Intercultural Integration: From an Ideology of the Oppressed to the Mainstream

Abstract

Intercultural Cities, a Council of Europe initiative, has developed and tested, at the local level, a diversity management model, called intercultural integration. It is based on the notion of diversity advantage—considering migrants and minorities as a resource for local economic, social and cultural development, and not as vulnerable groups in need of welfare support and services, or a threat to social cohesion and the nation’s identity. Intercultural integration implies a strategic reorientation of urban governance and policies to encourage adequate representation, positive intercultural mixing and interaction, and institutional capacity to deal with cultural conflict. Intercultural Cities offers a comprehensive methodology for helping cities develop their diversity strategies and a range of analytical and assessment tools, including the Intercultural Cities Index. The presentation will introduce the main principles and the operational framework of the intercultural integration model, along with some illustrative examples of how the model translates into practice.