WELDI baseline report

SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Long experience in receiving vulnerable migrants and working
with a multicultural population, making Seine-Saint-Denis an arrival
territory and a springboard for their future integration.
Opportunities
Seine-Saint-Denis is a member of the French ANVITA network of
Welcoming Cities and Territories and is in the process of joining
the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities programme.
Political leadership and support for unconditional welcome.
Applying human rights standard in areas of its competence.
Seine-Saint-Denis is the first Department to hold two state labels
certifying its commitment to promote diversity and equality.
Civil servants in the county represent the diversity of the population.
Committed civil society.
Seine-Saint-Denis political leaders are active in national debates
about migration and human rights. Since 2013, the département
holds the co-chairmanship of the committee on Social Inclusion,
Participatory Democracy and Human Rights (CSIPDHR).
Threats
Seine-Saint-Denis has direct access to ESF+ and manages a budget
of 35m.
The 2024 Olympic Games are an opportunity to raise the profile
of SSD, particularly in terms of sports facilities and the legacy of
infrastructure, as well as the possibility of raising the profile of
the languages spoken in the region.
Seine-Saint-Denis was selected in the national programme “Territoires
zéro non-recours” (“Territories where no one is deprived
of their rights”) to help people access benefits and assistance to
which they are entitled.
Restrictive national framework for refugee reception.
Anxiogenic discourses and rise of extremism.
Weaknesses
Institutional framework for asylum and migration policies is
designed and implemented at the national level, and leaves little
influence to local governments.
As a county, Seine-Saint-Denis does not have the same proximity
to citizens and leverage that city councils have in welcoming
migrants.
Current social tensions and high level of terrorist threat.
Associations and social workers are denouncing how the Olympic
Games are used as a pretext to close down homeless shelters and
ban outreach work in certain areas.
Welcoming and ensuring the integration of migrants is a challenge
in a territory that faces many socio-economic issues.
The staff of the Social Action Department have little time to dedicate
to tasks outside their core work.
WELDI - Baseline report
Département Seine-Saint-Denis, FR
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