What happened at the 13^th Integration Summit? 

“Germany is a diverse country. We expressly affirm this and we also believe that this is a positive attribute to the strengths of our nation,” stressed the Chancellor. She thanked all 300 actors from federal, state and local levels and from civil society, who have worked together to foster integration in Germany. During this legislative period a lot has been achieved in the field of integration, she declared. What is important now is to translate the theoretical work and the models that have been produced into practice. Angela Merkel also called for greater cohesion and community. “We are all Germany – that is our goal!”

At the 13^th Integration Summit too the focus was on dialogue and on exchange. Findings from Phases IV (Growing together) and V (Cohesion) of the action plan were presented. “If we want Germany to be an economically robust, modern immigration society for the future, we must ensure that everybody can and does make best use of their skills and capabilities to that end,” said Minister of State Annette Widmann-Mauz, Federal Government Commissioner for Integration. A great deal has been achieved over the last few years, she said. Now everything must be done to ensure that these achievements are not reversed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Minister for Family Affairs Franziska Giffey reaffirmed her intention to create a legal basis for the nationwide programme “Demokratie leben” (Live Democracy) with the Robust Democracy Promotion Act (Wehrhafte-Demokratie-Fördergesetz). Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier explained that diversity in working life is also in the best interests of Germany as a business location.

What specific measures and results were the focus of the 13^th integration Summit?

At the summit the results of Phases IV (Growing together) and V (Cohesion) of the action plan were presented.

Phase IV is entitled “Growing together”. It covers the further development of the general framework and diversity strategies – in a wide spectrum of areas from organised sport to health policy, urban development, housing, the media and culture.

Phase V specifically addresses how to combat discrimination, racism and all other forms of group-related hostility in the long term. Naturalisation, political education and participation were also dealt with in separate forums for the first time, as was diversity in business.

What specific activities were undertaken during Phase IV?

Examples can be found in the fields of sport, health and the media. The German Football Association (DFB) is to take steps to strengthen the training and networking of contacts officers within its state-level associations responsible for dealing with violence and discrimination, to enable them to better support victims of violence and discrimination and meet their social responsibility.

To foster diversity in the structure of associations, a leadership programme is to be launched by DFB and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) addressing people with an immigrant background working on a voluntary basis in football clubs and associations. The goal is that people working on a voluntary basis in football should have the support of mentors who will prepare them to take on executive positions in future. This builds on experience gained with the Integration through Sport and Welcome to Football programmes.

When it comes to ensuring the future supply of skilled workers for the health service, the focus is also on the professional integration of people from an immigrant background. In Saarland the INGE project has an overall strategy to implement new measures to prepare people to undertake vocational training, provide parallel special support teaching, communicate vocational language skills and the skills needed to cope with everyday life, prepare trainees for their final examinations and strengthen diversity capacities on the part of employers in the health service. This strategy should be transferrable at a regional level throughout Germany.

In recent years, hate speech and rabble rousing have become more frequent online too, where they represent a threat to the goal of growing together. The No Hate Speech Movement is designed to fight anti-integration trends online and to foster pro-integration approaches. Training courses are also provided along with practical assistance to fight hate speech.

To foster diversity in films, television and on editorial teams, the Neue Deutsche Medienmacher*innen (New German Media Professionals) offer specific support for media professionals with an immigrant or refugee background in cooperation with media companies and schools of journalism, as well as advising media companies and journalist training institutes on how to develop their diversity approaches.

What is Phase V about?

Importance of naturalisation: More people should become naturalised German citizens. To foster this, information is to be made more easily accessible. An online tool is to enable everyone to check quickly whether they can become naturalised, and if so what they need to do. Equally, improvements are to be made to administrative practice. Many naturalisation authorities would like to improve an exchange of experience and knowledge management in practical administration, to encourage more people to take the step and become naturalised citizens.

Intercultural opening of the administration: The federal government is a role model and has, for the first time, drawn up a joint statement promoting greater diversity in the public service, in the form of an agreement that has the support of all federal ministries. This commitment on the part of the federal government to promote diversity specifies elements and objectives, including diversity-aware organisational development through staff recruitment and HR development measures, ensuring adequate resources and recognising diversity management as a managerial and leadership responsibility. The need for action was identified in December 2020 by the first staff survey conducted among the staff of authorities and institutions belonging to the federal public service.

Diversity in business: In the German private sector many companies already specifically embrace diversity management. More than 3,800 businesses and institutions, employing a total of over 14 million people have, for instance, signed the Charta der Vielfalt  (diversity charter) under the patronage of the Chancellor.

What is the National Integration Summit?

The National Integration Summit brings together representatives of the political arena, the media, migrants’ associations and civil society, which deal with the challenges of integration and find ways through dialogue to improve the integration process for both sides.

At the Integration Summit, results and measures are presented, that are prerequisites for the successful integration of and participation by people with an immigrant background in Germany. The individual phases of the process are set out in more detail in the National Action Plan for Integration (NAP-I).

Who attended the online Integration Summit?

This last Integration Summit of the current legislative period was attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Minister of State Annette Widmann-Mauz, Federal Government Commissioner for Integration, as well as some 120 representatives of federal, state and local government, migrants’ organisations, the private sector, culture, the media and sport. Deliberations focused on finalising the several years of work on the government’s National Action Plan for Integration.

What is the National Action Plan for Integration (NAP-I)?

The National Action Plan for Integration contains a total of more than 100 specific measures (core projects) designed to systematically forge ahead with integration at all levels and in every area of daily life, as well as strengthening social cohesion. Over the last few years some 300 partners from federal, state and local government levels and from civil society have worked on this plan side by side. They include 75 migrants’ organisations. The measures set out in the action plan are aligned with five phases of integration. There is a focus on the different needs and the challenges faced by every individual at different phases of integration. The German government believes in providing support, while requiring migrants to make their own contribution to integration. Minister of State Annette Widmann-Mauz, Federal Government Commissioner for Integration, has been coordinating the process since the 10^th summit in June 2018.

Phase I (Before migration) deals with preparations for integration. It is followed by phases II (Initial integration) and III (Integration). Phases IV (Growing together) and V (Social cohesion) were presented at this summit.

How can integration be enhanced during the pandemic?

The pandemic has hit many people with an immigrant background particularly hard. In-person integration services have been cancelled – some have still not resumed. Many of the activities set out in the NAP-I have been designed as online services for this reason, including integration courses and advisory services for finding jobs. Professional integration, especially for women, is to be pushed particularly hard, with a central service agency for the recognition of vocational and professional qualifications and general online advisory services.

Cohesion also means that everyone is fully informed and aware of the rules, giving them the opportunity to contribute. That is why the Federal Government Commissioner for Integration provides information on COVID-19 in up to 20 languages on her website and on social media.