and volunteers learn from each other in targeted workshops, sight visits, staff exchanges, on-the-ground training and action planning to identify and implement best practices in integration and overcome shared challenges.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICES:

Each communities of practices, or thematic clusters, will gather four cities, and will be aiming to improve the coordination and to build capacity between cities and local volunteer networks for the integration of migrants and refugees. The mutual learning and exchange of practices is done through different activies:

Cluster visits: each cluster member will visit each other to see how policy initiatives are implemented, and to learn about good practices through brief presentations, site visits, worshops and peer-to-peer discussions. All visits involve EUROCITIES and one expert from our partner organisation Migration Work.
Staff and volunteers exchanges: within one community of practice, two cities will be paired up to exchange in turn staff and volunteers for five days. The exchanges will create encounters between volunteers leaders, city officers and volunteer organisations, allowing both the visiting and the hosting city to benefit from a greater understanding of the processes and possibilities in each other’s and their own local contexts.
Work on a benchmark for integration policies based on agreed European standards.
Developing a roadmap (or ‘action plan’) for all partners cities, with the endorsement of their public administration and involving relevant local stakeholders.