The City of Rochester, in partnership with the Diversity Council and others, announced the release of the draft Intercultural Cities Initiative program index report and an upcoming virtual site visit. Representatives from the Council of Europe (COE), the organization that manages the Intercultural Cities program, will hold a series of virtual meetings the week of September 14, 2020. This draft index follows community leaders and members' collaborative responses to a question set provided by the COE, which was used to populate the report. Once accepted by the City Council and Mayor, the report will provide a baseline for measuring improvement in our ability to be fully inclusive of and equitable toward all our residents and visitors.
The index baseline report analyzes citywide policies and practices, and offers suggestions for how community members and leaders can collaboratively use data and expertise to improve the lives of residents. The index also benchmarks Rochester against international cities like Montreal, Manchester, Leeds and Zurich, and ultimately against itself.