Nitra is the first Slovak city to adopt a comprehensive strategy for the integration of migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers. According to the municipality, the strategy offers tools for a proper approach to the topics of migration and the integration of foreigners. "The approved strategy is a gateway to obtaining financial resources. For example, from the national project ‘Integration of third-country nationals’, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Labor. Cities and municipalities will have to prove that the measures for which they are requesting money are part of some broader framework," stated Miroslava Hapalová, an expert from UNICEF.
According to her, UNICEF is currently working on similar documents with other Slovak cities in addition to Nitra. However, Nitra is the first to have submitted it to their city council. It is also a pioneer thanks to the fact that it already has a contact center for foreigners, COMIN, from which many cities, including Bratislava, are learning. “I appreciate it and I believe that other cities will follow Nitra," said Hapalová.
She also noted that it is important for local governments to have a framework for the integration of foreigners, because in this way they can prevent the emergence of possible risks and problems. "Experience from abroad also shows that if groups of refugees or other migrants find themselves on the fringes of society, problems can arise. So the creation of such a document is also a preventive step," she concluded.
Source: TASR
