Participation and Cohesion

The educational success of young people in Germany depends on their socioeconomic background. This is partly due to the fact that the support parents are able to give their children varies. Another problem is that teachers do not always assess the potential of their pupils correctly, as is evident for example when they transition from primary to secondary school. To counter this, all actors in educational practice and administration have a role to play: staff at day care centres, nurseries, general and vocational schools, and youth welfare services must all work together at the local level to support children according to their specific needs. This local approach is closely linked to the municipal development of neighbourhoods, which as a rule is aimed at upgrading socially challenged neighbourhoods.

Furthermore, it is a question of resources and the way they are deployed to meet specific requirements. For instance, educational institutions in socially challenged neighbourhoods often need far more teachers and social workers; these staff also require better in-service training. The key in this context is to ensure that the allocation of funds goes hand in hand with quality development and quality assurance.

We contribute to improving the education on offer to young people who are disadvantaged on account of their ethnic, cultural or social background.

• We support actors in educational practice and administration so that they can work together, across institutions, to improve educational qualifications in socially challenged neighbourhoods.
• We provide decision-makers in politics and government with well-founded strategies and instruments with which to allocate resources within the education system according to needs, thereby reflecting the different circumstances at the local level.

These approaches are a continuation of our activities in the sphere of education, though we now have a new focus, namely on socially challenged neighbourhoods. Over the past ten years we have concentrated on key issues such as language education and quality development in all-day schools. These have now been included on the education policy agenda and to some extent have already been incorporated into teacher training programmes.

Integrating migrants poses a particular challenge for municipalities in Germany. This is because it is municipalities that take the migrants and are supposed to help them integrate and participate in society. A central role in this is played especially by socially challenged neighbourhoods, as they take large numbers of migrants.

To overcome these challenges, all actors must work together in a coordinated manner – from the immigration offices and job centres to the social welfare departments and educational institutions. They need to improve their management of the integration process at the points of overlap so as to better foster integration and participation. This applies to everyone at the local level, including migrants and those who have been living there for generations.

To achieve integration and successful participation, it is essential that migrants have good access to the employment market and the opportunity to advance professionally. The integration of highly skilled workers and professionals into the employment market has already been researched, and good regulations are in place to promote this. By contrast, too little is known about the situation facing those with low formal qualifications, and there is little regulation of their integration into the employment market. In many cases people do jobs for which they are overqualified and work in precarious circumstances, which often afford them only limited opportunities to take part in society.

• We support decision-makers in politics, administration and integration practice in their efforts to improve structures across institutions and to trial courses of action that will ensure social integration in the long term. In this context we focus particularly on structurally weak regions.
• We provide decision-makers in politics, administration and business with an analytical basis for strategies and the instruments they need to facilitate access to the employment market for those with low formal qualifications, thereby helping them to advance professionally and improve their chances for participation.

Acceptance of diversity is vital if social cohesion is to be achieved in a plural society. Social diversity has increased in recent decades. Although people from different groups encounter one another in everyday life, for example on the street or at school, they often have scant knowledge of what life is really like for the other groups because they engage with them to only very limited extent. Studies show that personal encounters and engagement with others are the key to dismantling prejudices and strengthening social relationships.

It is equally important for people to engage with diversity and reduce discrimination in those sectors that are particularly sensitive when it comes to social cohesion. Enabling equal participation, alongside greater acceptance of diversity, is another central aspect for fostering cohesion.

We want to increase acceptance of diversity and contribute to greater social cohesion.

• By facilitating exchanges and encounters between different groups, we give them the chance to gain reciprocal insights into the realities of their respective lives. This increases mutual understanding, dismantles prejudices and strengthens a sense of social solidarity.
• We raise awareness among representatives of key sectors of society of the need to reflect upon and embrace diversity, and we support decision-makers in their efforts to identify and reduce structural discrimination within their institutions. We make it clear that engaging with diversity, discrimination and racism is urgently needed if we are to achieve cohesion in society.