CONSOLIDATE is a project coordinated by Eurocities, in partnership with the European Network of Migrant Women, Migrants Network, and 12 cities/municipalities (Athens (EL), Cluj-Metropolitan Area (RO), Dortmund (DE), Fuenlabrada (ES), Ghent (BE), Gothenburg (SE), Lublin (PL), Milan (IT), Nantes (FR), Sofia (BG), Vienna (AT), and Zagreb (HR)), co-funded by the European Union’s AMIF fund.

The main aim of the project CONSOLIDATE is to facilitate the transition from short-term emergency responses to sustainable integration strategies for migrants in Europe, particularly in areas experiencing recent sharp increases in the arrivals of refugees and migrants. It seeks to build on existing coordination efforts and local initiatives, fostering mutual learning and policy innovation to develop effective, future-proof integration strategies. This involves collaboration with various stakeholders including local authorities, national governments, civil society, and migrants themselves, to address the challenges posed by increasing migration and diversity within the EU.

In facing these challenges, CONSOLIDATE will set up communities of practice (COP) that take stock of the most efficient tools and transferrable best practices; and accompany – through financial and technical support – 12 local authorities in designing innovative policy pilots for more effective support in the areas:  

1) effective labour market integration for refugees and other newcomers 

2) local support instruments for refugees towards housing autonomy 

3) One Stop Shops as accessible and efficient model for coordinated service provision. Together, these areas address 2 of the 4 priority sectors of the Action Plan on Integration. 

Furthermore, CONSOLIDATE will provide training to partner and external cities and identify best practice in responding to the cross-cutting challenges of: 

A) collecting and sharing client data in integration support – addressing principles of the EU Action Plan such as multi-stakeholder cooperation and more evidence-based integration policies; 

B) developing women-centred approaches to integration – in line with the Action Plan’s assessment that women face specific integration obstacles that need to be considered; 

C) managing transition from emergency to a strategic approach to integration – responding to challenges of cities with little prior experience and taking up the Action Plan’s general governance principles, such as co-design and multi-stakeholder cooperation. 

Through its communities of practice, its training sessions and its integration champions’ support, CONSOLIDATE will provide structured, tailored and efficient support for cities in 12 member states; and further cities outside the project.

In CONSOLIDATE, the European Network of Migrant Women (ENoMW) is one of the management teams within the project and amongst other responsibilities will deliver three training sessions on cross-cutting governance challenges including on women-centred approaches and will participate in all 12 peer review visits to the partner cities. Furthermore, ENoMW and its subcontracted members: Por Ti Mujer, Union of Ukrainian Women in Greece, Weavers of Hope and Oasis as well as the Finnish Syrian friendship will oversee the migrant advisory board that will form part of the management structure of the project.