ReliefWeb

This compendium collects best practices and successful experiences from participants in the Host Municipalities Network who are hosting a high number of refugees. The experiences described in this compendium demonstrate the strong efforts of host municipalities and local stakeholders in responding to the refugee crisis. Focused on priority sectors, these reports show local experiences in how to enhance good governance, strengthen social cohesion, improve labor market integration of both refugees and their hosts, and find solutions for the strained sectors of waste management and housing. While acknowledging that every host community faces problems and challenges that are unique to its particular context, the Network is offering to share their knowledge and successful experiences regarding how they have responded to common challenges in an effort to help alleviate the burden of each community finding new innovative solutions.

Since mid-2016, the Mediterranean Host Municipalities Learning Network has been bringing together about 100 staff and elected representatives from local governments that are hosting refugees in the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, and Europe, as well as development practitioners and relevant partners, to learn from one another’s experiences in ensuring the common welfare of host communities and refugees from a local government perspective.

Facilitated by the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) as part of its Mediterranean Refugees and Host Communities Program, the Network provides a platform for peerto-peer learning and knowledge and expertise sharing. An online platform allows for exchanges on a continuous basis, while regular face-to-face and online workshops offer targeted learning and discussions on themes that are identified as priority sectors by the municipalities, such as solid waste management, social cohesion, and health in contexts characterized by a high influx of refugees.