MiFRIENDLY CITIES

The MiFRIENDLY CITIES project was a West Midlands Combined Authority project with the 3 Urban Authorities Coventry, Wolverhampton and Birmingham. The project aimed to facilitate and recognize the positive contribution of refugees and migrants to the city’s civic, economic and social fabric. Refugees and migrants are key actors playing an important role in deciding what makes a “migrant friendly city” and driving the change on job creation, social entrepreneurship, innovation, active citizenship and communication. Refugees and migrants were empowered to access their rights and feel fully-fledged citizens. Hostility and prejudice towards refugees and migrants were minimized and solidarity between migrant and non-migrant groups built. The project created new job opportunities for migrants and refugees and helped to match their skills with employers. It enhanced participation and active citizenship by providing mentoring and financial support for social enterprises and social innovation projects. Health champions were trained to deliver public health messages and to raise awareness on health topics among COVID in the migrant and refugees’ community. Refugees and migrants were trained as Citizen Journalists to engage with the mainstream media to create their own stories and use media channels.

During its implementation, the UIA project has capitalised on its experience so that it can be shared with peers. The outputs displayed on this page are the result of this process.