Netherlands

Tilburg

Italy

Palermo

Amsterdam

Germany

Berlin

Bremen

United Kingdom

Swansea

Lewisham (London)

Poland

Gdańsk

Warsaw

Belgium

Ghent

France

Marseille

Halle (Saale)

Potsdam

Rottenburg

Greece

Livadia

Tilos

Milan

Utrecht

Spain

Barcelona

Cádiz

Valencia

Zaragoza

Switzerland

Zurich

Montreuil

Grenoble

Bern

Strasbourg

Aichach

Alpen

Arnsberg

Aschaffenburg

Asperg

Aurich

Bad Bentheim

Bad Lippspringe

Bad Oldesloe

Bad Waldsee

Bamberg

Bayreuth

Beckum

Bergen

Bergisch Gladbach

Biberach

Bielefeld

Bietigheim-Bissingen

Blomberg

Bochum

Bodenheim

Bonn

Brunswick

Brilon

Bruchhausen-Vilsen

Burgdorf

Buxtehude

Cloppenburg

Coburg

Cuxhaven

Darmstadt

Datteln

Detmold

Dinslaken

Dortmund

Düsseldorf

Egelsbach

Einbeck

Elmshorn

Emden

Emsdetten

Engelskirchen

Erfurt

Erlangen

Esslingen am Neckar

Fleckeby

Flensburg

Freiburg

Fürstenwalde Spree

Fürth

Gau-Algesheim

Geesthacht

Georgsmarienhütte

Gießen

Gifhorn

Göttingen

Grafing

Greifswald

Grünkraut

Gütersloh

Hachenburg

Hagen

Halle (Westfalen)

Haltern am See

Hamburg

Hamm

Hasbergen

Heidelberg

Herford

Herrenberg

Herten

Herzogenaurach

Hildesheim

Established on 26th September 2018 by nine founding cities, the [National Association of Welcoming Cities and Territories (ANVITA)](https://www.anvita.fr/) brings together local authorities, authorities associations and elected representatives who are committed to a policy of unconditional reception and hospitality. Today, the association includes 50 local authorities and groups, as well as about forty-five individual members. Each member must adhere to the values of the ANVITA Charter, based on the principle of unconditional hospitality. As a forum for political mobilisation, ANVITA coordinates a common advocacy strategy in order to safeguard refugee reception, and advocate for the better participation of local authorities in national reception policies. 

Anvita


The Austrian network [Bürgermeister mit Herz (Mayors with a Heart)](https://www.spooe.at/2020/03/05/allianz-gegruendet-buergermeisterinnen-mit-herz-fuer-menschen-die-wegen-krieg-und-terror-ihre-heimat-verlassen-mussten-die-bundesregierung-muss-endlich-verantwortung-uebe/) has declared its willingness to shoulder responsibility for and take in a moderate number of families and children from the Greek camps and from Europe’s borders in order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. 

Bürgermeister mit Herz

["Cities Network for Integration"](https://www.cnigreece.gr/en/) is an inter-municipal network led by Greek municipalities working together to organise and implement coordinated activities and interventions at both local and national levels. Their initiatives are aimed at promoting the social inclusion of migrants and refugees, while strengthening social cohesion. The “Cities Network” was initiated in January 2018 by the Municipalities of Athens and Thessaloniki. The relevant Memorandum of Understanding, now signed by 14 additional municipalities, has paved the way for a common framework for cooperation between municipalities, in the fields of knowledge exchange, capacity-building, joint policymaking at European, regional and local levels, fundraising and programme planning.


Cities Network for Integration

Since March 2020, over half of Dutch municipalities have joined a [coalition of the willing](https://www.vluchteling.nl/hoe-jij-kunt-helpen/Campagne-500-kinderen) that seeks to break national political stalemates, pledging for the relocation of 500 young unaccompanied refugees from camps in Greece. The Dutch government has repeatedly refused to participate in relocation efforts and operations, such as the one requested by Greek Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis Chrisochoidis, in October 2010, for European states to share responsibility for unaccompanied refugee children by voluntarily relocating them. These public municipal statements of solidarity are a response to the appeal by the Dutch Refugee Council, the “Refugee Foundation” and the organisation “Defence for Children” to form the coalition of the willing. These three NGOs initiated the campaign to exert pressure on the Dutch government to change its restrictive approach and position on the relocation of refugees.	

