Athens Coordination Center for Migrant and Refugee issues (ACCMR)

Community

Refugee support: Athens installs an effective coordination mechanism

In 2015 Athens found itself at the forefront of an unprecedented refugee crisis. Today, as the number of migrants and refugees who will remain in Athens is still uncertain, the city needs to plan for issues ranging from tem- porary accommodation to refugee integration. With the support of a donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Municipality of Athens has estab- lished an innovative bottom-up coordination mechanism: the Athens Coordi- nation Center for Migrant and Refugee issues (ACCMR). The ACCMR coor- dinates initiatives and programmes implemented in Athens by international / local NGOs, local government and institutions, donors and representatives of civil society, all active in providing services to migrants and refugees. Through working committees with over 140 representatives from 50 partners, ACCMR provides guidance for designing local policies and has become a hub for proposals on the city’s integration projects. Importantly, ACCMR is working to build a contingency