Shaping Fair Cities new Digital Tool on SDGs and migration
On the occasion of the UN Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination, Shaping Fair Cities launches a new Digital Tool on SDGs and migration: an online instrument developed by the University of Bologna – Alma Mater Studiorum (Department of Social and Political Science – Forli Campus) in coordination with lead partner Emilia-Romagna Region and with the involvement of all project partners from 7 European and 2 non-EU countries (Italy, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Albania and Mozambique).
The SDGs and Migration Tool is a dynamic platform that collects local and national resources within and beyond Europe, functioning as a self-trainer for migrants and citizens with the purpose of “leave no one behind”, while promoting resilient and peaceful societies. The 2030 Agenda’s global goals (SDGs) are all interlinked with migration issues and human rights issues, becoming especially relevant in times of a global pandemic crisis. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda at local level is crucial to face the global devasting impact on human life at all levels, on people’s lives and rights, especially for what concerns the weaker sectors of societies, such as migrants and refugee, which are also at the center of all Shaping Fair Cites project activities and focus.
The main goal of the platform is to give local migrant communities an overview of all the services and opportunities that the territory they live in offer to them, in terms of employment, education, linguistic courses, reception centres, linguistic and legal assistance, childcare and women empowerment, among others. By illustrating the content of most relevant migration and asylum law provisionsat the international, EU, national (and local, where applicable) level, it also represents a helpful tool for migrant operators, social workers, and legal practitioners.
The website is characterized by an easy structure with various sections providing the beneficiaries a set of integrated sources. The Home section highlights the most recent news pertaining to SDGs and Migration, for instance by underlining the strict nexus between migration and sustainable development. The Project and Partners sections focus on the description of the SFC project, its origin, goals, and partners located in EU and extra-EU countries. This project is building a bridge among citizens and local authorities of the two hemispheres in line with SDG 17 (enhance global partnership). In giving space to partners’ local projects, services and opportunities for local migrant communities in the section Activities, the Digital Tool aims at revealing the potential of migrants as agents of sustainable development, as well as the opportunities of multiculturalism in a tolerant and equal environment. The tangible results of these initiatives are adequately outlined in the specific section Results.
Navigate the platform > www.sdgsmigration.unibo.it
Once again, the Shaping Fair cities project chooses a symbolical date, especially relevant for the launch of this new digital tool: the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling against Racism and Racial Discrimination, beginning on the 21st March, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This week, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, aims to foster a global culture of tolerance, equality and anti-discrimination and calls on each and every one of us to stand up against racial prejudice and intolerant attitudes. According to the UN, “knowledge and information on the diversity of human races, ethnicity and customs contribute to overcoming racism and is a conduit for a better understanding, tolerance and acceptance.” This is also the main goal of the Digital tool on Sdgs and migration, being available for consultation and download to all interested people with a migratory background and, more generally, to the general public, being an easy learning tool for addressing and assessing migrants’ and other vulnerable groups’ needs.
All key outputs are produced in collaboration with all project partners, with the involvement of regional institutions and municipalities, local authorities, civil servants, grassroot organizations, and citizens, in a participatory way, thanks to the online communication toolsin spite of the difficult situation due to the pandemic.