Global Crises, Local Impacts: Key Findings & Recommendations to Date (September 2024)

Last updated:

18/09/2024

Publication Date:

18/09/2024

Content Type:

Policy Briefs

Issues:

Global Crises, Local Impacts

Introduction

As cities worldwide continue to navigate the local manifestations of global crises, the Strong Cities Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiative, including its monthly webinar series for European and North American stakeholders, has provided a much-needed platform for the sharing of city-led approaches and innovations. From COVID-19 to migration and climate change, to rising levels of online mis/disinformation with real-world manifestations, or, most immediately, the Israel – Gaza crisis, there is much to be gained by sharing and learning from efforts of mayors and cities facing similar challenges.

The webinar series has enabled representatives from more than 25 cities and eight organisations from across Europe and North America to share their experiences with more than 1000 registrations from more than 60 cities and 50 civil society and non-governmental organisations. In addition to monthly event reports, an initial overview of key findings and recommendations from the series (from December 2023 – March 2024) were captured in a policy brief (available here).

Since April, the webinar series has continued to provide an invaluable resource for cities addressing the evolving local manifestations of global crises, facilitating city panel discussions with officials from Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Berlin (Germany), Birmingham (United Kingdom), Boise (Idaho, United States), Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), Leeds (United Kingdom), Ottawa (Ontario, Canada), Rochester (New York, United States), Stamford (Connecticut, United States) and Wroclaw (Poland), and more, and briefings from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) (which hosts Strong Cities), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Center for the Prevention of Radicalisation Leading to Violence (CPRLV), European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR), Foundation for a Path Forward and the Muhammad Ali Center.

This policy brief presents six key findings and recommendations from the webinars held between April and July 2024.

Key Findings & Recommendations

1. Facilitating dialogue and creating safe spaces

The Israel – Gaza conflict continues to impact cities and community well-being far beyond the conflict zone. Residents with personal and familial ties to the region have experienced profound trauma and anxiety. The crisis has had a significant impact on communities across a number of cities, in some cases leading to rises in hate crimes, protests and polarisation and a decline in social cohesion.

Deep divisions within and between communities have emerged or been exacerbated, leading to increased polarisation. Local governments and community organisations across Europe and North America have shared how individuals and communities have retreated into their own echo chambers and have struggled to understand opposing perspectives. In some instances, cities have lamented the disruption of long-standing interfaith dialogues and collaborations due to disagreements over the conflict.

Our latest webinars clarified the role cities can and should play in creating safe spaces for residents to express their views and concerns lawfully. This can involve the facilitation of dialogue sessions, town hall meetings or community forums where individuals can engage in open and honest conversations about the crisis, helping to mitigate tensions and address the underlying issues driving protests. Actively listening to these communities and allowing them to share their fears and concerns in a safe environment can help build trust, understand community needs and improve mutual understanding. Cities could consider engaging faculty and staff from local universities who are able to navigate the broader geo-political challenges and sensitivities and/or those trained in mediation and negotiation to help facilitate meaningful dialogue on highly sensitive topics amid heightened tensions.

Participating cities and experts also underscored how universities, other educational institutions and private companies are also communities, and identified a role for local governments in helping ensure that these communities are well-equipped to handle the impact of such crises. Engaging proactively with these institutions, providing resources and guidance on having open and compassionate conversations, and encouraging them to allow students the space to speak out, to discuss these complex issues and process their emotions constructively, while respecting legal boundaries and rejecting violence, could all be instrumental in reducing frictions.

2. Finding the right balance between free expression and ensuring public safety

Cities on both sides of the Atlantic have experienced large-scale protests and university encampments in the context of the Israel – Gaza crisis. The scale and intensity of campus protests varied significantly between the cities that contributed to our webinars and exhibited a range of expressions: from small-scale gatherings with signs to large-scale demonstrations involving building occupations and encampments. Among our panellists, there was broad consensus that the protests should be considered both a symptom of and a contributing factor to heightened societal polarisation. A key concern highlighted was the exploitation of campus protests by external actors to sow division and advance their often-malign agendas. Our speakers pointed to examples of these actors capitalising on instances of violence during protests, such as attacks on encampments or clashes with counter-protesters, to portray Western democracies as hypocritical and chaotic. The rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation online was seen as further complicating matters as it fuelled distrust and disharmony among communities.

Cities reported that campus protests and heightened tensions in schools have posed a significant challenge in recent months. Local governments have been employing diverse approaches: some have provided universities with guidance and other resources to help foster constructive dialogue and promote political impartiality. Others are working with school administrators to address tensions and facilitate constructive dialogue among secondary school students.

