PRO M OTING R E FU G E E I NT E G RAT I O N A ND I NC LU SI ON : E M P OW E R I N G M U N I C I PA L I T I E S AC R OSS E U R OP E P R O MOT IN G R E FUGE E IN T EG R ATIO N AN D IN C LUSIO N : EMP OWE R IN G MUN IC IPAL ITIES ACROS S EUROPE General recommendations to municipal authorities ● Work across jurisdictions based on shared territorial characteristics or common thematic objectives. Initiatives carried out by coalitions of municipalities (or across districts within greater metropolitan areas) 59 often lends itself to more effective problem solving and cost saving, by adopting an integrated approach and achieving economies of scale.60 ● Ensure inclusive policies and programs, addressing the needs of all disadvantaged groups within the host community, including refugees. The aforementioned Municipalities Toolkit provides detailed guidance in this regard and is available in 24 languages. 61 ● Improve dissemination of the advantages refugees bring in terms of diversity for economic development and in balancing out local demographic losses. Governments, the media and other actors with the capacity to influence popular opinion (for examples, local business elites stimulating change of local business mentalities) can devise communication strategies emphasizing aspects of shared prosperity. Evidence and data-driven arguments April 2024, Czech Republic: Litomyšl, rehearsal of the CzechUkrainian choir Sonjašnyk preparing for a fund-raising concert organized on the occasion of the World Refugee Day. © UNHCR/ Soňa Rysová RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENHANCE INCLUSION OF REFUGEES IN MUNICIPALITIES ACROSS EUROPE 18 UNHCR REGIONAL BUREAU FOR EUROPE, AUGUST 2024 highlighting refugees contribution can bolster these efforts, examples of which can be found in Poland and Türkiye. ● Foster more opportunities for refugees to directly interact and connect with the private sector, whether a municipal hub where business associations, unions, refugees and the third sector could exchange information about opportunities available locally, or virtual platforms62 that link supply and demand and connect in-country actors who can provide essential support to refugees and refugeerecruiting businesses. An engaged local business community can be effective in advocating with other local companies to offer internships and work opportunities to newcomers.63 ● Create spaces that foster integration and community cohesion. Involve both refugees and local residents in neighbourhood-level projects and strategies to increase trust among citizens and the ownership of responsibilities related to integration.64 ON DATA To national governments: ● Facilitate access to administrative data disaggregated by legal status around work, social protection, socio-economic profiles, and education, among others, to enhance the capacities of municipalities and regional institutions to develop, implement and monitor targeted inclusion policies and programs. Ensure the data may also be filtered by age, gender and diversity.65 ● Facilitate the effective inclusion of refugees in national surveys, such as the EU-SILC and the Labour Force Survey (LFS), by collecting data on legal status (not just nationality) and ensuring that sampling is representative for this population group. UNHCR REGIONAL BUREAU FOR EUROPE, AUGUST 2024 ● Coordinate with key refugee-hosting municipalities to assess at least a priority set of integration outcomes (e.g. labor market integration) and build a solid evidence base for the public on progress towards integration, an activity that is increasingly vital to counteract disinformation and offset community polarization. To academia and the private sector: ● Support city or country-specific research modelled on existing studies that have proved successful in building the evidence base / business case for refugee integration and economic inclusion.66 19