Community Mediation Pro- Gramme in Fuenlabrada: Promoting Active and Intercultural Inclusion

CASE STUDY Community Mediation Pro- gramme in Fuenlabrada: Promoting active and intercultural inclusion

SPAIN

The Community Mediation Programme was carried out by MPDL in early 2014, with the aim of improving peaceful coexistence between the native and foreign population in Fuenlabrada, which is one of the largest muni- cipalities in Madrid.

The programme aimed at promoting the necessary conditions for actual and effective multicultural coexistence, creating a social support network and generating processes to meet social needs, allowing minorities to participate in their adoptive community’s social and cultural life. The programme conceived of community mediation as a process that works with a preventive approach. The process requires time, the results are not immediately visible, and its results tend to be more medium and long term. The preventive approach implies going beyond the conflict revealed, and trying to have an impact on the causes that can lead to conflict in the future.

Intercultural community mediation aims to strengthen the communication channels between the different cultural groups and strengthen their relationship with the local authorities to prevent and normalise the re- solution of conflicts from a positive point of view. It also tries to enhance the participation of the groups or ethnic minorities to advance the demo- cratic construction of a more just and harmonious society.

Intercultural mediation is the basis of MPDL intervention and the best strategy to achieve co-responsibility among citizens and the promote citizen participation and coexistence, mutual understanding between foreign and native populations is also developed, since it provides mee- ting and sensitisation time and makes social resources more accessible to foreign people.

Published in September 2015 © SOLIDAR COMMUNITY MEDIATION PROGRAMME IN FUENLABRADA: PRO- MOTING ACTIVE AND INTERCULTURAL INCLUSION

THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME ARE: The Community Mediation Programme was carried 1. To design and implement actions which en- out in 2014 by the MPDL, with the aim of improving courage social cohesion between foreign and the social cohesion of the population by the stren- native populations in the Municipality through gthening of the social fabric in the municipality of analysis. Fuenlabrada. 2. Strengthen the associative fabric in the municipality. Fuenlabrada is a municipality in the southern area 3. Reduce the existing prejudices and stereotypes of the Community of Madrid, with the largest popu- in the population through sensitisation, promo- lation not only in the community of Madrid, but also ting equal treatment and combating discrimi- in Spain. nation. 4. Promote the participation of the migrant popu- Fuenlabrada owes its population growth primarily lation in the resources and services offered by to migration, first internal, from other provinces of the Municipality. Spain, mainly in the 70s, and then to international 5. Encourage networking among institutions, migration, mainly since 2000. It is also a municipa- social agents and other social fabric so they lity with a high unemployment rate, higher than the actively participate. average in the autonomous community. Thirteen per cent of Fuenlabrada’s population is foreign. The methodology used to reach these goals in- Fuenlabrada has the largest number and a wide va- cludes a global vision of Fuenlabrada reality, actions riety of associations (more than 800 currently), and based on “inter-multidimensionality” (in other words is notable for the high level of citizen participation the interdependence of actions, social actors and in the construction of the city. However, coopera- the context), coherence between purpose and tion between associations is at present very low, action and the use of public spaces, resources and especially in the immigrant associations, which have services. focused on cultural and/or religious goals within their own community. They have done little to parti- VARIOUS PROCESSES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED cipate in the collective construction of the city. TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS: Fuenlabrada is a multicultural space where the • A process of rapprochement between immi- collectives simply coexist, but are poorly connected grants and the neighbourhood associations; between them. • The process of strengthening and promoting collaboration between the associations; • A process of making neighbourhood festivals more intercultural; • Processes to strengthen association networks; • Processes to promote the integration of women from immigrant associations into the local council;

2 Case Study COMMUNITY MEDIATION PROGRAMME IN FUENLABRADA: PRO- MOTING ACTIVE AND INTERCULTURAL INCLUSION

The intervention strategy is directed at the community level and makes use of community me- • Processes to support the creation and stren- diation as the main tool for developing a sense of gthening of associations, giving greater priority co-responsibility among citizens and municipality to immigrant associations; actors, so that they can also solve conflicts typical of • Processes to promote the participation of coexistence. minorities in public activities directed at citizens by the Local Administration. Greater access to The aim of the mediation therefore is to eliminate municipal resources by the mosques. visible and non-visible obstacles to equal and normal access to existing public resources, such as ignorance, prejudice, language or any other communication obstacles. Several activities have been developed, targeted at both minorities and at the professionals who work with them: sensitisation workshops, talks about cultural and communication tools for administrative workers, Spanish courses for immigrants, counselling…

THE PROGRAMME INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING: • Elaboration of analytical reports about the needs of the population by using qualitative and quantitative data as a design tool for future interventions; DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES ARE DESIGNED IN ORDER • Intercultural community mediation – identifica- TO REACH THESE GOALS: tion of conflict and mediation to resolve them. Intercultural encounters, awareness-raising ac- The programme addresses conflicts between tivities, activities to learn about other cultures, the immigrant and native population related informative talks on the resources and operation to social cohesion and tries to detect latent of Fuenlabrada, for newcomers to the municipa- conflicts by identifying natural leaders, mee- lity, promotion and strengthening of association ting points, the manner in which neighbours networks, actions to promote the participation of talk about immigration, etc. The participation the immigrant population within neighbourhood of women is also analysed, in order to detect associations, actions to involve migrant associations possible cases of isolation, linguistic difficulties, in the design of local festivals, intercultural media- discrimination, etc. tion workshops aimed at young people in educatio- • Participation and collaboration in community nal centres, informative talks on citizenship and the and intercultural activities arranged by the City- right to vote in mosques, talks by authorities and Hall and social organisations. the municipality’s technical services in mosques, • Networking with institutions and social actors writing articles that deal with immigration, coexis- through participation and the creation of coor- tence and community mediation in local magazines. All these actions are based on an analysis of the si- tuation and the demands made by the associations and/or the local Administration.

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The Movement for Peace – MPDL- is a Development, Social Action and Humanitarian Aid organisation, dination and discussion forums where social created in 1983. The Movement for Peace is an NGO cohesion is the main component. formed by people who work day by day to build peace. We understand that peace is a lot more than the absence of war, and so our aim is to work for world peace encouraging cooperation, solidarity and mutual understanding between persons and between peoples.

The MPDL was born in the heat of the enthusiasm shared in a pacifist demonstration held in Madrid on 15 November 1981 by a group of people that decided to form an Association in compliance with the 1964 law. FINAL REMARKS After this year and a half of intervention the fol- The MPDL is an independent, secular and progres- lowing results have been achieved: sive non-governmental organisation. The MPDL • Legitimacy of the programme , a basic require- pursues a dual objective in its actions: ment for any mediation project; • To promote, spread, encourage and protect • Positive assessment by the local Administration the universal principles of peace, disarmament, that decided to allocate funds to support a freedom and the coexistence of men and wo- project which concluded last year; men and peoples, in the framework of interna- • Positive assessment by the neighbourhood tionally recognised Human Rights. associations who are urging the local Adminis- • To act against the inequality and injustice tration to give continuity to the project; through development cooperation and social • An increasing number of proposals for colla- action. boration to develop activities from the associations; he MPDL works to promote a new international • An increasing number of proposals for colla- order that would eliminate inequality, exclusion and boration from the local administration. The poverty, whose existence in an increasingly globa- increased presence of immigrant associations in lised world generate violence and are incompatible the associative networks. with peace, both internally and internationally. • An increase in the bilateral collaboration of associations. CONTACT • The creation of channels of communication www.mpdl.org between the local Administration and immigrant associations.

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