Coordinators from member cities and from national and regional networks took part in the annual meeting of the Intercultural Cities (ICC) network. The meeting took place on 28–29 October 2025 in Bergen, Norway. This year, the main topic was involving young people in the activities of intercultural cities.
Every year, ICC coordinators review the activities and achievements of recent months. They also discuss challenges, the most important current issues and the programme’s priorities for the coming year. This year’s meeting was held at Bergen Inklusionssenter – the Bergen Social Inclusion Centre, which the coordinators visited as part of a study visit.
Focus on youth
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Council on Youth and experts from Bergen. Together, they focused on how young people from diverse backgrounds can take part in shaping intercultural city policies. An important conclusion was that cities should regularly listen to young people and take their views into account when implementing real solutions. In this way, they can create places that are genuinely open and resilient to crises. An approach that takes into account the entire community, including culturally diverse youth, is crucial for building inclusive local communities.
The meetings also regularly include a horizontal exchange of experience, presentations of good practices from other cities and practical workshops. Participants from more than 35 cities and organisations worked together to develop guidelines for local and regional authorities on involving young people from diverse backgrounds in various aspects of intercultural and youth policy.
Wrocław’s activity in 2025
It has been an intense year for Wrocław in the ICC network. In March 2025, local government representatives from over 20 cities came to Wrocław for a study visit devoted to strategies and activities for integration in intercultural local communities. The second term of the ICC Advisory Group, convened in June this year, includes among its members a representative of Wrocław, Ewa Magnowska from the WCRS Intercultural Dialogue Team. The ICC Working Group also met in Bergen, and the results of its discussions were shared at the coordinators’ meeting.
We would like to thank Bergen Municipality and the Intercultural Cities Secretariat for a superbly organised and fruitful meeting.
The Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC) is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the European Commission, launched during the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008. It aims to support local authorities in developing and implementing intercultural integration policies. Wrocław has been a member of the ICC network since 2021. Find out more about the programme here.
