Cucuta and Villa del Rosario towards an effective, inclusive and solidary integration

The forum “Cucuta and Villa del Rosario towards an effective, inclusive and supportive integration” took place on May 24 2022 at Cucuta, capital city of the department of Norte de Santander. The event was attended by important dignitaries such as Jairo Yañez Rodríguez, mayor of Cucuta; Carlos Socha Hernandez, mayor of Villa del Rosario and Tito Contreras, representative of the European Union Mission to Colombia, among others, who highlighted that the Inclusive Cities forums are beginning to be a regional benchmark, since they have been presented in different cities in America Latina betting on human mobility from all fronts, economic, social, cultural, humanitarian, political, etc., uniting international cooperation, national and local governments and communities in a joint effort towards effective integration to reduce vulnerabilities of both Venezuelan refugees and migrants and the host community.
A dialogue panel entitled “Towards effective socioeconomic integration” was held; from an interagency perspective, effective socioeconomic integration was presented as a great opportunity in the territories where the Venezuelan refugee and migrant population is located, since an increase in the economic dynamics of the cities is demonstrated, achieving higher levels of cohesion and integration of the population, reducing the practices of discrimination and xenophobic attitudes, thus also strengthening the institutional and response capacity of the local government for the attention and guarantee of the rights of vulnerable populations. This has been reflected, for example, in the TIU community of the Inclusive Cities, Solidarity Communities project, finding out how productive units and enterprises have managed to grow as small businesses and in the same way have created employment.

In a second panel it was highlighted that effective territorial integration is the result of a joint effort by the local government, international cooperation and the community, as explained by the Inclusive Cities, Solidarity Communities project, where thanks to the recovery and adaptation of public spaces in the intervention neighborhoods, the population appropriates and builds community integration. The program has made progress in finding a sense of belonging in the spaces, places of coexistence and well-being of the populations that inhabit it (refugees, migrants and the host community), reducing the gaps of discrimination and xenophobia and providing better conditions in security and inclusion.

As a closing of the forum, the declaration of the governments of Cucuta and Villa del Rosario was made, in which the municipalities committed to work on a joint route for effective integration, highlighting that the event allowed assessing the path that the participating cities are taking towards positive transformation for a better urban future, based on inclusion and territorial development, keeping in mind that there are challenges that must be addressed in the prevention of xenophobia, promotion of services, construction of the city from the perspective differentiated and to strengthen public policy instruments based on information and data.

Decentralización de la central de Abastos