Business (the world of work)

“Amadora Empreende” Programme - Amadora, Portugal

Providing information and strengthening awareness about business development for most vulnerable

The Programme “Amadora Empreende” seeks to identify, with the young population and from people in

situations of social vulnerability of Amadora, individual entrepreneurial initiatives by providing the necessary conditions for developing a business idea. With two distinct points of action: “A Incubator Quick” (directed at young people aged 18 to 30 years) and “Quem não Arrisca não Petisca” (directed to people in socially vulnerable - women, disabled, immigrants and prisoners and ex-prisoners ), this is intended as a program of selective support, which can give strength to projects that are often not exposed, for lack of support of the development of ideas, or seeking financial support. The Programme “Amadora Empreende” descrived in the question 26 and the “2ª Expo Emprego e Formação da Amadora” - Organized by the Municipality of Amadora in conjunction with the Escolar Intercultural das Profissões e do Desporto da Amadora, EM. This initiative aims to provide a special area of information and awareness for the challenges and opportunities faced in education, training and employment, bringing together in one room schools and businesses. During three days, these companies promote their services, projects and best practices, and some publicize job opportunities and accept resumes from those wishing to apply to offers exposed or make a spontaneous application.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/-amadora-empreende-programme

“Do It in Barcelona”: attracting creative and entrepreneurial talents - Barcelona, Spain

Broaden and strengthen the training offer for adults through new programmes adapted to encourage

the learning of the language, regulated training at adult education schools and employment training.

• Training of experts responsible for assisting users from different places of origin in employment

programmes and the creation of companies.

• Incorporate new methodologies into existing entrepreneurial support programmes that allow people

with a business background in their home country to make the most of their experience.

Identify resources and good practices in the business environment with respect to managing and making

the most of diversity.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/-do-it-in-barcelona-attracting-creative-and-entrepreneurial-talents?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fen%2Fweb%2Finterculturalcities%2Fbarcelona%3Fp_p_auth%3DW6fVW0zZ%26p_p_id%3D49%26p_p_lifecycle%3D1%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_49_struts_action%3D%252Fmy_sites%252Fview%26_49_groupId%3D9357393%26_49_privateLayout%3Dfalse

The Future Workplace and the Global Future projects - Bergen, Norway 

According to the answers provided in the survey, the ethnic background of public employees reflects the

composition of the city's population only at the lower levels. However, Bergen has put into practice a specific recruitment strategy to ensure that the ethnic background of public employees mirrors the composition of the city's inhabitants. In 2013, the City Council passed an action plan called The Future Workplace which deals with this issue among others, paying special attention to the role of the municipality of Bergen as employer for minorities. Non-nationals can seek employment in the local public administration. The city encourages intercultural mixing and competences in private sector enterprises. Different initiatives are promoted in this field, such the economic support to the project Global Future leads by the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and the economic support and co-partnership in the annual International Career Fair with the Bergen Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The website emphasises the importance of intercultural and multilingual employees for Bergen’s business to stay competitive in today’s international business culture. Besides, Bergen provides three out of the four services listed in the Intercultural cities index which are tailored to the needs of the ethnic/cultural background of its citizens: it offers funeral/burial services, women only sections and times in sports facilities in response to culturally-based requests and other services such as the municipal translation agency, which provides translators in more than 60 languages and special services to residents in care-homes.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/business

New International Plan for Bergen - Bergen, Norway

Bergen has put into practice several policies to encourage international cooperation. A new

International Plan for the city is been prepared by the municipality. Funding for international cooperation is integrated in the budgets of different departments, such as the cultural affairs department or in supra municipal administrations such the Hordaland fylkeskommune (Hordaland County Council) which has an international agency for internationalization. Bergen supports local universities in order to attract foreign students, and ensures that foreign student populations take an active part in the city life.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/new-international-plan-for-the-city?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fen%2Fweb%2Finterculturalcities%2Fbergen%3Fp_p_auth%3Di6DQzqo8%26p_p_id%3D49%26p_p_lifecycle%3D1%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26_49_struts_action%3D%252Fmy_sites%252Fview%26_49_groupId%3D9357393%26_49_privateLayout%3Dfalse

Bringing diversity into the Norwegian business - Oslo, Norway

The City Council’s Office for Business Development has taken an active stance on integrating minority

businesses. The greatest problem they have is with the complexity of Norwegian rules and regulations

regarding taxation and business practice. Many small business contravene the law without

understanding or even knowing it, and many others opt to enter the black economy to make life

simpler. A Nordic Network for Diversity at Work has been established and Oslo hosted a conference on

the European Intercultural Workplace recently, attended by 70 CEOs, but it is felt there is much still

work to be done in bringing diversity into the Norwegian business world. The Norwegian Center for Multicultural Value Creation is helping the so-called "non-western", first and second-generation immigrants to start their businesses by providing advisory services, coaching and training in business establishment. The center is unique in its approach in assisting the professional immigrants, and has received extensive and positive attention and support nationwide among the immigrant organizations, government institutions, private organizations and the media. The result of such attention has been that a large number of immigrants have contacted the center and are frequent users of the services provided.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/business

