How to Engage Immigrants & Refugees in Participatory Budgeting
/Video interpretations of Spanish, French, Chinese, and Portuguese.
There were 272 million international migrants in 2019, including nearly 80 million forcibly displaced people: refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people (IDPs). Conflict, natural disasters worsened by climate change, and economic need have driven increasing numbers of people to seek safety, human rights, and well-being in new countries.
It is vital to include immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in the civic life and decision-making processes of their communities to help them integrate into their host society. Participatory budgeting (PB) can be a highly effective and practical way to integrate these newcomers into your community.
For this course, People Powered has developed and compiled the resources to help you make participatory budgeting (PB) more inclusive, engaging, and empowering for immigrants, refugees, and IDPs. You will find an online course where PB implementers share best practices and lessons learned, and a short and accessible info sheet that provides actionable recommendations on how to engage immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in PB. Find and explore these resources below!
Who leads the course?
Leonid Donos, Association for Communities Participatory Development (Ukraine)
Diana Dajer, University of Oxford (Colombia)
Malin Svanberg, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sweden)
Victoria Trygg and Klara Andersson, City of Gothenburg (Sweden)
Norma Hernandez, UIC Great Cities Institute (United States)
Yen-Ting Hsu, Taiwan Reach-Out Association for Democracy (Taiwan)
Shih-Zhe Lai, Ministry of Culture. Formerly at Taoyuan City Department of Labor (Taiwan)
Who is this course for?
Organizations that are supporting or advocating for government action on inclusive citizen participation and the rights of immigrants, refugees, and IDPs.
Government staff and officials responsible for managing citizen participation, and inclusion of immigrants, refugees, and IDPs.
International organizations and funders that want to better support or encourage efforts to include immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in community & civic life.
What you will get from this course?
After this webinar, you will be able to:
Recognize the diverse barriers that prevent or limit the participation of immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in PB and other participatory processes.
Identify the contexts in which PB and other participatory processes might bring opportunities for inclusion and empowerment of migrants in public decision-making.
Identify and share key lessons and best practices for including immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in PB in Ukraine, Colombia, Taiwan, Sweden, and the United States.
Identify key decisions you need to make to include immigrants, refugees, and IDPs in PB in your city.
Identify key partners, actions, and tools to help you advocate for and implement more inclusive practices.
Develop plans and next steps for advocating for and implementing more inclusive practices.
Receive free mentorship from an inclusive PB expert.
Mentorship Program
Address specific challenges for starting and implementing a Climate Assembly through individual or group mentoring sessions with experts.
*To sign up for mentorship you must have attended the webinar or have watched the recording, and completed the evaluation form.
More Resources
If you know additional useful resources on this topic, please check if they’re already part of our resource center, and share them with us if not!
