Webinar: Active participation & social inclusion to harness the diversity advantage

On 16^th February 2021, the Assembly of European Regions in cooperation with IOM and the Intercultural Regions Network hosted the webinar “Intercultural regions: Active Participation & Social Inclusion“. This was the third webinar co-organised within the framework of the Includ-EU project. Policies and practices that foster intercultural interaction and inclusion are instrumental in enabling cities and regions to manage diversity positively. This third webinar focused on regional and local experiences facilitating migrant’s active participation and social inclusion.

The webinar presented different experiences of the pivotal role of regions in building inclusive and welcoming communities, where no one is left behind. The webinar highlighted the slow evolution of concepts around migration, from the assimilation approach, which considered that individuals had to completely conform to the host society without the latter changing in any way and where all efforts were aimed at avoiding change, to the intercultural approach, in which aims cities and regions strive to become more inclusive and to harness the diversity advantage.
To this aim, the Intercultural Cities Network, which brings together over 140 cities in Europe and beyond, developed a variety of tools and methodologies as well as a mutual learning environment for cities. This inspired the creation of the Intercultural Regions Network, led by the Council of Europe and the Assembly of European Regions.