ITACA – Italian Cities Against discrimination is based on the broad experience of the Italian Intercultural Cities (ICC) Network “Cities of Dialogue” of which, since January 2019, ICEI is the technical coordinator. This project will involve seven of the 28 municipalities currently part of the ICC network, with the goal of promoting non-discriminating practices and protecting victims of ethnic, racial, religion or gender-based discrimination.
ICEI’s role as project leader, underlines our determination in cooperating actively with the cities to fight discriminatory practices and aiding the victims of these abuses.
To ensure the achievement of the project’s goals, UNAR (Italian Equality Body), ASGI (Association for the juridical studies on immigration) and the Intercultural Cities Programme of the Council of Europe take part in the project as associates.
European Commission (RIGHTS, EQUALITY AND CITIZENSHIP PROGRAMME (REC) – DG JUSTICE)
ITACA project has two main objectives:
- To strengthen the role that the ICC Network has in promoting an effective implementation of non-discrimination legislation, policies and practicies; thus contributing to fight direct and indirect discriminations both inside and outside the administrations.
- To promote a public-private cooperation, in cities that join the project, to increase rights-awareness and knowledge among citizens and local organizations.
Beneficiaries of the project are:
- The municipalities that will obtain visibility by putting itself at the center of a national and european project based on reducing exsistent discrimination practices. It will also gain new practical and operational tools to fight discrimination thus achieving a better inclusion of minority groups within the social fabric.
- The technical/administrative/political staff who will obtain new tools and improve the one they already have to better address and minimize discriminatory practices within the municipal administration.
- Population and territory that will gain awareness of issues related to discrimination and will benefit from a more inclusive climate towards minorities which will help to create a further united and cohesive society.
Project activities
The project is based on three macro areas:
- A first area based on strengthen cities’ tools and abilities in fighting discrimination practices. This area develops in different activities such as: mapping of discrimination practices in municipal services and training sessions for cities’ staff on anti-discrimination legislation and policies. Alongside these activities, there are other initiatives based on a cooperation between cities both at a national and European level. These initiatives are: peer review of European good practices, organization of a transnational study visit to share experiences out of the Italian context and the creation of a working group on anti-discrimination practices inside the ICC. At last we have the elaboration and testing of anti-discrimination tools in two pilot municipalities.
- A second area based on strengthening public-private cooperation, to do so workshops for CSOs on anti-discrimination and advocacy practices will be held in the cities of the project. Still in these cities will be organized various events to raise awareness on these topics, while, at a national level, will be held a meeting between municipalities and CSOs. All these events will be supported by a communication campaign on social media.
- The third and last area will be based on the dissemination and sharing of the initiative at a European level, to do so will be held a national advocacy and dissemination event for Italian municipalities of the ICC alongside with knowledge-sharing events at a European level. The project will end with a seminary for EU stakeholders in Reggio Emilia.