Amare – EU – AICCRE Veneta Federation

AMARE-EU, Adoption of Multicultural Approaches towards Resilience Enhancement in EU, is part of the Programme Prevention and preparedness projects in Civil Protection and Marine Pollution (DG European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations - ECHO)

Duration: 24 months (April 2018 – March 2020)

EU contribution (75% of the total eligible costs): € 356.700

AMARE-EU is concluded

Call for interest to candidate your city to became one of our 4 Pilot Cities: www.amareproject.eu/call-for-interest/

Is the information system of our cities good enough to reach all the citizens?
Over the last few decades, European cities have been characterized by migrant flows that have resulted in the growth of multicultural societies and the creation and expansion of non-native communities. At the same time, cities are increasingly investing in strengthening their adaptation capabilities to climate change, learning how to live with natural disasters, building in places and ways which take into account the possibility of disasters happening and developing as well as approving policies, regulations and plans for resilience enhancement in the short, medium and long run.

In this new context, one of the most important things is to involve all the citizens in the new challenging aspects that are rising in these years. When speaking of natural disasters, not being aware, not knowing who to call, how to act, where to look for updated info, is a key reason for exposure to severe risk. This is particularly true for non-native people. Cities are made up of and by citizens, who need to be recognized as key actors so that results can be gained from the policies and investments. The European project AMARE-EU will focus specifically on developing concrete, low-cost and easy-to-be-applied solutions to involve and inform those who, due to linguistic, social, economic, and cultural factors, are at severe risk in case of a natural disaster.

Thanks to a multi-sector and multi-skilled partnership composed of organizations active in the field of natural disasters, cultural cooperation, smart and resilient policies, cities coordination, migrants support and integration, a dedicated raising awareness toolkit and related communication campaign will be developed and implemented.

Key activities

Project activities start from the development of an online self-assessment tool to evaluate the capacity of cities to foster a culture of prevention in the presence of multicultural societies. This tool, together with an on-line library covering topics such as city resilience, multiculturalism and citizens involvement, will remain available throughout the project’s duration and beyond, and will help to increase the awareness cities have about the project’s topics.

Attracting and accessible materials related to risk reduction, mitigation of adverse consequences of disasters in local communities and citizens involvement will also be identified and adapted to the needs of multicultural societies. This material, together with proper guidelines and good practices, will constitute a toolkit supporting city administrators in ensuring the most effective involvement of non-native citizens in prevention and preparedness strategies, in order to create safer and more resilient communities.

At the same time, a call for interest will be launched to select 4 European pilot cities where the proposed approaches will be tested and implemented, with the direct support and expertise of project partners. Specific analysis, training and planning activities will be implemented in each of these cities, including the involvement of non-native citizens and the delivery of an awareness-raising campaign. This will allow for the validation of an innovative approach and set of supporting tools, that will then be made available for transfer and implementation throughout.

Results

Increased awareness about the role of non-native citizens in city resilience
Improved capacity of European cities to protect their citizens, in particular the most vulnerable, from the consequences of natural disasters and to contribute to a higher quality of life
Improved dialogue, cooperation and understanding between cities (institutions) and their citizens
Improvement, integration and adaptation of existing material on risk awareness, risk management, citizens involvement which will be made available at an international level
Strengthened prevention and disaster risk management approaches
Promotion of active citizenship, volunteering and solidarity
Protection of the most vulnerable categories
Promotion and enhancement of inclusive, dynamic and risk aware European cities

Project Partners

1. EPC- European Project Consulting srl – Coordinator (IT) www.epcsrl.eu
2. City of Vejle (DK) https://cityvejle.dk/
3. PREPARED International UG (DE) www.prepared-international.org/
4. ASSFAM- Groupe SOS Solidarites (FR) www.groupe-sos.org/
5. Lai-momo Società cooperativa sociale (IT) www.laimomo.it/
6. AICCRE- Associazione Italiana dl Consiglio dei Comuni e delle Regioni d’Europa – Federazione Veneta (IT) www.aiccre.it/ | www.aiccreveneto.eu/en/