The Council of Europe’s Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) in December adopted two practical documents to help states ensure that policy makers, public officials and the general public perceive diversity not as a threat but as a collective advantage that generates dividends - not only for migrants, but for society as a whole.

The CDADI documents “Capacity building programme and tools for migrant integration” and “Manual for the design of a training course on intercultural competence” which follow the adoption of the Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)10 on multi-level policies and governance for intercultural integration, are an important contribution to shaping such policies and actions and thus increasing member states’ capacities to implement Council of Europe standards in this field.

While acknowledging that there is no “one size fits all” answer, the capacity building programme aims to foster the design and adoption by European states of national intercultural integration strategies which engage state institutions, regional and local authorities, and civil society. These strategies go beyond labelling migrants and focus on how individuals can contribute to the well-being of the whole society, while paying special attention to the groups that may be more at risk of multiple discrimination, such as migrant women, children, young people and LGBTI persons.

CDADI stresses that having an interculturally competent staff in public administration becomes even more relevant in the current geopolitical, sanitary and climate contexts.

The manual for designing intercultural training courses seeks to overcome these barriers. It specifically focuses on communicating to the participants the value of intercultural integration and on spreading it further, as well as on reinforcing their skills to tackle prejudice and stereotypes, and to identify and address multiple discrimination.