Cities also shared how they have been navigating protests in broader contexts, such as climate change and migration. For example, between 30 July and 7 August, 27 cities and towns across the United Kingdom were rocked by a week of anti-immigrant rioting and disorder, fuelled by online disinformation, which led to more than 400 arrests. Climate demonstrations in some cities have included non-violent roadblocks, where protestors obstruct traffic flow, but more disruptive actions have also been observed. In some instances, protesters have resorted to vandalism, using paint to deface high-value targets like famous paintings and prominent buildings.

Cities and their leaders need to find the right balance between allowing for free expression on the one hand and ensuring public safety and preventing the spread of hateful rhetoric on the other. This is especially important during times of crisis when emotions are high and controversial issues arise. During the webinars, cities emphasised the importance of local governments having in place clear and transparent processes for managing protests, counter-protests and mitigating any violence that may occur. This could include consulting with protest organisers in advance to establish a plan for protests, considering both the right to assembly and the need to maintain order, as well identifying vulnerable communities that may require additional protection. More broadly, cities should avoid overly restrictive approaches to managing protest activities, as suppressing peaceful demonstrations can create fertile ground for extremist groups to exploit the situation and advance hateful narratives.

3. Engaging youth, young adults and educational institutions proactively

Local governments have also reported heightened tensions and anxieties within secondary schools and university campuses as students grapple with strong emotions and divided opinions across the broader foreign policy context of the Israel – Gaza crisis. A significant concern is the proliferation of hate and extremism among youth, fuelled by this crisis. In some local contexts, cities have reported increases in youth-driven hate incidents and violence in parallel with elevated anxiety and trauma among young people.

Cities should be engaging educational institutions but also listen to young people themselves. To this end, local governments can promote and/or support the implementation of violence intervention, de-escalation and digital literacy and citizenship programmes to strengthen the resilience of students. Cities can support and facilitate programmes focused on equipping educators with the tools to help students navigate sensitive topics, and cities should also identify opportunities to integrate youth perspectives in developing and implementing city initiatives. This can not only help establish trust, but it can also provide early insights into potential tensions. Incorporating these views can help tailor city interventions to better address the root causes of problematic behaviour.

4. Understanding the needs of, and communicating with, residents and impacted communities

Cities recognise that their local leaders are uniquely placed to communicate with residents, to acknowledge the impact of the crisis at hand, denounce violence and hate speech, and demonstrate empathy for the fear and pain their residents are experiencing. Doing so can go a long way to restoring civil discourse, rebuilding trust and maintaining social cohesion within communities affected by crises.

Leaders should also use their platforms to emphasise the importance of dialogue and social cohesion. Messaging should focus on unifying communities – finding common ground, need or understanding should be at the heart of communications that create the counter effect to polarisation. By shifting the narrative from ‘us vs. them’ to ‘us vs. us’, city leaders can promote a sense of shared rather than divided community. Encouraging understanding and empathy between groups with differing viewpoints should be central to this message.

In the context of migration, many cities have cited the vulnerability of refugees and other new arrivals to hate crimes, particularly during times of heightened global tensions and political polarisation.Cities have seen foreign and domestic disinformation campaigns spread fabricated reports about refugees committing violent crimes, designed to incite anti-minority sentiment and influence local governments.

During the webinar series, cities shared a number of approaches they are taking to communicate with and to residents and vulnerable communities during global crises, including:

Avoiding framing communications in a way that forces people to choose sides.
Publicly condemning hate incidents and reaffirming their city’s values of tolerance and inclusivity.
Highlighting the shared values of compassion and care that bind communities together, particularly during heightened tensions.
Maintaining a neutral stance in public statements related to the global conflict, focusing instead on addressing local impacts.
Upholding the rule of law impartially and consistently and ensuring that all residents are treated fairly regardless of their stance on the global conflict.
Attempting to break down barriers between the local government and communities to ensure that residents – including new arrivals – feel heard and valued.
Setting up designated centres or spaces where new arrivals, community volunteers and city officials can come together to discuss what they are seeing on social media (e.g., anti-migrant misinformation or conspiracy narratives) and/or address broader challenges new arrivals are facing can help address short-term and longer-term entry challenges.

More broadly, in response to rising polarisation, local governments should consider adopting a universal response to polarisation, which includes three elements: 1) understanding the needs of different communities; 2) exploring opportunities for expressing common needs and identifying common characteristics of the different groups; and 3) formulating a response that focuses on residents’ demands and needs based on the identified common ground. Mayors and local governments should also avoid using triggering or otherwise provoking terminology, which can reinforce the trauma and suffering of impacted communities and hinder the search for mutual understanding.

