The Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities (ICC) Programme congratulates the municipality of Oeiras, Portugal, for its continued commitment to diversity, equality, and intercultural participation, as evidenced in its latest intercultural profile following the Expert Visit in December 2025.
Oeiras now stands in the top quartile of its peers, having significantly outperformed the average among similar-sized cities in applying an intercultural lens, international outlook, and intercultural intelligence and competence. This reflects not only growing awareness but also enhanced capacity for action across municipal services and civil society partnerships. Particularly noteworthy is Oeiras’ dynamic engagement with local migrant and Roma associations and its innovative educational initiatives, such as the Oeiras Educa+ programme and the Intercultural Educators network, which foster meaningful interaction and inclusion at all levels of society.
To further strengthen its intercultural framework, the expert report recommends Oeiras to:
- Develop a new intercultural strategy with the wide participation of NGOs and expert practitioners. This participative process should use multiple methodologies to capture the diversity of voices in Oeiras, ensuring the intercultural strategy becomes a vector for a positive, shared identity.
- Establish a round-table structure to enable regular, structured dialogue between municipal authorities and migrant and Roma associations. This approach, in line with international good practice, would allow for iterative engagement, working groups, and the development of annual workplans to monitor and steer intercultural policy implementation.
- Consider relocating leadership on interculturalism to the mayor’s office while maintaining expert staff support and creating an interdepartmental committee. This would underscore the transversal nature of intercultural integration and ensure all municipal departments play their part, mirroring successful models seen elsewhere in Europe.
By acting on these recommendations, Oeiras is well-placed to take a further measurable step forward in its journey toward an inclusive, dynamic community, serving as an example to others within the Intercultural Cities network and beyond.
