Presentation for Integration and Slovene Language at the Municipality of Ljubljana

The Peace Institute, the Gmajna Cultural Association, and the Community of Municipalities of Slovenia, in cooperation with the Municipality of Ljubljana, organized a seminar on strengthening the voice of migrants in integration and inclusion policies.

In Ljubljana City Hall, Irina, and Godwill, members of the Migrant Advisory Council in Graz (Migrant: Innerbeirat Graz), presented their work and the history of the council.

The purpose of the seminar was to analyze the possibilities of political participation of migrants at institutional and local levels. The experience of the Graz Council has strengthened our resolve to continue to work towards a similar representation of migrants in Ljubljana.

The Intercultural Dialogue Association presented its projects for the integration and social inclusion of migrants in Slovenia and how to deal with the problem of those who do not know the Slovenian language and proposed some solutions that can help migrants to learn the language and integrate better into society.

We would like to thank the MOL, Vice-Mayor Dejan Crnek, and representatives of MOL departments for their hospitality and presence at the event. We also support and collaborate with the migrant leaders and migrants who presented the challenges they face in trying to integrate into the local community to make Slovenia a better place for all.

Our city deserves a migrant representative on the city council. The City of Ljubljana and its structures should take migrants’ voices into account when shaping policies on coexistence and cohesion.

We would also like to thank the Gmajna Cultural Association and the Peace Institute for inviting us to participate in this valuable project.

Seminar was co-funded by the EU and took place on 31 May in the framework of the EMVI / AMIF project.