Bergen’s Centre for Inclusion this week hosts the 2025 Annual Meeting of Intercultural Cities (ICC) Co-ordinators – a gathering of city and region representatives from across the globe who all find strength in diversity and share their hands-on experience to build resilient local communities for all.
With the contribution of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Council on Youth and the City of Bergen, the thematic focus of this year’s meeting is on the participation of diverse young people in intercultural cities. To be genuinely inclusive, cities need to make sure that the diverse voices of young people are heard and taken into account. Pursuing an approach to inclusion which brings in the whole of society - including young people in all their diversity - is vital to creating genuinely inclusive and resilient local communities.
In horizontal exchanges, presentations and workshops, the participants from over 35 cities and organisations worked together to produce guidance for local and regional authorities in engaging diverse young people in different aspects of intercultural and youth policy.
The Annual Meeting of ICC Co-ordinators and its outputs contribute to the objectives of the Council of Europe New Democratic Pact for Europe through the exchange of good practices, identification of innovative policies and guidelines for diverse and inclusive societies, fostering democratic resilience at local and regional levels, including through the involvement of diverse youth in intercultural inclusion policies.
