Program

Countries Targeted

• Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, Europe

Partners

Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), Agence Française du Développement (AFD), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Medcities, UN Group, International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), United Cities Local Governments – Middle East West Asia (UCLG MEWA), World Bank Group.

Challenges

Syria’s neighboring countries are facing an unprecedented and protracted refugee crisis with spillover effects in Europe, in which humanitarian challenges are coupled with long-term development challenges for the Mashreq and the entire Mediterranean region. There are some 5.2 million (September 2017) registered Syrian refugees in the Mashreq and North African countries, while a significant number (970,316) has applied for asylum in Europe.

Host countries are providing the international community with a global public good, and need to be supported in return. Urban communities are particularly affected by the influx of refugees, which places additional strain on the provision of basic services and social cohesion.

Program Objective

Supporting local authorities with evidence-based knowledge and peer-learning to improve their capacity in priority public service delivery to their populations and the most vulnerable, including refugees. This contributes to better livelihoods and social cohesion. This pillar disseminates and mainstreams knowledge on relevant good practices and experiences from the Mashreq communities and beyond.

The Host Municipalities Learning Network

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Selected Outcomes

• Development organizations defined joint activities to better support host communities through CMI :
  
  More than 15 development institutions working with local governments affected by the Syrian refugee crisis from a development or a humanitarian angle were convened by CMI through 4 partner consultation meetings, leading to the mapping of partner’s activities, the design of Peer-to-Peer event working group sessions, and to the creation of a new “Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network” (September 2016) and the organization of targeted workshop series on priority themes for host communities.
  
   
• CMI Survey of Mashreq and Turkish host communities informed Host communities program:
   

  CMI conducted a survey among host municipalities participating to the Peer-to-Peer exchange in Amman (May 2016), with a good response rate (83%). The self-assessment snapshot aimed at taking stock of successful and challenging experiences among host communities, and it was used to prepare the P2P learning event and to design follow-up support.

  A second survey has been conducted prior to the second annual Peer-to-Peer exchange in Beirut (May 2017) for a closer look into the main challenges faced and areas of support for host communities.
  
   
• Host Municipalities built response capacity and exchanged experiences on priority sectors and actions for refugees and host communities in the MENA Region and beyond:
   

  May 30th-June 1st, 2016: first Peer-to-Peer Learning Workshop for Communities Hosting Refugees: “Mediterranean Municipalities at the Forefront of the Refugee Crisis”, organized in close partnership with 6 institutions and the Government of Jordan was held in Amman, Jordan.

   

  September 2016: launch of the Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network – virtual platform.

   

  October 2016: CMI-WB Host Municipalities Workshop on Solid Waste Management in Bethlehem, Palestine with attendance of 90 participants from Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, and virtually from Lebanon and Iraq.

   

  November 2016: CMI-GIZ Host Municipalities Workshop on Social Cohesion in Sanliurfa, Turkey with attendance of 60 participants from Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

   

  February 2017: Webinar on “PPPs and New Technologies in Solid Waste Management”, with virtual attendance of 20 participants from Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon.

   

  April 2017: Webinar on “Data Production for Strengthening Social Cohesion in Host Communities”, in collaboration with GIZ, with virtual attendance of 30 participants from local government and development organizations in France, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, and Switzerland.

   

  May 2017: 2nd Annual Peer-to-Peer Learning Workshop of the Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network: “Improving Local Economic Opportunities for Host Communities and Refugees”, with attendance of 90 participants from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. 

   

  May 2017: CMI developed a Compendium collecting best practices for communities hosting refugees (“Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network: Best Practices in Hosting Refugees”), for further knowledge-sharing among the Host Municipalities Network and beyond.

   

  October 2017: Webinar on Private Sector Mobilization for communities hosting refugees and official launch of the Host Municipalities Network – Collaborative virtual platform (C4D), after internal consultations with Network core members from Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Expected Outcomes

Consensus building and networks: support and consolidate the Host Municipalities Network with evidence-based knowledge to improve their response capacity in for refugees and the most vulnerable through targeted learning on public service delivery and Local Economic Development (LED), and network action-planning;

Disseminating and mainstreaming knowledge: share innovative solutions with host communities to fast-track their implementation, and facilitate knowledge exchange on priority sectors and local economic development.

Pilots and innovative solutions: strengthen and enhance knowledge- and experience-sharing on innovative solutions to forced displacement.