Cities of Refuge - Coalition of the Willing

The [City of Sanctuary](https://cityofsanctuary.org/) network's main aim is to promote positive relationships between local communities and those seeking sanctuary, and to create a culture of welcome and hospitality relying on the support of local groups and organisations. By autumn of 2020, there were approximately 50 cities involved in the City of Sanctuary network ([see list](https://data.cityofsanctuary.org/groups/list)), as well as a range of towns, regions, counties, boroughs and even a nation of sanctuary – Wales ([see the Swansea case study](https://moving-cities.eu/en/swansea)). Reflecting the network’s proliferating scope, sanctuary streams have also been set up for schools, universities, health services, maternity services, faith groups, gardens and libraries. The UK network is now set to put plans in motion for shops, sport clubs and businesses to also qualify for [Sanctuary Awards](https://cityofsanctuary.org/awards). Activities and actions organised through the network involve advocacy and campaign work, friendship and mentoring schemes, the hosting and provision of short breaks for sanctuary seekers, organising social and information drop-ins, as well as fundraising for refugee sponsorship, amongst others.

City of Sanctuary UK

The Spanish solidarity city network [Ciudades Refugio (“Ciutats Refugi”)](https://www.ciutatrefugi.barcelona/en/plan), Spanish for “Shelter Cities”, was initiated and founded by Ada Colau, the present mayor of Barcelona, and Manuela Carmena, the then mayor of Madrid. It currently consists of approximately 25 Spanish cities and municipalities. The network draws on universal and transnational discourses of solidarity and human rights. It highlights the importance of urban political space for progressive and inclusive migration and asylum politics – in contrast to the increasingly restrictive migration and asylum politics at a national level. The network has repeatedly called on the Spanish central government to show greater solidarity with and urgency towards the humanitarian refugee crisis in Europe. 

When the Spanish government refused to act on its commitment to receive refugees from Italy and Greece within the [European Reallocation Scheme](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-towards-a-new-policy-on-migration/file-1st-emergency-relocation-scheme) in 2017, the 25 “ciudades refugio” publicly called on the national government to transfer more powers to municipalities, allowing them to relocate and host migrants and refugees fleeing from conflict or conditions of extreme poverty. A year later, in 2018, the shelter cities network held a summit and published a declaration in which, once again, its member cities reminded the central government to comply with its promise to admit the agreed number of refugees. The declaration reaffirms the willingness of member cities to carry on welcoming people, and demands more resources from the central government to improve the reception process, making it a more dignified process for migrants and refugees.  


Ciudades Refugio

[Communes hospitalière](https://www.communehospitaliere.be/) is a campaign initiated by the CNCD 11.11.11. 
 
A hospitable municipality is a municipality which, by passing a motion, commits to at least two things: to raise awareness of migration issues among its population, and to improve the reception of migrants, whatever their status, in a way that respects their rights. It facilitates the procedures for all migrants, including asylum seekers, but also other people in sometimes even more precarious situations, such as undocumented migrants. 


Commune Hospitaliere

The network [International Alliance of Safe Harbours](https://staedte-sicherer-haefen.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IASH-Statement_International-Alliance-of-Safe-Harbours_ENG.pdf) was established at the “From the Sea to the City” conference in Palermo in July 2021. Its aim is to work together to push for cities to have a more active role in European migration policy. A transnational network can increase the visibility of welcoming municipalities and their interests at EU level, encourage other cities to act and build stronger alliances with civil society actors. 

International Alliance of Safe Harbours

Founded in March 2016, the aim of the network is to inform local governments about EU and Spanish policies that impact the field of refugee reception at the local level. The network [Municipios de Acogida de Refugiados](http://www.femp.es/comunicacion/noticias/red-de-municipios-de-acogida-de-refugiados-de-la-femp) (RMAR) seeks to promote a positive response from local governments to the arrival of asylum seekers and refugees. In this context, the organisation of events and campaigns is of central importance. The network aims to create a positive environment for the arrival of refugees in cities and to provide training for local government officials. The RMAR seeks to create an inventory of local resources that can contribute to the reception of refugees. This is particularly important for the provision of housing for persons seeking refuge. 


