Highlights

Lead Organizations

Event organized by the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), the World Bank Group, and support by other partners (IRC, GIZ, UCLG-MEWA).

Context

Municipalities in the Mediterranean are at the forefront in providing assistance to migrants and refugees. While 60% of worldwide refugees live in cities, this figure amounts to 85% in the MENA region. Refugees share with the local communities, space, resources, employment and services, placing additional strain on local communities and overwhelmed public services. The urban nature of refugee influx poses a number of significant challenges to municipalities who had to mobilize extraordinary resources to respond to this unprecedented crisis, which often extends beyond local governments’ traditional responsibilities (education, employment, aid relief and emergency shelter, health, etc.). Conversely, lacking municipal service provision can generate tension and exacerbate the vulnerability of refugees and host communities while jeopardizing social cohesion.

Rationale

After consulting with a dozen of key development and humanitarian organizations working directly with host local governments, it appeared that while evidence of successful local experiences in managing refugee influx and hosting is still thin, local governments facing similar challenges would benefit from exchanging on their successes and failures.

In this sense, this two-day workshop organized by the Center for Mediterranean Integration in collaboration with the World Bank Group aims at exchanging knowledge and good practices acquired by host communities and strengthening a coordination network among them.

This event will refrain from focusing exclusively on challenges, where discussions between participant experts and representatives will be framed around the Syrian refugee crisis as an opportunity for host communities to improve infrastructure, services and governance systems, and to enhance the response capacity and resilience of local communities.

Objectives

In line with the Regional Refugee & Resilience Plan (3RP), this event will support local governments and authorities in managing the shock of refugee influx. The event will bring together technical staff and elected representatives from local governments, central government focal points for municipal affairs as well as local NGOs and community initiatives from the Mashreq and Turkey to share lessons learned and innovative practices and discuss concrete strategies.

The peer-to-peer learning is designed to strengthen the resilience capacities and service delivery systems of local governments and authorities by:

• Strengthening their response capacity through action-oriented exchanges and linking innovative policy development with national policies and international support.
• Exchanging on innovative regional and international experiences and policies in support of refugees and IDPs, informed by the 3RP regional protection framework.
• Reinforcing host communities’ economic, social, and institutional resilience by expanding economic and livelihood opportunities for refugee and vulnerable populations
• Stimulate cross-country learning in and between Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and other MENA and European communities affected by the protracted crisis

Resources

• Agenda(EN, AR)
• Press Release (EN, AR)
• Detailed Summary of Discussions (EN)

Participants' Presentations

Official Opening session: Welcoming Addresses and Introductory Remarks

• Saleh Al Kilani, Refugee Affairs Coordinator, Ministry of Interior, Jordan
• Mehmet Abdullah Aksoy, Head of Health and Social Services Department, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey

Host Communities at the Forefront of the Refugee Crisis – How to increase Resilience?

• Janette Uhlmann, Senior Program Officer, Center for Mediterranean Integration, France
  Presentation of Survey Findings “Needs and Achievements of Host Communities”

Introduction to Thematic Session I: Intergovernmental frameworks and institutions of cooperation to improve local resilience to the refugee crisis

Working Group I.1: Local governments at the forefront of strengthening local resilience: planning and implementing resilience policies at the local level

• Presentation: Tony Sfeir, Chief Resilience Officer, Municipality of Byblos, Lebanon
• Discussant: Salam Badreddine, Union of Municipalities of Sahel Zahrani, Lebanon

Working Group I.2: Central and local government collaborations to improve services to refugees and migrants

• Presentation: Mehmet Abdullah Aksoy, Head of Health and Social Services Department, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey
• Discussant: Rodopi Panidou, Head of Legal Affairs, City of Offenbach am Main, Germany
• Moderator: Stephen Commins, Associate Director, Global Public Affairs, Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California

Working Group I.3: Developing sustainable financing for the provision of municipal services to refugees and citizens

• Presentation: Akram Abu Allan, Mayor of Thahiriya, Hebron Governorate, Palestinian Territories

Introduction to Thematic Session II: Service Delivery and Preparedness of Local Governments, including in collaboration with non-governmental actors

Working Group II.1: Innovations for mid-term housing and shelter solutions for refugees