5. Building partnerships that can withstand the shocks from global crises

A recurrent theme throughout the webinar series has been the importance of city leaders and local governments tapping into existing structures, partnerships and networks in times of crisis. In the Israel – Gaza context, many cities have engaged proactively with their Muslim and Jewish communities to hear their concerns, help navigate interfaith and community relations strained by the crisis and help communicate the city’s approach to managing local tensions. Cities have also worked with community leaders and civil society to support their outreach to communities impacted by the crisis, helping to address harmful narratives and foster a shared understanding of complex issues. These partners may help cities reach and communicate more directly with hard-to-reach individuals and communities.

It is crucial that cities invest in building and maintaining strong, trusted partnerships. This includes between city departments, with law enforcement and with and between residents and community stakeholders. These relationships are crucial for building the foundation for trust, prevention, resilience and response, engaging with marginalised communities and amplifying their voices, which are often overlooked.

Building trust and engaging in dialogue with the city’s diverse communities during peacetime are essential for mounting effective responses to crises when they emerge. Relationship-building with community stakeholders before a crisis occurs not only supports a comprehensive and coordinated response when a crisis occurs but helps build trust in government which can provide a strong foundation for prevention and resilience. Engaging them in stable periods helps prevent stakeholders from feeling exploited when their help is needed during a crisis. That said, even the most robust partnerships can be strained in times of emergency.

Cities should draw on their existing partnerships with community organisations, for example by involving them in the development of training programs on hate-motivated behaviour. Existing relationships can be further used to disseminate information and build capacity within the community, including among hard-to-reach groups. Besides strengthening ties with the city’s different community groups, local governments can also utilise their partnerships with other cities: city-to-city sharing, learning and cooperation can increase the capacity of local governments. Cities should also look to engage private sector companies for support to raise awareness on hate and extremism. Cities and businesses can mitigate the negative impact of hateful speech by providing training to employees to raises awareness about what constitutes hate speech and how to engage in respectful dialogue.

6. A role for cities in countering online and offline harms: digital literacy, digital citizenship and more

Many cities have pointed to an increase in hate crimes and hate incidents in the context of the Israel – Gaza crisis, including reports of verbal and physical assaults, attacks on places of worship and schools, and vandalism. Webinar participants noted a surge in online antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, as well as rising levels of mis/disinformation, which has further fuelled tensions. False narratives and conspiracy theories continued to pose a challenge to residents seeking to access accurate and reliable information. Online hate also disproportionately targets women and minority groups, posing a threat to equal representation and participation in civic life. Female politicians, especially women of colour, are often subjected to more severe online abuse than their male counterparts, creating a hostile environment that can discourage women from seeking public office or addressing certain issues.

Online harms, including hate speech, extremism and mis/disinformation, can have significant offline consequences. Harmful online activity has been linked to real-world incidents of hate and violence in cities across Europe and North America.

To effectively address online harms and support information integrity in the long term, cities should invest in building digital literacy and citizenship skills among residents and city employees. Local governments can invest in empowering individuals to navigate the digital world safely, critically evaluate online information and engage in online spaces responsibly. City staff training programs should be integrated into a variety of departments, equipping police, youth workers, educators, social workers and others with the knowledge and skills to identify harmful online content and understand how online and offline environments are interconnected. Cities can also leverage technology to facilitate citizen engagement with the local government, for example by establishing online mechanisms to facilitate easier reporting of hate-motivated incidents.

Further Support for Mayors, Other Local Leaders and Cities

To further support cities as they navigate these challenges, Strong Cities has been sharing with participants a curated Resource List, updated monthly with relevant tools and articles from a range of international, regional, national and local organisations. While inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement, Strong Cities is committed to providing cities with a living resource to support their response to these local impacts.

In addition to the Strong Cities’ Global Crises, Local Impacts policy briefs, event reports and the Resource List, our series of ‘living’ guides are crucial resources to inspire and guide mayoral and city-led action against the evolving hate, extremism and polarisation threat landscape. Developed through consultations with mayors and city officials in different contexts globally, the guides draw on experiences, good practices and advice from leaders and city officials around the world, and a diversity of examples of city-led approaches on prevention and response. The guides are available in Arabic, English, French and now Spanish, and housed in our online Resource Hub as PDFs and built-out multi-media tools, Explore our Guides:

A Guide for Mayors: Key questions, decision points, good practices, and lessons learned to help mayors prevent and respond to hate, extremism and polarisation.
A Guide for Cities: Support for local government officials, practitioners and staff on their role, and that of local government, in preventing hate, extremism and polarisation.
A Guide for City-Led Response: Support for mayors and cities in formulating a sensitive and effective response in the wake of a hate- or violent extremism-motivated attack, incident or crisis.

Strong Cities Network A Guide For Cities

Contact

For more information on the Strong Cities Network, our Global Crises, Local Impacts Initiative, or other Network activities, please contact [email protected] and explore our website

Explore the Resource Hub

Related Resources

Explore other similar resources

Impact