2006.10.09 Rotterdam: Integrating Cities [EN] Updated

Update: 25.09.2006 [See Below]

Type: European Conference, public

Location/Date: Rotterdam/8-10 October 2006. Meetings on Monday, 09 October. Tuesday 10: Excursions. Sunday 08: Social Event.

Subject: Urban (immigrant) integration policies 

Relevance: The city of Rotterdam developed, under the 2002-2006 LPF-dominated city government, a harsh policy on immigrant issues. LPF was rushed early in 2002 into the city council by the late Pim Fortuyn, a populist politician who discovered the immigrants' issue as a rallying point for overwhelmed deprived area-dwellers. "Professor Pim" got more than 36% of the vote. The Government-appointed Mayor (Ivo Opstelten, VVD, Conservative Liberals) accomodated to a high degree with the xenophobic programme of the LPF. The major Government party, CDA (Christian Democrat) also joined the coalition with the LPF people in Rotterdam.

After the murdering of Pim Fortuyn (May 2002), alderman Marco Pastors (Housing and Spatial Planning) became the spearhead of this group. His racist and anti-Islamic utterances caused an uproar in the City Council as late as 2005. He was deposed. His LPF-co-alder(wo)man for Security issues, Marianne .... went as far as to demand that Antillean unmarried pregnant girls and women to be sterilized, an option that was not accepted by the Rotterdam city council majority of that time. She left politics after the communal elections. An idea that was picked up by the Rotterdam majority was the "Rotterdam Behaviour Code", a 15 articles long disciplinarization set of rules, that, among other things, forbade the use of other languages in public, than Dutch. The VVD-extremist national minister Verdonk (of "integration" and immigration) was very enthusiastic about that initiative. For info, look in my blogs In Europa Thuis and De Lage Landen.)

Meanwhile, the Rotterdam PvdA social-democratic former dominating party, adapted itself to a high degree to the populist surge, and claimed also strict rules against immigrant establishment in poor Rotterdam areas. I discussed that policy in our "Journal" here and there. 

In March 2006, unexpected by the ruling parties, the PvdA social-democratic Party got a crushing victory at the communal elections. In Rotteram, it regained its position as the biggest party. Under Pastors, the LPF, second in votes, rejected any coalition with the PvdA and the Government parties VVD and CDA did the same. After much dealing behind the screens, a coalition PvdA-VVD-CDA and "Groenlinks" was set up, and prudently, another policy was put in effect.

That is where we are now. Pastors is trying his chance at national elections on November 22. The new Rotterdam government is changing course. It needs support that it cannot obtain in Holland. This European Conference may help it, to go into a right direction. We're goingh to help it. Watch the results!

Here is the announcement of EUKN: 

“Integrating cities: European policies, local practices” is a conference which brings together policy makers and practitioners, acting at local and European level with a view to find ways for better cooperation and to reinforce existing mechanisms.

Description

The main objective of this conference is to find ways for better cooperation and to reinforce existing mechanisms between the European Union and European cities in the area of integration. By bringing together stakeholders in the integration debate we aim to rise to the challenges and make the best of the opportunities. Comparing the differences and commonalities of cities and seeing which policies have successfully helped to make cities good places to live for all inhabitants, will allow participants to draw lessons from good practices.

Speakers include: 

• Ivo Opstelten, Mayor of Rotterdam 
• Franco Frattini, vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security 
• Michel Delebarre, president of the Committee of the Regions 
• Gérard Collomb, vice-president of Eurocities, Mayor of Lyon

The conference is organised in close cooperation with Mr. Franco Frattini, vice-president of the European Commission, responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security. EUROCITIES is a partner as well. European Commissioners Ján Figel (Education, training, culture and multilingualism), Danuta Hübner (Regional policy) and Vladimir Spidla (Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) have indicated that they will contribute to the conference. Participants include mayors of European cities and representatives of the European institutions, national, regional and local authorities and migrant organisations.

Programme

The full programme and more information on this conference can downloaded at the bottom of this page. 

