Cooperation with public administration

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The Migration Awareness Programme sees the importance of staying in touch with the state administration as a creator of migration and integration policy and tries to raise awareness among its representatives. Our vision is the natural integration of topics related to immigration into various areas of Czech society (mainstreaming). Integration and cohabitation help if foreigners are to be perceived as an integral part of society, not an exotic element. Our recommendation to the public administration is not to implement integration activities and services exclusively for foreigners and about foreigners. Mainstreaming means seeing and meeting strangers in everyday situations, such as community-based events, their natural participation in governance and civic engagement, participation in local government bodies, membership and activity in associations, or expressing themselves in the media about various topics, not just migration and integration issues.

How do we do it?

  • We organize round tables on the topic of integration for representatives of the state administration, local governments, and NGOs in order to maintain mutual dialogue on this topic. We also focus on wider networking among key stakeholders affected by the topic. In addition to representatives of the state administration and self-government, we also address actors in the field of education, police, and non-profit organizations not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad.
    • We organize regular expert meetings of key state and non-state actors in the integration of foreigners field, which has become an informal platform for sharing experiences, evaluating integration practices and policies, identifying gaps, and conceptual thinking about the future of integration.
    • In October 2018, the Migration Awareness Programme, in cooperation with the Association for Integration and Migration and the second-generation Vietnamese initiative Viet Up, organized a one-day meeting on the topic of Vietnamese integration. The aim of the meeting was primarily about connecting various actors involved in the topic. In addition to NGO staff and Viet Up members, the participants included representatives of education and self-government, employees of the Ministry of the Interior and the Refugee Facilities Administration, officials of the Prague and Brno municipalities, and intercultural workers. Representatives of the Czech Police, the Union of Towns and Municipalities, and the Agency for Social Inclusion were also in attendance it. Thus, a wide range of participants had the opportunity to share their experiences and learn that they often solve similar problems and that some of the solutions they are looking for may have already been found elsewhere.
    • In June 2017, a study tour for integration actors from the Pilsen, Hradec Králové, and Pardubice regions to Dresden, Saxony took place. Participants were acquainted with the activities of migrant and refugee integration in Saxony and examples of good practice.  
  • We realize workshops and seminars tailored to the needs of government and local government representatives.
    • For officials of the Prague City Hall of the City of Prague and the Prague Integration Centre, we organized a workshop on ‘How to communicate with the public about migration and integration’
  • We work in bodies and clusters which advocate system changes
    • We are a member of the Consortium of Non-Governmental Organizations Working with Migrants and a member of PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants). We share our experiences with other organizations and advocate for system changes.
    • As members of an expert group, we participated in the creation of the Prague Concept of Integration of Foreigners. We are continuously cooperating with Prague City Hall on the actualization of the action plan for the concept.
    • We regularly visit the Regional Advisory Platform, which serves as a forum for sharing between actors in the field of migrant integration such as representatives of Prague City Hall, city districts, NGOs, migrant associations, state institutions, school and educational institutions, and international organizations.

For more information, please contact us by e-mail migrace@clovekvtisni.cz 

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