Cities4Refugees

As part of the dialogue, cities and organizations exchange successful approaches to participation, refugee and migration policy. The aim is to strengthen cooperation between municipalities and local groups from different countries and thus a common culture of welcome.

In addition, the urban perspective on EU asylum and migration policy is emphasized and the International Safe Havens Alliance is actively involved and supported.

So far, Berlin has taken part in exchanges in and with Zagreb, Villeurbanne and Brussels as well as webinars. In October 2024, the Integration and Migration Department also hosted the final international conference of the project in Berlin. The conference dealt with the effects of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) on refugees and cities and the respective urban perspective on a humanitarian implementation of the CEAS reform.

The participating cities include Barcelona, Berlin, Villeurbanne and Zagreb. Civil society actors are the Berlin-Brandenburgische Auslandsgesellschaft, Studio Rizoma from Palermo and the Berlin Governance Platform.

The “Cities4Refugees” project runs from December 2022 to November 2024 and is funded by the EU’s “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” (CERV) program.