Deputy Mayor in Strasbourg

Deputy Mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević visited Strasbourg on October 15-17, 2010, for a two-day official visit. In the course of the visit, she presented the experiences and practice of the City of Zagreb in the sphere of local integration policy for migrants at the plenary session of the international conference Integrating Foreign Residents into Local Public Life.

Emphasizing that the city of Zagreb is actively and cooperatively participating in all the programs and initiatives since the very foundation of the European Network of Cities for Local Integration Policies for Migrants, Deputy Mayor Pavičić Vukičević emphasized in particular the multicultural and multiconfessional aspect as an important characteristic of Zagreb's public scene, which entails approximately 130 active ethnic minority associations.

Deputy Mayor Pavičić Vukičević also met with the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Ian Micallef, in a separate meeting. Among other topics, Deputy Mayor discussed the conference of the European Network of Cities that will be held in Zagreb on 8th, 9th and 10th November, thanks to the support and the initiative of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.

At the invitation of Roland Ries, the Mayor of Strasbourg, and Ian Micallef, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Deputy Mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević participated, on behalf of the City of Zagreb, in the International Conference on Integrating Foreign Residents into Local Public Life: Challenges and Perspectives, and in the Congress of the council of foreign residents.

The Conference and the Congress were organized by the City Council of Strasbourg, the Congress of Local Councils of Europe, and the Council of Foreign Residents from France. Apart from Deputy Mayor of the City of Zagreb, the participants also included the Mayor of Strasbourg, Ronald Ries; President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Ian Micallef; General Secretary of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg, Robert Hermann; Deputy Mayor of Krakow, Elzbetia Lecznarowicz; Deputy Mayor of Brussels, Ahmet El Ktibi; Deputy Mayor of San Lazzaro, Raymond Dassi; Deputy Mayor of Reggio Emilia, Franco Corradini; and a number of experts in this area.