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Riga announces migrant integration project
Riga has announced a migrant integration project, inviting newcomers from abroad to attend meetings with city officials and representatives of NGOs.
City authorities headed by Mayor of Riga Mārtiņš Staķis stressed the importance of resident participation in municipal activities.
As part of the project, Riga will send surveys on topics of interest to new residents who moved in from abroad to make coming meetings more engaging and topics more relevant.
The questionnaires will be sent out in three languages, including Russian, as most new arrivals from Ukraine have not learned Latvian or English.
Survey results will be compiled and analysed, which will help city authorities to organise monthly meetings on various topics in the period from February to June this year.
Focus of the meetings will be on involvement of residents in the work of the municipality, with the most active participants to meet with city council officials in autumn.
The project is part of Riga’s programme Migrant Integration through Locally Designed Experience (MILE), with city authorities noting that project partners include municipalities, universities and NGOs from Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Spain, the UK and the Netherlands.
Riga noted that the project is financed through EU funds and aims to develop successful integration policies on the municipal level.
As part of the MILE programme, Riga organised a meeting with immigrants to hear their perspectives on living in the city.
(Photo credit: Riga)
