11th Meeting of the CLIP Network, (Cities for Local Integration Policy)

 Istanbul, Turkey, 30 October – 1 November 2011

Speech by Ms Amy Koopmanschap, Rapporteur on cultural integration of Muslim women, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

Council of Europe

Mr Chairman,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to take part in this discussion as a representative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

As Congress Rapporteur on cultural integration of Muslim women in European cities, I am particularly interested in this meeting’s themes of intercultural policies and intergroup relations, on the one hand, and the conditions and quality of life of Muslims in European cities, on the other. I look forward to participating in discussions in particular on these issues.

I am convinced that intercultural relations in Europe in general, and in particular relations with the Muslim population – that represents one of the largest religious minorities in many parts of our continent – constitutes today a major challenge for European democracy as a whole, be it at the grassroots, national or European level. As we speak about strategies for integration, and more specifically about their practical implementation, we must necessarily begin by addressing the question of European cultural diversity and ways of dealing with it – some say “managing” it.

This is also the position of the Group of Eminent Persons, set up at the initiative of the Council of Europe Secretary General to identify the main challenges to European society and put forward policy recommendations and proposals for action. The Congress President, Mr Keith Whitmore, already spoke at the CLIP meeting in Frankfurt in May about their report entitled “Living together: Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe”. While this report is still undergoing discussions within the Council of Europe, for us in the Congress certain of its provisions clearly reflect our own vision for the future of European integration.

As I have just said, rich European diversity, while being a source of our strength, is also a major challenge for all levels of government. There are no more mono-ethnic States in Europe and practically no mono-ethnic cities as our local communities are becoming increasingly multicultural, multi-religious and multilingual. With this, unfortunately, come the rising intolerance, xenophobia and discrimination, which were identified by the Group of Eminent Persons among the main threats to our living together.

We must therefore find the way of “managing” this diversity by involving all its constituent groups in the European democratic process. This involvement must necessarily begin at local level, which is why we in the Congress place a particular importance on increasing citizen participation at the grassroots.

Our recommendation in this regard would be to create a framework for greater citizen participation at local level, both using the existing instruments and trying out new methods. New technologies and so-called e-democracy offer great opportunities for direct consultations with citizens and feedback on local government action; representative structures of foreign residents and migrants – such as local consultative councils – provide a way of involving them in local decision-making; and we should also make full use of citizen initiatives and such new methods as participatory budgeting, which are being tested out in a growing number of local communities.

Two weeks ago, at its session in Strasbourg, the Congress debated a report on citizen participation at local and regional level in Europe, and adopted a number of proposals for action in this field. At the same session, we held a current affairs’ debate on new forms of citizen activism which we are witnessing today around the globe – activism through the use of social networks and social protest movements such as Indignados, Generation Precaire or Occupy Wall Street. It is not correct to speak about political apathy of our citizens by looking merely at the low turnout during elections – in fact, citizens are very active today, but this activism is not channelled towards boosting democratic institutions.

Rather, a new expression was coined: Democratic Disconnect, reflecting people’s disengagement from the existing democratic model and procedure. As we speak about citizen participation, we need a serious reflection on how to channel this activism towards more democracy and integration, and how to adjust this model accordingly. Here, again, the local level represents a great potential for innovation.

We are convinced that participation and integration go hand in hand, and by increasing the one – for all citizens in the civic sense of the word – we are promoting the other. However, it is clear at the same time that special action and positive measures are also needed for integration of specific groups, their equal access to public services and social rights. This meeting will be discussing the specific situation of Muslims, while the Congress undertook a number of initiatives this year to improve the situation of Roma – among other things, convening a Summit of Mayors on Roma in September, which decided to establish a European Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion.

After increasing participation and furthering integration through positive measures, the third element of integration strategies must be fostering intercultural dialogue and building intercultural relations in local communities. Your Network has already worked on a module in this area, which the Congress translated in March this year into recommendations to governments and local authorities on reducing intercultural and interfaith tensions between community groups. Today, I would like to stress another aspect which is indeed an underlying issue for good intercultural relations, and a catalyst for both participation and integration.

I am speaking about a proper democratic culture, the “right mentality” if you wish, that makes a person a citizen in the civic sense. For our integration efforts to be successful, for democracy as a whole to be successful, a culture of democracy, a culture of tolerance and respect for one another must be embedded in our societies, in our communities. This is why the Council of Europe has now made one of its priorities “education for democratic citizenship”, including one of its integral components – human rights education. And this is why the Congress two weeks ago adopted proposals for local authorities to develop programmes of education for democratic citizenship in their communities and to establish frameworks for their implementation.

We are convinced that if we equip our citizens – all residents of our communities – with proper democratic knowledge, including the knowledge of their rights; if we foster the right attitudes among community groups; if we work to bust myths and stereotypes about one another by getting people to actually interact with each other; finally, if we create proper frameworks for people’s participation and self-expression, our integration efforts will truly become a two-way street.

Thank you.