The inspirational workshop brought an exchange of experience between Prague and Košice

On Monday, October 14, 2019, ETP Slovakia in cooperation with the Integration Center Prague and the Prague City Hall organized a workshop in the premises of the Košice City Hall. It was designed for all those interested in the topic of integration at the local level – local government officers, employees of public administration institutions, non-profit organizations, cultural, intercultural and social workers, or activists. It was attended by almost 30 people, including representatives of some minorities living in Košice.

Jan Janoušek – Integration Specialist from the Prague City Hall spoke about the agenda and functioning of the Department of Minorities and Foreigners; he introduced the activities of the Committee of the Prague City Assembly for the integration of foreign nationals and the grant programs supporting integration initiatives. Jan spoke about how the Policy of the City of Prague for the Integration of Foreign Nationals was created and how the City Hall works with the Action Plan. Luboš Kožíšek and Veronika Spiegelová introduced the activities of the Prague Integration Center as an organization founded and actively supported by the Prague municipality. They also described the current trends in the national integration policy of the Czech Republic. The network of integration centers is considered to be one of the main tools to support local integration.

Košice and Prague share part of their history, they are culturally similar, and a certain similarity in the migration trends can also be found. Košice is now where Prague was about 20 years ago. Experience with solutions for the integration of foreigners at the local level was therefore extremely inspiring and we believe that it will boost various initiatives in the city of Košice.