Red de Municipios de Acogida de Refugiados

[Sichere Häfen (Safe Harbours)](https://seebruecke.org/sichere-haefen) is a campaign initiated by the German grassroot movement [Seebrücke](https://seebruecke.org/), which involves its member cities declaring themselves to be a “Safe Harbour”. The cities commit to advocating for new and more comprehensive programmes for the legal reception of refugees, whilst at the same time demanding the decriminalisation of sea rescue, pushing for new state rescue missions and welcoming refugees into their midst. Member cities are willing to take in more people than they have to. 

Sichere Häfen

The coalition of [Solidaire Gemeenten (Solidary Municipalities)](https://vluchtelingenwerk.be/solidaire-gemeenten) consists of municipalities that express their solidarity towards people who have been forcibly displaced. The concept was launched in 2020 following the humanitarian crisis in the Greek refugee camps, which led municipalities to flag their commitment to relocate and give shelter to refugees. 

At a national level, municipalities who have declared their solidarity with refugees lobby the Belgian government to shoulder responsibility for refugees in line with their human rights, especially in connection with the new Pact on Asylum and Migration and by taking the lead in relocation initiatives. At the local level, municipalities who have declared solidarity with refugees offer additional qualitative support to displaced people, beyond basic reception services. Examples include encouraging citizens to become guardians for unaccompanied minors, involving refugees in leisure activities, sharing examples of good practice, supporting schools who are training refugees, developing models for community-based sponsorship etc. 

Eighteen municipalities have declared solidarity with displaced people so far. The campaign is supported by Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen (“Refugee Work Flanders”), a network aimed at defending the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Belgium. A draft letter is available to citizens, which they can send to their municipality demanding that they declare solidarity with refugees.  


Solidaire Gemeenten

[Solidarity Cities](https://solidaritycities.eu/) is an initiative for managing the refugee crisis proposed by the former Mayor of Athens, Mr. Kaminis, and launched under the [EUROCITIES](https://eurocities.eu/) network. It was designed with the aim of creating a framework within which all city-members’ actions and initiatives are presented, highlighting the political leadership of cities and their importance in facing the challenge. Cities that are part of the Solidarity Cities initiative aspire to collaborate with the European Commission and member states to manage the refugee situation. Their work is guided by the principles of responsibility and solidarity, as declared in the EUROCITIES statement on asylum as well as in the open letter drafted by EUROCITIES politicians and published on International Refugee Day, 20th June 2016. 

“Solidarity Cities” is built on four pillars: 
1)  information and knowledge exchange on the refugee situation in each city; 
2)  the campaign for greater involvement and direct funding of member cities for the reception and integration of refugees; 
3)  inter-city technical and financial support and capacity-building; 
4)  pledges by European cities to receive relocated asylum seekers. 

Solidarity Cities

The alliance [Städte Sicherer Häfen (Cities of Safe Harbours)](https://staedte-sicherer-haefen.de/en/#buendnis) is composed of municipalities in Germany affiliated with the Seebrücke initiative and its demands. Members of the network have declared themselves willing to take in refugees from the Mediterranean or from refugee camps located at Europe’s borders. The alliance considers itself to be an association of humanitarian values, with extensive expertise in integration and asylum matters, and lobbies the German federal government to increase its intake of refugees. All members of the alliance "Cities of Safe Harbours" are members of the Safe Harbours network. 

Städte Sicherer Häfen

The [Unia Metropolii Polskich (Union of Polish Metropolises)](https://metropolie.pl/) was created in 1990 by the mayors of five cities as a solidarity forum for local authorities. The Union sought to network post-communist cities with democratic cities in Europe and the rest of the world. In 1993, the Union of Polish Metropolises was formally registered as a foundation. 

UMP members have signed a Declaration of Cooperation on migration matters. This was followed by the creation of the Migration and Integration Team, which has become the  main platform for cities collaborating on the issue of inclusion. In September 2020, in response to a call from non-governmental organisations, the UPM issued a statement expressing its willingness to offer shelter to children and families who were victims of [the fire in the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos.](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54082201)

Unia Metropolii Polskich