Cities of Migration showcases good ideas in immigrant integration and promotes innovative practices that create inclusion and urban prosperity.

Browse the Good Idea Index

Conversations

Featured StoryFlight and Freedom

Interview with Ratna Omidvar on her experience as a refugee to Canada, and the book project, Flight and Freedom: Stories of Escape to Canada (forthcoming 2015).More.

Featured StoryThe Promise of Pluralism

In May 2014, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres delivered the Global Centre for Pluralism’s third annual lecture in Ottawa, reflecting on the promise of pluralism."More.

Featured StoryTelling Stories, Moving Pictures

Storytelling and sharing good ideas are the bread-and –butter of our work at Cities of Migration. Here are some great reads and films to watch over the holidays from our colleagues and associates at the Global Diversity Exchange.More.

Learning Exchange

Webinar Parks to Farms: Urban Migration and Community Development in Tower Hamlets and Thorncliffe Park

Neighbourhoods like Tower Hamlets (London) and Thorncliffe Park (Toronto) have become destination and “arrival cities” for successive waves of urban migrants. Join us online to learn how community-led initiatives organized by local residents are bringing down social barriers, empowering residents and building a vibrant sense of community.Read More.

Conference Videos Mayors Panel and the Big Debate

Watch videos from the Mayors Panel on Re-imagining the City and the Big Debate: Beautiful Game? Or Racist Quagmire? (2014 Cities of Migration Conference, Berlin).Read More.

New Webinar Video Generation to Generation: Empowering Newcomer Youth and Families

Learn about award-winning programs from Wellington, New Zealand and Toronto, Canada that improve language and digital literacy for immigrant families and youth by removing barriers to technology, promoting inter-generational tutoring, and strengthening community relations through education.Read More.
Municipal Leadership

Mayors on Migration

  • Jussi Pajunen

    “Immigrants are a positive force in Finnish society.”

    Jussi Pajunen Mayor of Helsinki

  • Raquel Castaneda

    “Immigrants tend to open more small businesses, which leads to more jobs.”

    Raquel Castañeda-López Council member from Detroit

  • Olaf Scholz

    “Naturalization is much more than an administrative act. It is the declared belief in our state and our society.”

    Olaf Scholz First Mayor, Hamburg

  • “Promoting and embracing diversity is essential in today’s context, as it is a reality faced by more and more cities the world over.”

    Dr. Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman Mayor, Southeast District, Singapore

  • Rahm_200x200

    “I want our city to be the first destination for immigrants because they are going to create the jobs, create the new companies, the businesses of the future. We have to be the most welcoming cities we can be.”

    Rahm Emanuel Mayor, Chicago, US

  • “Bilbao is an open city. At the City Council we encourage values of coexistence, dialogue and management of cultural diversity. In Bilbao, all persons, whether from Bilbao or outside, have the same opportunities and access to services offered by the city.”

    Iñaki Azkuna Mayor, Bilbao, Spain

  • Boise was built by immigrants. Our city has long been a place where people came from around the world to find economic opportunity and build a better life.

    David H. Bieter Mayor, Boise, US

Mayors on Migration

 

View our Good Ideas around the World