The 2021-2027 Action plan on integration and inclusion sets the following goals in relation to fostering participation and encounters with the host society:more migrants and EU citizens with a migrant background participate in consultative and decision-making processes at the local, regional, national and European levelsincreased opportunities are provided for encounters and exchanges between migrants, EU citizens with a migrant background and local communities, including through art, culture, sport and social life in general migrant women have equal opportunities for participation in societymore Europeans are well informed on integration and migrationExplore all actions in this integration area below. Actions Actions 1. Fund capacity-building projects ActionFinance projects to increase the capacity of national, regional and local authorities to involve migrants and migrant organisations in decision-making processesStatusContinuousTypeFundingProjectImplementationThis action is continuous, with more initiatives expected to take place until 2027. So far, following 2020 Asylum, Integration and Migration Fund (AMIF) Union Actions call for proposals, 9 transnational projects promoting the participation of migrants in the design and implementation of integration policies launched in late 2021 and early 2022.These 9 project include:ConsultingEUTHDEPARTEMBRACESHAPEMILEPISTE2incINGEMVIMigrantVoicesHeard 2. Co-design policy with migrant experts ActionClosely involve the new EC expert group on the views of migrants in designing and implementing EU policies in the field of migration, asylum and integrationStatusContinuousTypePartnershipImplementationThis action is continuous, with more initiatives expected to take place until 2027. Since November 2020, 11 meetings have so far held in the context of the Expert group on the views of migrants in the field of migration, asylum and integration. The expert group was formed as an advisory body assisting the EC in July 2020. The topics of the meetings follow the work priorities of the EC’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. One meeting each year is dedicated to monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion. 3. Support community sponsorship ActionSupport the development of community sponsorship programmes for beneficiaries of international protection across the EU through funding, facilitation of best practices exchanges and strengthening the cooperation between relevant public and private stakeholdersStatusContinuousTypeFundingPartnershipImplementationThis action is continuous, with more initiatives expected to take place until 2027. So far it includes:The EC Recommendation on legal pathways to protection was adopted in September 2020.Under the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA)’s Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission (RST&HA) Network, established in January 2020, the EC fosters information and good practices exchanges through a working group on community sponsorship.Under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) Thematic Facility, several projects in the area of community sponsorships have been funded, including on housing. Community sponsorship schemes are part of the EC effort to expand safe and legal avenues for refugees, as stated in the 2020 Recommendation on legal pathways to protection in the EU.The EC funds the learning module of the Safe Homes programme launched after the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and implemented by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Societies. See more about the lessons learned from the Safe Homes initiative. 4. Launch an integration award ActionLaunch an integration award for schools, local communities, artistic and cultural organisations, and sports and youth clubs to recognise their contribution to integration and inclusionStatusPendingTypePartnershipProjectImplementationPending. An update on this action will be provided later. 5. Support young migrants via sports ActionIn cooperation with the UEFA Foundation, organise football festivals targeting young migrants in the host cities of the next European football championshipStatusContinuousTypePartnershipProjectImplementationThis action is continuous, with more initiatives expected to take place until 2027. So far it includes:The EC’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs and UEFA organised the Football for Unity project during UEFA EURO 2020. Then, 1 500 young migrants and 1 600 local participants aged 12-25 participated in 7 Football for Unity festivals across the EU.In the context of UEFA EURO 2024, Football for Unity 2.0 will involve 190 coaches, educators and social workers, engaging with 2 900 refugee, migrant, and local young participants.A special award is under way with UEFA for a sport4all initiative. 6. Support via the Action plan for Social Economy ActionFurther improve and enable social economy and social innovation to foster inclusion and participation through the Social Economy Action PlanStatusContinuousTypePolicyImplementationThis action is continuous, with more initiatives expected to take place until 2027. So far it includes:In December 2021, the EC adopted its Social Economy Action Plan envisioning improved social and economic conditions for the better integration of migrants. The following EC’s Council recommendation on promoting enabling frameworks for the social economy was adopted in November 2023, calling for the increased labour market integration of underrepresented groups.The EU-funded Better Incubation project, concluded in 2022, made business incubators inclusive of groups underrepresented in entrepreneurship, including migrants and refugees.The EC and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) developed the Better Entrepreneurship Tool which allows policy stakeholders to check the inclusiveness of the policies they design, including for migrants. 7. Raise awareness among journalists ActionFinance projects to raise awareness on facts and figures and main trends of intergation and migration for journalists and journalism schoolsStatusCompleteTypeFundingProjectImplementationThe CIAK MigrACTION! project, funded via the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), worked with journalism schools and trained reporters on how to write about migration. It promoted a positive storytelling based on facts related to integration, especially in the context of Italy, Greece, Austria, Hungary.
