Tag Archives: Germany
Challenges and opportunities for Muslim engagement in Germany
In the last few months, Germany has been caught up in an intense debate about the integration of Muslims in the country. Polls show that Germans increasingly see Islam as a foreign element that poses a threat to their style of life. In a policy brief for the Berlin series of the German Marshall Fund [...]
Posted in All practitioners, All resources and reports, News, Practitioner expert, Resource from expert Also tagged Anti-discrimination, Community building, Crises polarization and radicalization, Culture and diversity, Economy and remittances, Education and training, Employment and work, Empowerment and leadership, Ethnic relations, Europe, Gender and women, Inclusion and social inclusion, Islam, Media and diversity, Policy on migration and integration, Public perceptions and awareness raising Leave a comment
Philosopher Habermas on migration and multiculturalism in Germany
Prestigious philosopher Jürgen Habermas, professor emeritus of philosophy at Goethe University in Frankfurt expresses his concerns about politicians that "can divert the social anxieties of their voters into ethnic aggression against still weaker social groups." Habermas believes that integration of Muslim Turkish migrants and their descendants has generally been a success in Germany. Although, in some economically depressed areas there is certainly a problem of isolation from mainstream society.
Merkel on mosques in Germany
A news item from the Migration Policy Group features excerpts from a interview with Chancellor Angela Merkel, in which she points out that integration is an important task for German people facing immigration. Germans need to accept that immigration is changing the character of the country. Indeed, "mosques will be a more prominent part of [the] urban landscape than before.” Merkel reminded that the German constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Respect and tolerance can only be guaranteed if laws and all articles of the constitution are respected.
Course for Imams in Germany aims at integration
The University of Osnabrueck has launched a program that will train Muslim spiritual leaders to help Muslim communities to integrate. As Martina Blasberg-Kuhnke, vice-president of the University of Osnabrueck, states, “Imams play a pivotal role because they work with their communities, their religion and with society at large, so they have a public function (…) [...]
Posted in News Also tagged Community building, Crises polarization and radicalization, Culture and diversity, Education and training, Europe, Interfaith work, Islam, Religion Leave a comment
Better education for integration in Germany
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees of Germany announced new measures in the field of education to promote the integration of migrants. These measures vary on the 16 German states and include hiring teachers with foreign backgrounds to reduce the rate of children from immigrant families that drop out of school; introduce free kindergartens; [...]
Migration contributes to business success in Germany
A Cologne-based public relations firm has found a strength in multiculturalism. The firm employs people with roots in Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Japan, Korea, China, India, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. This multiculturalism is good for both the business and the employees. The firm serves foreign businesses looking to target German consumers, and German businesses [...]
Posted in News Also tagged Culture and diversity, Employment and work, Entrepreneurship and business, Ethnic relations, Europe Leave a comment
Islam lessons to promote integration in Germany
The German Minister of Education defends that introducing Islam lessons in German schools will help Muslim migrants to integrate. She believes that Muslim communities in Germany should understand themselves as part of German society.
European and North-American Muslims identify strongly with their countries of residence
The Gallup Coexist Index 2009, A Global Study of Interfaith Relations, found that North Americans are more likely to be tolerant or integrated than Europeans. The survey classifies respondents in 3 categories: those who are “isolated”, the “tolerant” who are respectful and open to other faiths and practices, and the “integrated” who feel respected by [...]
Posted in All resources and reports, News, Resource from civil society organization, Resource from expert Also tagged Canada, Community building, Crises polarization and radicalization, Culture and diversity, Employment and work, Empowerment and leadership, Equal opportunities and access, Ethnic relations, Europe, France, Intercultural outreach, Islam, North America, Religion, United Kingdom, USA Leave a comment
Ethnic Germans and Immigrants on better terms than expected
The Expert Advisory Board for Integration and Migration (SVR), which was founded in 2008 by eight major foundations involved in social and political advocacy and research, released its first annual report. It contains what the board calls the Integration Climate Index (IKI) which basically takes the temperature of relations between ethnic Germans and immigrants. According [...]
migrantas – a visual language of migration
Working with public urban spaces as its platform, migrantas aims to make visible the thoughts and feelings of those who have left their own country and now live in a new one. Mobility, migration and transculturality are not the exception in our world, but are instead becoming the rule. Nevertheless, migrant women and their experiences remain often invisible to the majority of our society. Migrantas works with issues of migration, identity and intercultural dialogue. Their work incorporates tools from the visual arts, graphic design and social sciences. Members of the collective (Marula Di Como, Florencia Young, Alejandra López, Irma Leinauer), mostly women who have themselves immigrated to Germany, develop the projects with other migrant women in a horizontal dialogue. Migrantas meets with migrant women in their own...
Posted in All practices, Practice implemented by civil society organization Also tagged Anti-discrimination, Arts, Community building, Crises polarization and radicalization, Culture and diversity, Empowerment and leadership, Ethnic relations, Europe, Gender and women, Intercultural outreach, Media and diversity, Public perceptions and awareness raising Comments closed
The Local Dimension of Migration Policymaking
The authors Tiziana Caponio and Maren Borkert shows how societal inclusion is administered and produced at a local level.
Posted in All resources and reports, News, Resource from media Also tagged Canada, Community building, Europe, Italy, North America, Policy on migration and integration, Switzerland, the Netherlands Comments closed
Dialogue for Integration: engaging religious communities (DIRECT)
DIRECT is an EU-funded project that emphasizes two-way dialogue and integration, while employing a multifaith approach that seeks to include all religious denominations. Representatives of religious communities can play an important role in the integration of their communities’ members into new societies. The DIRECT project aspires at exploring this role in more detail by conducting research and through the promotion of an active dialogue between representatives of religious communities and host societies. DIRECT emphasizes two-way dialogue and integration, while employing a multifaith approach that seeks to include all religious denominations.
Posted in All practices, Practice implemented by international or regional organization or UN agency, Practice in legal and political integration Also tagged Belgium, Community building, Empowerment and leadership, Europe, Finland, France, Intercultural outreach, Interfaith work, Latvia, Lithuania, Religion, Spain Comments closed
A Multifaith Approach
Funded by the European Commission and implemented by IOM Helsinki in cooperation with partners in five EU countries, this pilot project tested the usefulness of multifaith training seminars for migrant religious leaders as a tool for integration. The seminars enabled religious leaders of various denominations to meet with their peers and host society representatives, including officials, policy-makers, and various experts. The project was based on the notion that newly-arrived migrants, who are unfamiliar with their new host society, often seek support from religious communities, whose leaders can therefore play a crucial role in how migrants relate to and integrate into their host communities. The training seminars provided participants with a greater understanding of the values as well as the history, culture, and laws of their...
Posted in All practices, Practice implemented by international or regional organization or UN agency, Practice in cultural integration, Practice in socio-economic integration Also tagged Community building, Denmark, Education and training, Empowerment and leadership, Europe, Finland, Intercultural outreach, Interfaith work, Latvia, Religion, United Kingdom Comments closed
Intermarriage in Germany: a key indicator of integration
The rate of intermarriage has been increasing recently in Germany - it is a key indicator of integration.
Posted in All resources and reports, News, Resource from international or regional organization or UN agency Also tagged Europe, Family and marriage, Gender and women Comments closed
Boundless Project, Germany