Riga City Council invites active newcomers who have moved to Riga from other countries to take part in improving civic participation opportunities for citizens of Riga. This year, in-person meetings with newcomers will be organised in Riga, during which opportunities for citizens’ participation and involvement will be explored in cooperation with Riga's local government staff and representatives of non-governmental organisations.
To make the meetings engaging, topical and relevant to the interests and perceived challenges of newcomers, residents of Riga who have moved to the city from abroad and have lived in Riga for some time are invited to fill in a questionnaire on topics of interest to them.
The questionnaire is available in three languages, including Russian, taking into account that newcomers from Ukraine may not be fluent in Latvian or English. The questionnaire is open until 20 January:
After the survey, the results will be compiled and monthly meetings will be scheduled from February to June, covering various topics related to citizens' involvement in the work of the local government. In autumn, the most active participants will meet with the Riga City Council.
The meetings are held within the framework of the project ‘Migrant Integration Through Locally Designed Experience’ (MILE) implemented by the local government.
Partners of the project include local governments, universities and non-governmental organisations representing Belgium, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Latvia. Alongside Riga State City Local Government, the public policy think tank Providus and the foundation Make Room Europe are involved in the project as Latvian representatives. The project is funded by the European Union's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
The target audience of the project includes migrants, local government staff and policy makers, and the project aims to ensure that better integration policy is designed and implemented at the local government level, incorporating the needs of different groups of society and empowering citizens to take an active and responsible part in shaping their local government, communities and lives.
Last year, as part of the project ‘Migrant Integration Through Locally Designed Experience’, the local government organised a meeting with newcomers from different countries, giving them a chance to get acquainted with local government specialists and share their experiences of living in Riga.
Information was prepared by: Edīte Matuseviča, Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department, e-mail: edite.matusevica@riga.lv