Jerez de la Frontera, Spain - Intercultural City
Jerez de la Frontera is an Andalusian municipality situated in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in the valley of the Guadalquivir River. Belonging to the province of Cádiz, Jerez is the largest of its cities both in terms of population and extension and is the fifth most populous city of Andalusia. Even though the economic activity is traditionally in the production, sale and export of the equally-named wine (Jerez-Xérez-Sherry), due to the crisis of the craft in the 90s, the local economy had to diversify and open to new markets, ranging from the tourist sector (capitalizing on local identity features like the flamenco, horses or wine) to distribution and logistics, maintaining the importance of the agricultural sector and the wine product.
The undertakings in terms of interculturality and diversity management are elaborated in the municipality since 2004, when the Department for Social Inclusion was created. The actions that were conducted were directed at access to housing, social promotion of foreigners and intercultural coexistence. This was engaged by educative activities, impulses from the participation of foreigners and promotion of normalized access to goods and services offered by different institutions for citizens.
From August 2010 on, promoted and financed by “la Caixa” bank and with the collaboration of the Jerez Reception Centre for Immigrants, the Communitarian Intercultural Intervention (ICI) project was developed. Its main objective is to establish a management model for diversity that allows to coordinate and initiate communitarian processes of social and intercultural cohesion.
In 2012 the Strategic Plan for Social Services, Equality of Opportunities and Inclusion (2012-2015) was adopted. It commits to embark on intercultural actions with all of the population, as well as specific actions with persons with foreign background.
Mamen SANCHEZ DIAZ