on-line meeting
Concluded / Concluso
A peer-to-peer meeting took place online on 10 December 2020 between the Municipality of Kufstein (Austria) and the Municipality of Galati (Romania) to discuss integration challenges and share information and good practices on migrants’ reception and social inclusion. The event was opened by the Head of the IOM Office in Romania, Mr Mircea Mocanu.
Kufstein was represented by the municipal integration coordinator, who focused on the development of the integration concept for the city of Kufstein, based on an analysis and recommendations for action to shape diversity and integration in the city of Kufstein. The head of the city’s refugee reception center and emergency shelter also participated in the discussion, by presenting the characteristics and services of the centre as well as some of the main integration challenges, e.g. housing
The city of Galati was represented by the Deputy Director of the municipal Social Assistance Directorate, who focused on the continuous improvement of the social services provided as well as on the modernization of the infrastructure of the centers for vulnerable persons. A representative of Galati’s Reception and Housing Center, and a social worker from the local office of the Jesuit Refugee Service also participated in the meeting. During the debate, housing and the lack of translators for rare languages were identified as the main challenges.
The representatives of both territories expressed the intention to further enhance mutual information and exchange in order to learn more from each other and better understand how to adapt and replicate some of the respective good integration practices.
The meeting was part of the EU-funded project ADMin4ALL, which aims at enhancing the capacity of local institutions across 7 EU Member States (Austria, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Spain) in the area of migrant integration, including through fostering the exchange of good practices among participating authorities, while contributing to the creation of an EU-wide community of localities committed to integration.