The Asia-Pacific Coalition of Cities Against Discrimination - APCAD, Conference Report, 8-10 June 2016
The International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities – ICCAR (formerly the International Coalition of Cities against Racism), was launched by UNESCO in 2004. Through ICCAR, UNESCO promotes international cooperation between cities to strength then advocacy and networking for global solidarity and collaboration. The Coalition also promotes inclusive urban development free from all forms of discrimination, by advancing joint action through the development of participatory city-level policies, services and initiatives.
As an interactive platform, ICCAR aims to strengthen the global network of cities and provide opportunity for exchange of experiences and knowledge, for appropriate and targeted policies against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and exclusion. ICCAR is composed of seven regional and national coalitions and considers the specificities and priorities of each coalition under its Ten-Point Plan of ICCAR is composed of seven regional and national coalitions and considers the specificities and priorities of each coalition under its Ten-Point Plan of Action. The Plan of action is composed of ten commitments covering the various areas of competence of city authorities such as education, housing, employment and culture
2016 was an important year for the International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities – ICCAR. On 1 June 2016, the global Coalition was renamed from the International Coalition of Cities Against Racism, representing an alignment with the emerging New Urban Agenda and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Recognizing the complexity of how individuals experience discrimination, a Global Steering Committee was established to guide the seven regional Coalitions, strengthen collaborative action and encourage the sharing of good practice across the ICCAR platform. The restructuring was the first step towards ICCAR’s new strategy to move away from discrimination as a stand-alone concept and take an intersectional approach to understanding and responding to it.