• Presentation: Iman Zaki, Program Manager, UN Habitat, Jordan
  Jordan Affordable Housing Programme Note
• Discussant: Elias Jourdi, Project Manager, Integrated Urban Shelter Program in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, Norwegian Refugee Council

Working Group II.2: Innovative Collaborations between local governments, NGOs/CBOs and the private sector for services to citizens and refugees: leveraging the capabilities and resources of non-governmental actors

• Presentation: Mustafa Majed Hijazi, Council Member, Municipality of Saida, Lebanon
• Discussant: Andrija Rudic, Mayor, Municipality of Kutina, Croatia and Lauranne Callet-Ravat, Project Manager Turkey (Gaziantep), Expertise France

Working Group II.3: Innovative solutions for improved waste management for citizens and refugees

• Presentation: Nader Bitar, Council Member, Municipality of Hebron and Ahmad Sokkar, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Joint Service Council for Solid Waste Management for Hebron & Bethlehem Governorates, Palestinian Territories

Introduction to Thematic Session III: Local Economic Development and Labor Market Integration

Working Group III.1. Developing shared growth in areas affected by the refugee crisis: from national to local actions

• Presentation: John Speakman, Advisor, World Bank - “Jordan Special Economic Zones”
• Discussants: Maha Kataa, Coordinator for the Syrian Refugee Response in Jordan, International Labor Organization (ILO) and Abdel Majeed Alharahsheh, Mafraq Governorate, Jordan

Working Group III.2. Increasing the absorption capacity of the host labor market and refugees’ access and capacities to enter it

• Presentation: Mohammad Amoush, Deputy Executive Director, Youth Leadership and Entrepreneurship, Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), Irbid, Jordan

Working Group III.3: Developing the agricultural sector and jobs in rural communities affected by the Syrian refugee crisis

Presentation: Bruno Minjauw, Lebanon Resilience & Liaison Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Introduction to Thematic Session IV: Building and strengthening social cohesion between refugees and host communities

Working Group IV.1. Innovative examples on strengthening social cohesion: multi-service centers for vulnerable populations and collaborations between NGOs and municipalities

• Discussant: Bryn Boyce, Technical Coordinator, Community Empowerment & Livelihoods, Danish Refugee Council

Working Group IV.2. Coping with extreme refugee influx: developing best practices for building and maintaining peaceful co-existence

Working Group IV.3. Non-violent approaches to conflict resolution in host communities: international experiences in conflict mediation

• Presentation: Mark Clark, CEO, Generations for Peace NGO, Jordan

Towards communities of practice: existing initiatives and follow-up to support host communities

• ‘Global Alliance for Urban Crises’ (DFID, IRC, UNDP, UCLG-MEWA, UN Habitat)
  Samer Saliba, Urban Response Learning Manager, International Rescue Committee
• ‘Local Government Expertise for the Middle East' Initiative
  Wencke Mueller, Project Manager, Engagement Global, Germany
• The CMI ‘Mediterranean Refugees and Host Communities Program’
  Janette Uhlmann, Senior Program Officer, Center for Mediterranean Integration, France

Media Round-Up

• Mediterranean Municipalities Hosting Refugees Meet in Jordan, Orient News TV, (Arabic)
• A Workshop for Refugees Hosting Municipalities around the Mediterranean: Organizing and Service Providing as Well as Economic Development, MNA-Leb.Gov, (Arabic)
• A Workshop for Refugees Hosting Municipalities around the Mediterranean: Organizing and Service Providing as Well as Economic Development, Baladiyat, (Arabic)
• Karen Jacobsen Shares Experience With Communities Hosting Refugees, Feinstein International Center | Tufts University, (English)
• The World Bank Organizes a Peer-To-Peer Workshop with the Municipalities about the Refugees Crisis, AdDustour, (Arabic)
• A Workshop for Refugees Hosting Municipalities around the Mediterranean, Lebanonfiles, (Arabic)
• A Workshop for Refugees Hosting Municipalities around the Mediterranean, lobnan.org, (Arabic)
• Municipal Representatives Share Experiences, Solutions as Refugee Hosts, Jordan Times, (English)

Videos

Photo Album