News & Events Event Reports

Global Crises, Local Impacts: Threats to Social Cohesion and How Cities Can Respond (April 2024)

Publication Date:

21/05/2024

Content Type:

Event Reports

Share:

Tags:

City-Led ActionGazaGlobal CrisesIsraelLocal ImpactSocial CohesionTransatlantic Initiative

— 4 minutes reading time

Event Details

Description: Given the range of threats facing cities in North America and Europe as a result of global crises – from COVID-19 and migration to the war in Ukraine, climate change and, most immediately, Israel-Gaza – Strong Cities, under the auspices of its Transatlantic Dialogue Initiative, launched a webinar series inviting mayors and other city officials, as well as experts from counter-hate research organisations, to discuss what cities are facing and how local leaders can most effectively manage inter-communal tensions resulting from these crises. This is the fourth in the monthly webinar series

Where & When: 24 April 2024, Virtual

Cities presenting:

• Boise (Idaho), USA
• Berlin, Germany
• Rochester (New York) USA

Key Takeaways

For Mayors & Cities:

• Since the most recent Israel-Gaza crisis, the threat picture has become increasingly more hybridised (i.e., different actors coalescing around shared interests and forming unlikely alliances); there has been fragmentation within extremist groups (i.e., divided in their hate or support for various causes); and there has been an amplification of polarisation (i.e., with state actors weaponising polarisation to undermine democracy).
• A spike in both antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate has highlighted the broader intersectional impact on social cohesion, even with cities with only small Jewish or Muslim communities. The result is a call to action for cities of all sizes – big or small, urban or rural – to invest in prevention frameworks that address hate, extremism and polarisation before crises hit, including inter alia structured frameworks in schools and workplaces.
• Cities have to strike a careful, thoughtful and transparent balance between fulfilling their responsibility to allow residents to engage in peaceful and legal protests – manifestations of fundamental rights of freedom, association and speech – while securing public order and safety. It is paramount that cities have in place clear, transparent processes (including consultations with protest organisers) to establish an approach for mitigating and managing demonstrations. Cities should also have a framework in place through which to identify which communities are rendered vulnerable in the aftermath of a protest or during heightened inter-communal tensions and which will require additional protection and/or support.
• Investing in relationship-building with community stakeholders before a crisis occurs not only supports a comprehensive and coordinated response in times of crisis but helps build trust in government that can provide a strong foundation for prevention and resilience.
• When it comes to global crises, cities should consider providing spaces for meaningful dialogue and discourse with and between communities, rather than investing limited council time and resources into what may otherwise be symbolic acts. While there will be differences around how cities – and city councils – handle global crises at the local level, driven by not only the makeup of the councils but the priorities of the communities themselves, a city should consider what issues the city has power to affect and at what cost to addressing local issues.

Next Steps

This webinar was the fifth in a series of monthly gatherings of mayors, city representatives and research organisations for timely discussion and exchanges of approaches around Global Crises, Local Impacts. The next session, which will feature city representatives from both Europe and North America, is scheduled for 23 May 2024..

Additional Resources

Strong Cities Resources

• Global Crises, Local Impacts: A Roundtable for Mayors and other Local Government Officials on Threats to Social Cohesion & How Cities Can Respond, Event Report (May 2024)
• A Guide for City-Led Response, Strong Cities Network (April 2024)
• Transatlantic Dialogue Initiative: Ten Key Findings in 2023, Strong Cities Network (March 2024)
• Global Crises, Local Impacts: Threats to Social Cohesion and How Cities Can Respond, Event Report, Strong Cities Network (March 2024)
• Global Crises, Local Impacts: Threats to Social Cohesion and How Cities Can Respond, Event Report, Strong Cities Network (February 2024)
• Global Crisis, Local Impacts: Threats to Social Cohesion & How Cities Can Respond, Event Report, Strong Cities Network (January 2024)
• Global Crisis, Local Impacts: Threats to Social Cohesion & How Cities Can Respond, Event Report, Strong Cities Network (December 2023)
• Navigating Local Impacts of Global Crises: Ten Considerations for Mayors and Cities – Lessons from the Israel-Gaza Crisis, Strong Cities Network (December 2023)
• A Guide for Mayors: Preventing and Responding to Hate, Extremism and Polarisation, Strong Cities Network (September 2023)
• A Guide for Cities: Preventing Hate, Extremism & Polarisation, Strong Cities Network (September 2023)

Other Resources

• 50 Possible Questions to Open Israeli-Palestinian Dialogues, International Ombuds Association (February 2024)
• Rise in antisemitism on both mainstream and fringe social media platforms following Hamas’ terrorist attack, ISD (updated February 2024)
• Research on American Muslims and the Impact of Events in Palestine, Israel, and Surrounding Region, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (December 2023)
• Unpacking antisemitic narratives about the Hamas attack and the Israel-Hamas Conflict within YouTube comments, ISD (December 2023)
• Information disorder in the Israel-Hamas war highlights shifts in the fight against online misinformation, ISD (November 2023)
• Islamist groups unite around Israel attack, diverge on Hamas, ISD (November 2023)
• Hate united: Neo-Nazi accelerationist support for Hamas, ISD (November 2023)
• Violent and graphic content of the Gaza conflict served to minors’ accounts, ISD (October 2023)
• Countering and Dismantling Islamophobia: A Comprehensive Guide, Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (undated)

Contact Information

For more information on this event, the webinar series, or the Strong Cities Transatlantic Dialogue or Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiatives, please contact Allison Curtis, Deputy Executive Director, at [email protected].

News & EVENTS

Stay up to date with recent news, articles and event reports

News & Events

Looking for something in our Resource Hub?

Or explore all resources

Nominated for Best Animated Short at Cannes

Watch now

Join US

Looking to become a Strong City?

Get in touch