Forum of the Intercultural Cities

11 December 2009 Bari (Italy)

Speech by Guiseppina MARMO, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Council of Europe

I welcome the participants of this Forum. The Intercultural Cities programme is an excellent initiative, and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities gave it its full support in its Plenary Session in March this year, when it adopted its recommendation on Intercultural cities.

We in the Congress believe that interculturalism is the best way to achieve social cohesion and sustainable urban development, as it promotes pluralism, justice and equal opportunities within local communities. We share the conviction of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg that “we all belong to a number of different categories which depend not only on ethnicity, nationality or faith. The imposition of allegedly unique identity creates a basis for sectarian confrontation”.

Interculturalism means accepting cultures as living entities, which evolve and transform themselves through encounters with other cultures. Cultures thrive when they can openly express themselves and mix with other cultures in the public space.This approach must begin at local level where different cultures and ethnic groups interact most tangibly.

This approach is particularly called for in the framework of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, to which the Congress is also strongly committed. Currently, we are setting up a special working group to focus the work of the Congress in this area.

We began our work on interculturalism by promoting interreligious dialogue at local level, and developed twelve principles for local authorities to foster such dialogue, which served as our contribution to the Council of Europe’s White Paper on intercultural dialogue.

We are also working to improve citizen participation. Our efforts for interculturalism will be in vain if representatives of different cultures in our communities cannot make their own contribution, if they feel excluded and not involved in decision-making. Citizen participation, involvement and commitment to community affairs not only contributes to the transparency and accountability of local government, it also unleashes a great potential for innovation – and leads to better governance at local level.

A key aspect of involving foreign residents in local decision-making is to grant the right to vote. The Congress’ advocacy in this regard led to the adoption by the Council of Europe in 1992 of the European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level. The Convention provides for foreigners with five or more years of residence to have the right to vote and run as a candidate in local elections. I call on all member states to ratify this Convention, and on local and regional authorities to put pressure on national governments to do so.

Local authorities have a range of tools at their disposal to increase citizen participation. In fact, the right to participate in the management of local affairs is enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Government, this cornerstone international treaty which lays down the principles of local democracy. An Additional Protocol to the Charter, opened for signature last month, makes it the duty of both national governments and local authorities to provide a framework for democratic participation at local level.

In practical terms, municipalities are also encouraged to set up consultative councils of foreign residents, which is another initiative of the Congress. A growing number of European cities are setting up such councils – the most recent example this year is the City of Strasbourg, host to the Council of Europe. I encourage you to study and follow this practice. In addition, the use of modern communication technologies and e-tools offers a great potential for so-called e-participation and e-inclusion.

To conclude, I would underline that interculturalism is not about diluting or compromising on fundamental rights and freedoms and democratic rules. On the contrary, to ensure the development of social cohesion, dignity and equal opportunities for all members of society, regardless of their ethnic, cultural and social roots, we need this strong platform of fundamental values that the Council of Europe stands for and whose implementation the Congress is promoting at the local and regional level.