Immigration Society

The municipality is the central place where people live together. A place to see and experience different backgrounds, religions, and cultures. At municipal level, administrations have the power to positively shape integration by including (migrant) civil society and local business. That’s why we empower municipal employees and leaders to put immigration society firmly on the agenda and grow their skills in this area. Together, we derive action points from local practice and support municipal stakeholders in asserting their interests vis-à-vis political decision-makers. This is complemented by exchange and cooperation between municipalities. We place a regional focus on transition regions, where structural, social, or demographic changes can have a particularly strong impact.

For people to live well together in an immigration society, we need to really hear and acknowledge the concerns and abilities of those with a history of migration and ensure they are able to participate on an equal footing. As such, we work closely with civil society actors who represent the interests and concerns of people with a background of migration and seek to improve their engagement and representation. We use training and networking to support migrant civil society organizations (empowerment), with the aim of boosting their self-efficacy and representation, as well as their capacity for action and resilience. Together, we develop defense strategies to fight discrimination and hostility by creating advice and networking opportunities as well as safe spaces (resilience).We also support established actors and institutions in reflecting on their responsibility toward less established migrant civil society groups, widening access, and working together (taking action in solidarity).