Open and creative capital: city strategy for international cooperation - Oslo, Norway

The city’s international policy is described in the 2002 city council white paper ”Strategy for the international cooperation of City of Oslo”. International impulses and benchmarking – especially within Europe and the Nordic region – contributes to development of the city as a provider of services, as a living and vibrant city and as an attractive place for business investments. In the government parliamentary whitepaper on the role and function of the capital – The Open and Creative Capital (2007) – the city’s function as the gateway for immigration of skilled workers is stressed (in accordance with the writings of Richard Florida on the role of the creative class). The international strategy is pursued through agreements of cooperation, through international organizations, through networks and projects and through visits and international profiling. The themes of integration, diversity and tolerance are important to organizations and networks such as Eurocities, Metropolic, ECCAR and the Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Cooperation, as well as to agreements with cities as Gothenburg and St. Petersburg. There is an International Office in City Hall, and the city administration is represented within EU by its European Office in Brussels. In recent years, the city of Oslo has been profiled as a city of peace and tolerance, through the Nobel Peace Center and the new Wergeland Center – COE’s European Center for intercultural dialogue.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/open-and-creative-capital-city-strategy-for-international-cooperation

Diversity and migration as a door to new markets - Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal 

Santa Maria da Feira, a municipality on the outskirts of Oporto, in northern Portugal, is adapting to the

reality of cultural diversity in a surprising way. Spurred by the municipality, the local business community is exploring new opportunities presented by migration: The presence of people from different origins in its territory, and the presence of Feirenses in a number of foreign countries. The municipality is planning the launch of an online platform that will link local business owners of all backgrounds with the Portuguese diaspora and with the countries of origin of local immigrants. The launch of this platform is the culmination of a number of initiatives that reach out through business partnerships.

The municipality has regular business exchanges with Kenitra, in Morocco. The partnership, made

possible thanks to the presence of Moroccan nationals in Santa Maria da Feira, started with a visit by a

Kenitra delegation in 2012. Since then, a number of protocols between the two municipalities have been

signed, in addition to the private sector business relations established. Similar partnerships have been previously established in other countries, such as Venezuela, Mozambique and France. The municipality takes an active role in helping local businesses expand internationally. The diversity of Santa Maria da Feira’s population is a precious resource which the council has sought to make the most of.

Besides the local migrants, Santa Maria da Feira has also reached out to the Portuguese diaspora. Many

successful Feirenses abroad have responded positively, allowing the municipality to continue its mission

of providing business opportunities abroad for locally based companies.

José Fonseca, who owns of a construction company based in Payerne, Switzerland, has been invited to

Santa Maria da Feira by the council. The idea is to help open up the Swiss market to local construction

and building materials companies. Santa Maria da Feira’s location, close to Oporto’s transport

infrastructure, makes it a key location for doing business in the rest of Europe and further afield.

The strategy underlying these initiatives involves finding partners for development, both immigrants

from around the world living in Santa Maria da Feira and Feirense emigrants living abroad, building

exchanges based on cultural diversity.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/santa-maria-da-feira-diversity-and-migration-as-a-door-to-new-markets?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fen%2Fweb%2Finterculturalcities%2Fsanta-maria-da-feira

Bilfinger Industry Company, start-up incubator and leadership training - Stavanger, Norway

The Bilfinger Industry Company has taken the practical approach of organizing its business processes almost complete bilingually into Norwegian and Polish. The city has a business start-up incubator which recruits from the university and 50% per year of 20 students are of foreign-origin. The Global Future project (coordinated by the Norwegian Confederation of Enterprise) is active in enabling talented minority graduates to find employment in established Norwegian companies. Guided by the Chamber of Commerce , the Confederation of Norwegian enterprises organises expatriate leadership training in which about 20 CEOs of leading enterprises in the Stavanger area participate as coaches. This project appears to be successful: two thirds of the participants change career and achieve promotion after participating. This cross-cultural training appears to contribute positively towards the attitude of both the trainees and the coaches.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/-/bilfinger-industry-company-start-up-incubator-and-leaderaship-training

Diversity Undertaking Tilburg (DOT) - Tilburg, The Netherlands

In general it appears that whilst many people of minority background turn to small business as a the most viable form of employment, few have progressed out of specific ‘ethnic economies’ to become major players in the economy as a whole. In Tilburg, two entrepreneur clubs are active in the field of diversity: DOT (Diversity Undertaking Tilburg), and TOT (Turkish Entrepreneurs Tilburg). Especially DOT is stimulated by the local government. It pays also special attention to the new and young migrant entrepreneurs (often women). In a special project new migrant entrepreneurs are combined with a Dutch experienced and skilled entrepreneur in Tilburg. Unfortunately the number of matches between Dutch and migrant entrepreneurs is still too low.

Contact details: 

Website: http://www.coe.int/en/web/interculturalcities/tilburg