One of the projects offers workshops to allow women from diverse backgrounds to find their voice.  Photo: Shutterstock

One of the projects offers workshops to allow women from diverse backgrounds to find their voice.  Photo: Shutterstock

The ministry of family affairs and integration has chosen seven projects to be part of its national action plan (PAN) which aims to promote citizen involvement and participation in politics ahead of the 2023 national elections.

The PAN 2022, presented by family and integration minister (DP) wants to create links between the communities of Luxembourg’s multicultural population. With the June 2023 local elections less than a year away, Cahen also wants to encourage foreign residents to vote.

While non-nationals must currently live in Luxembourg for five years before they can vote or stand for election in their commune, . But, unlike Luxembourg nationals, foreigners must sign up to vote.

The seven projects launched on 27 June were selected for either encouraging political participation and awareness among foreigners and young voters or for citizen participation in intercultural living projects.

They are:

-       Ech wielen (‘I vote’):organised by the integration NGO Asti, this project educates users of its specially designed website on voting at a national, European and local level.

-       Gemengenwalen fir jiddereen! (‘Municipal elections for everyone!’): set up by the Zentrum fir Politesch Bildung--an initiative to teach about politics--this structure raises awareness of politics and invites non-Luxembourgers to register to vote, through videos, flyers and a fair booth.

-       Political participation: from talking to doing: ALDIC, an association for intercultural communication, is preparing workshops on political participation targeted at young people--Luxembourgish and foreign.

-       International Journalists: Wafaa Abo Zarifa: The idea behind ARA’s project is to allow women to meet in a social setting--supported by project leaders--before getting them to workshop together. The aim is to give women from all kinds of Luxembourg communities the space and confidence needed to share their stories.

-       Rethinking local or regional welcome events and designing an analog and digital toolkit: this project by Art Square Lab supports communes in organising events for multicultural newcomers in a way that is meaningful.

-       Tandem : Here, mentors are put in contact with vulnerable children and children and teens from multicultural or disadvantaged backgrounds. This in time should help young people discover new skills and interests as building blocks for their future.

-       Fit4Gaming : FWRD Sarl-S set up a project which uses videogames to connect people from diverse backgrounds and make them collaborate on games.

The projects were chosen by an interministerial committee for integration and received a total funding of €740,000 so as to continue running until December 2023.