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Peter Gwiazda
  • Stiftung Mercator
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  • Participation and Cohesion

Participation and Cohesion

OUR OBJECTIVE:

We want to strengthen cohesion in our society, combat discrimination and ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to access education and participate in society.

AREAS:

  • 1 — EDUCATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
  • 2 — INTEGRATION AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION
  • 3 — DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL COHESION

OUR CONTRIBUTION:

We contribute to improving the education on offer such that nobody will be disadvantaged on account of their background. In Germany’s federal states and municipalities we help to develop policy approaches that will make social participation possible at the local level, facilitate participation in the employment market and raise society’s acceptance of diversity. We promote societal cohesion by encouraging encounters between different groups and strengthening civil society actors.

BACKGROUND:

There has always been social inequality in terms of incomes, wealth, education and social participation, which we define as the ability to participate in community life. This inequality is due to factors such as social and ethnic background or religious affiliation. While such differences declined for many years in Germany, they have increased again in the past two decades. Income distribution data show that the poverty rate has risen continuously since 1991 and that the group known as the “long-term poor“ is also growing. Poverty is closely associated with a lower educational level: children from families of low socioeconomic status or from families with poor educational qualifications likewise tend to achieve lower educational qualifications. In other words, from birth they have poorer chances of participating in society. Easier access to education and better vocational qualifications will reduce this social inequality.

Previous attempts to achieve this have had too little effect, however. Cooperation between thedifferent educational institutions themselves and with child and youth welfare services must therefore be improved, and their remit must be extended to take parents and families into consideration.

Furthermore, political decision-makers must to a greater extent allocate staff and funding to those areas with the greatest needs.

People of migrant origin often have a lower socioeconomic status and experience discrimination. This is not only a problem for those affected. Where entire groups are disadvantaged and discriminated against, this serves to divide society even more. Consequently, problems build up in certain neighbourhoods, and conflicts arise. These need to be countered at the local level. For this to be achieved, two things are needed: first, the will of everyone concerned to change something. And second, local decision-makers must create structures to bring about long-term social integration and must promote the benefits of living together in a diverse society.

Besides social integration, integration into the employment market is also a challenge. It is evident time and again that it is not only newly arrived migrants but also second-, third- or fourth-generation migrants living in Germany who have fewer opportunities to access the employment market and be promoted to higher positions – despite in some cases having the same educational qualifications as Germans who are not of migrant origin.

This growing social inequality poses a threat to social cohesion. Such cohesion encompasses various aspects, including personal experiences, a person’s own commitment to others, an individual sense of belonging, and expectations of a positive future. Cohesion is a key expression of an intact community that is based on solidarity – and thus of a functioning democratic society.

Studies show that broad swathes of the population must accept diversity if social cohesion is to be preserved. Exchange and dialogue between different groups allow each of the groups to gain deeper insights into the respective realities of the other’s lives. As a result, people are able to dismantle their prejudices and mutual trust is strengthened. The engagement of civil society actors can play a central role in this.

It is also necessary in structural terms to achieve greater acceptance of or a different approach to diversity and to reduce disadvantage and discrimination. This applies especially to people who work in a sector of particular relevance to social participation and social cohesion – such as health or education, or the justice system and law enforcement. Participation and cohesion are only possible long-term if everyone is comfortable with diversity and people are no longer discriminated against, for example on account of their ethnic, cultural or social origins.

We work closely together with politicians, government, business and civil society to bring about changes in society. The foundation for this is a network of such actors that is based on trust.

1 — EDUCATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

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.

2 — INTEGRATION AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION

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 want to make social participation possible and promote the development of viable political approaches at the state and municipal levels.

  • 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.

3 — DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL COHESION

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.

 

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