The Council of Europe is seeking four pioneer municipalities or cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina willing to work on making their local communities more inclusive, more resilient and better places to live by applying the Council of Europe’s intercultural inclusion approach.

With the launch of the project Combating Discrimination, Hatred and Fostering Inclusion in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Phase II, funded under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026-2029, the Council of Europe is looking to support local authorities in building social cohesion and intercultural inclusion, while addressing ongoing challenges of discrimination, hate speech, and intolerance.

The initiative is structured to make local authorities’ participation straightforward and supportive, not demanding or resource-intensive. The aim is to support local governments to build skills, access expert guidance, and benefit from tailored strategies, all of which can strengthen inclusion efforts at the local level. The cities who take part will be leading the way on building more inclusive policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.

Benefits for Municipalities:

• Practical Support and assessment of policies: Municipalities will receive expert guidance to develop and implement intercultural inclusion policies and strategies, designed to fit their needs and context. This includes proven tools and methods from the Intercultural Cities Programme, such as the Intercultural Cities index, anti-rumours methodology, as well as opportunities for peer learning.
• Capacity Building and expert visits: Mayors, local officials, and staff will participate in training, exchanges, and workshops on how to foster diversity and tackle discrimination in everyday life, based on identified needs.
• Sharing Best Practices internationally: Participating municipalities will work with a network of peers across Bosnia and Herzegovina and Europe, exchanging ideas and good practices in intercultural integration, raising their international profile.

By taking part, municipalities will be able to address local needs more effectively, promote positive community relations, strengthen trust, and help make diversity a resource for everyone. They will also work on the Index tool as a means to guide better public policy making in the field of inclusion, and receive an expert visit from the Council of Europe to follow up on those results. Drawing on the lessons of the index, a tool will be developed to help municipalities across the country benefit from diversity and foster more inclusive and resilient societies.

The project will run from January 2026 to December 2027 and in this aspect, relies strongly on the participation of interested cities and municipalities.

Municipalities interested in joining the project should send a short application of fewer than 500 words to [email protected] in English by 7 May 2026.

This must include:

1. The motivation for applying.
2. The challenges the municipality wishes to address through the project (e.g. workplace inclusion, tackling discrimination, increasing migrant or minority participation);
3. The staff resources the municipality can devote (e.g. how many staff, how many hours, etc.)
4. Some socio-demographic or economic data about the municipality (e.g. presence of national minorities, migrants or other groups, history of such presence, economic indicators).
5. The application should be signed by a decision-maker

Any questions about the selection process, the project or its expected outcomes can also be directed to [email protected].