Download the Preliminary programme of the conference and additional information (PDF, Eng, 660 KB)

 

* I will attend to this Conference and report here about the new policies of the city for integrating  immigrants. Some new and renovating initiatives have been announced, so I am hoping to bring some good news to you about the City of Rotterdam this time...

 

2006.09.25: Update from the Conference organisers: 

 

	Two members of the European Commission have confirmed their participation in the Integrating Cities conference in Rotterdam. Mayors and leaders from all over Europe speak about the challenges they face and the solutions they have found. Some 150 representatives of the European institutions and City councils, will discuss integration and participation, together with representatives of national authorities, migrant organisations and other policymakers and practitioners. Tariq Ramadan, professor of Islamic Studies and Sadik Harchaoui, president of the Dutch Institute of Multicultural Development will deliver key-note speeches. Amongst the other speakers are Rita Verdonk, the Dutch minister for Immigration and Integration, Michel Delebarre, President of the Committee of the Regions, and Gérard Collomb, Vice-president of Eurocities.
	European Commissioners The conference is an initiative of the Vice-president of the European Commission, mr Franco Frattini, and the mayor of Rotterdam, mr Ivo Opstelten. Mr Frattini will take part in the opening and closing plenary sessions and the miniconference Dialogue and Participation. European commissioner mr Jan Figel will take part in the plenary session as well as the miniconference on Education and Youth. The European commissioners Hübner and Spidla and the European Parliament will be represented in the miniconferences.
	Cities Mayors of all major European cities have been invited to contribute to the conference. Sofar, the mayors and leaders of Bradford, Dunkirque, Leeds, Lyon and The Hague have confirmed their participation, as well as the vice-mayors or councillors of Copenhagen, Glasgow, Nancy, Sheffield and Stockholm. Representatives of local, national and European organisations dealing with integration and participation, will contribute their experiences.
	Miniconferences The commissioners and other representatives of the European institutions wil participate in four miniconferences related to their responsibilities. They will discuss integration policy and practice with the mayors and other representatives of cities and local and European organisations. The themes of the miniconferences are: Dialogue and Participation, Employment and Equal Opportunities, Education and Youth and Urban Regeneration and Cohesion. The conference takes place on Monday 9 October in The Van Nelle Ontwerpfabriek in Rotterdam. Working visits to Integrationprojects in Rotterdam are organized on Tuesday. The conference is organized by the City of Rotterdam in close cooperation with the European Commission and Eurocities, the network of major European cities. In order to give all participants the possibility to contribute to the discussion, participation in the miniconfernences is limited. Registration is possible via www.integratingcities.nl. For any questions please contact Marieke Kleijbeuker or Chris de Lange from the City of Rotterdam or the Conference secretariat.
	Conference Secretariat: Kuiters idea and organisation Telephone +31 (0)252 360 133 Telefax +31 (0)252 360 139 E-mail registration@integratingcities.nl   Organising Committee: City of Rotterdam Telephone +31 (0)10 417 2505 Telefax +31 (0)10 404 6393 E-mail m.kleijbeuker@bsd.rotterdam.nl

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Our Comment: (25.09.2006) This conference is set to become a major event in hte history of integration policy of the city of Rotterdam, and in the whole country of the Netherlands as well.

Dutch Integration and Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk (Conservative Liberal, VVD), keynote speaker, used to identify herself with the most extreme xenophobic proposals put forward by the former city government, dominated by the "Fortuynists". (Former Security Alderwoman Marianne Anker, of the Fortuyn group, even suggested seriously, last February, to sterilize selectively Antillean young women, in order to avoid teenage pregnancies...).

I am pretty sure, she will avoid a direct confrontation with another keynote speaker, Tariq Ramadan, who represents quite a different line of thought about the integration of Muslims in Europe.

(For the positions of Ramadan and other influential moderate Islamic leaders, on the way, Muslims should integrate in their respective European countries, see my post "Muslims of Europe Conference in Istanbul ..." (July 2006) in my blog "De Lage Landen".)