Study visit to Paris

Vlasta Jalušič and Lana Zdravković, together with the representatives of the Municipality of Ljubljana, Vanda Straka Vrhovnik and Darja Božnik, and the director of the Intercultural Dialogue Institute, Furkan Güner, took part in a study visit to Paris within the framework of the project City for Everybody – Responsible Action for Inclusive Local Communities (CIFER). We went to the city of Paris, which has adopted an Action Plan to fight racism and is also a member of the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR), to see good practices on how to deal with issues of integration and inclusion at the local level. College Milena Reig-Amette from the partner NGO and research organization France terre d’asile, which focuses on the reception and assistance of asylum seekers and refugees in France, organized an excellent program. We met with:

• Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of human rights, integration and anti-discrimination, and other administrative workers who presented the city’s anti-racist and anti-discrimination action plan and activities;
• Laura Sage, who presented the operation of the info point to help LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers and refugees;
• Representatives of the Observatory for Discrimination and Equality, which has two main tasks: the production of knowledge and the collection of data on discrimination and the implementation of development campaigns for local residents;
• Valentin Stel and Julie Mauve, representatives of the organization SOS Racisme, which implements anti-racist campaigns, local actions, trainings and educations;
• Samuel Thomas, from the organization Maison pour l’Egalité – Maison des Potes, which fights against discrimination (especially in the workplace) and promotes cultural and civil initiatives;
• Marie Lazzaroni, representative of the organization Samusocial de Paris, which fights against poverty and works directly with the homeless in Paris and manages its own accommodation centers;
• Nepheli Yatropoulos, consultant for European and international affairs and Elsa Alasseur, consultant for the rights of foreigners at the Human Rights Ombudsman, which is a state but independent body responsible for ensuring respect for human rights and freedoms;
• Orianne Lemare, who presented the AGIR support program, a national scheme aimed at helping refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection in finding employment and housing – the project is managed at the local level by various associations authorized by the state.

The purpose of the study visit was to learn about good practices of integration and inclusion at the local level with the goal that the City of Ljubljana would also adopt a more systematic plan in this area in the future. The study visit was also attended by colleagues from the partner organizations Center for Peace Studies from Zagreb and Menedek from Budapest.