Fostering inclusive integration through public services

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 42-43

Problem addressed

Brno, the second largest city in Czechia, has a large

migrant population. 33 000 migrants, from diverse cultural

backgrounds, make up around 8% of the city’s population.

Cultural and language barriers can make communication

between public of‌f‌icers and migrants dif‌f‌icult, resulting not

only in misunderstandings and conf‌licts, but also in dif‌f‌iculties

for migrants to access education and health services.

Innovative solution

Intercultural Assistant is a project that started in 2017, as

part of the strategic plan for social inclusion developed by the

Municipal Department for Social Af‌fairs and the State Agency

for Social Inclusion. The project aims to make public services

accessible to all by introducing a new role in social services

– the intercultural assistant. These assistants, employed

by the municipality, are responsible for removing barriers

between migrants and public service of‌f‌icers. They provide

personalised support and counselling to migrants and can

accompany them to meetings with dif‌ferent public services

such as hospitals or schools. They also assist public service

of‌f‌icers who oen do not know how to deal with migrants and

therefore have limited capacity to help them.

Intercultural assistants are experts on the issues faced by the

minority groups. Most of them come from the community

themselves and speak the language of the minority group.

They receive mediation, conf‌lict prevention and resolution

training from a partner organisation, Sociofactor6. There is

also intercultural training for the of‌f‌icers.

Key results and benef‌its

Four intercultural assistants are now employed full-time by

the Municipal Department for Social Af‌fairs. These assistants

reached out to 635 migrants during the one and a half years

that the project has been running. The intercultural assistants

help the largest minority groups in Brno, including Russian,

Ukrainian, Arab, Moldavian, Romanian and Vietnamese

migrants. The type of support most requested by migrants

is translation or counselling services. Overall, the project has

eased communication between migrants and public services

and facilitated social integration.

Evaluation of the project has shown that the of‌f‌icers

who received project support have become more open

and tolerant towards migrants and have increased their

intercultural competences.

Fostering inclusive integration

through public services

Intercultural Assistants

Czechia

SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

42

© City of Brno, 2019

Type of support provided by intercultural workers

20%

0%

40%

60%

80%

100%

56.5% 53.5%

46.8%

17.5% 16.1%

1.0%

Interpreting Social

counseling Social

prevention Network to public

institutions Other supportAccompaniment