Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19, the Thematic Meeting of the Italian Network of Intercultural Cities on the Anti-Rumours Strategy had to be postponed at a later date. The event was supposed to be held in Reggio Emilia on the 26th and 27th February 2020, under the technical coordination of ICEI – International Economic Cooperation Institute.

Since then, many scenarios have changed: Italy had to face one of its biggest crisis in the latest years in terms of human lives, health costs and social urgent needs.

On a wider sense, the Covid-19 crisis is not only a healthcare matter: it is underlining inequalities and it risks mining social cohesion among the various communities that are part of our societies.

Municipalities still are on the frontline to respond to the ongoing situation.

For these reasons, the Italian network Città del Dialogo is well aware of the urgency to step in and renovate local authorities’ commitment in the promotion of the intercultural values. We know we are facing a tough moment but we strongly believe in social solidarity and we do not want our societies to lose ground on the intercultural signs of progress achieved so far.

Three main topics are on the agenda:

1. New challenges of the Italian Intercultural Cities to enhance intercultural (social and economic) inclusion despite the sharpening of intolerance, marginalization and discriminatory phenomena
2. Communication Plan of the network to maximize its efforts in implementing the working plan (2020-2022), improve its internal communication procedures, make the network stronger and more visible
3. Next steps for the second half of the year: set common priorities and evaluate new proposals based on the Cities' needs.