'Only when you are open, you can be inter-cultural and put the focus more on what we share than on our differences'

Charles Landry

Direktor, Comedia

Today more than 50% of the population live in cities. By 2050 two thirds of humanity will be living in urban areas. Racial, ethnic and religious diversity in European cities will be the norm in the 21st Century. With the arrival of large numbers of new residents to these cities comes great opportunity for innovation and progress in social, economic and cultural development.

OPENCities offers a unique tool that measures how open cities are to diverse populations and brings insights into how these populations can contribute to city success. Cities are offered a new marketing category – OPENCities – that can be used to promote their openness and raise their international profile.

What is the OPENCities-project?

OPENCities is an ambitious exploratory project which aims to capitalize on the many resources that a diverse population can bring to a city without ignoring the challenges that successful integration involves. We aim to engage over 100 cities and develop OPENCities into a kitemark for cities worldwide. .

•A distinctive diagnostic tool to measure city openness

•Openness built into city action plans for the first time

•A set of guidelines and best practice examples

•A resource bank for cities on internationalisation and leadership

•An international network of open cities and a unique grouping of city leaders

•An MBA in city leadership  

The objective of these activities is to provide o policies for city policy makers worldwide; thinktank and research organisations; migrant community leaders; NGOs; European Commission; regional and national governments.

In Slovakia Nitra Region is the project partner.