The Department of Immigration and Development Cooperation of the Santander City Council will have a budget for next year of 410,992 euros, 1.73 percent more than this 2024. This has been made known by the Councilor for the area, Mateo Echevarríawho highlighted in a press release that these accounts are “a real commitment to migrant neighbors, to those who need it most inside and outside our bordersand with a city model that is committed to solidarity and social justice”.
Likewise, he highlighted that, “beyond the numbers”, it is a budget for “the people who have decided to choose Santander to liveand how together we can build a more supportive, more inclusive and stronger city”. “Santander has always been an open city, a city that embraces diversity and believes in the power of cooperation to transform lives,” he stressed. As detailed, 8.5% of the people who live in Santander are migrants, in total more than 20,663 people, who are divided into 131 different nationalities.
In Cooperation, by 2025, the City Council gives “one step forward” and has created an annual account with three fundamental pillars: transversality and teamwork as a driver of change; solidarity, because “a strong city is a united city”; and the innovationbecause “the challenges of the future demand new ideas.”
“WE WORK HAND WITH OTHER COUNCILS”
“Immigration and development cooperation are not isolated areas,” The councilor has ruled, which is why he has highlighted that his department’s accounts are promoted from “a transversal approach.” “We will work hand in hand with other council departments such as Neighborhoods, Tourism, Employment and Cultureamong others,” he noted so that “every euro invested has a real impact on people’s lives.”
Regarding the axis of solidarity, Echevarría has stressed that Santander is a “solidarity” cityand in 2025 “we want this solidarity to be visible.” For this reason, a “large” part of the budget will be allocated to providing resources for reception, social inclusion and support programs for migrants. So, Language learning programs will be reinforced with more Spanish courses with which non-Spanish speakers can break barriers and lack of communication both to “receive health care, in the markets, with neighbors, or for a job interview,” Echevarría highlighted. Likewise, international cooperation will be maintained, prioritizing projects in developing countries that generate direct impact on education, health and empowerment of local communities.
In relation to innovation, the mayor has indicated that a contest on interculturalityin which children will show through their eyes how to focus and work in the area of Immigration. “We will provide more opportunities for those who arrive looking for a better future, there will be more collaboration with civil society organizations and we will have more resources for those who fight every day to overcome barriers,” the councilor noted.
MAIN GAMES
On the other hand, Echevarría has reported that the ‘Vacation in Peace’ program will have a item of 12,000 euros“a way to help” NGOs that facilitate the arrival of children from the camps from Sahara to Santander to spend two months away from the heat. Likewise, a sum of 201,000 euros will be allocated to ‘Solidarity project with the third world’ in order to finance part of cooperation projects in third world countries.
“We maintain our commitment to developing countries when they suffer a catastrophe as happened with the earthquake in Morocco or the floods in Libyawe have a budget of 10,000 euros for emergency aid,” he indicated. In this sense, he referred to Santander as a “reference” since this year it has become part of the RECI, a network of intercultural cities in Europe in which some administrations learn from the good practices and results of various programs in other cities.
Another of the important programs of the Department is ‘Tia Melly’ that will have 8,000 eurosand is based on promoting interculturality among children in Santander schools. The program, which has been running for 3 years, has benefited more than 7,600 students, who have learned about the traditions, culture and history of countries such as Finland or Senegal.
Finally, The mayor of Santander has valued the work and work carried out by the Office of Integration and Social Cooperation (OICOS). “It is not just an administrative space, it is a gateway to hope; every day, in that office, bridges are created,” he assured.
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