EPIC

Launched in January 2020, The European Platform of Integrating Cities (EPIC) is a 3-year project which aims to improve the integration of migrants at the local level by creating a European network of Local Authorities (LAs) and their implementing partners (NGOs). In the scope of the project, all participating actors will engage in four pillars of cooperation: A) Sharing knowledge and best practices of migrant integration, B) Engaging in peer-to-peer exchanges based on common priorities and different expertise, C) Implementing efficient integration practices within local territories and D) Developing capacities to counter negative narratives on migration, in particular through effective communication. 

Based on this exchange, the EPIC cities are now developing pilot initiatives to deliver new integrating services and campaigns in their territories, based on the results of the knowledge exchange with their paired cities. In particular, AEIDL has been working with all partners on their communication skills and on how to change negative narratives about migration, through both online webinars and internal participatory workshops to guide them on how to prepare a local campaign addressing a specific issue in their territory. 

The local campaigns already launched are accessible online on the project website and will be systematically evaluated, with the campaign impact results being published by mid-2023. The EPIC project is funded under the European Union’s Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund (AMIF) and led by ALDA, the European Association for Local Democracy.