Development of the integration concept begins
In Chemnitz, many organisations as well as volunteer citizens are committed to the integration of migrants - and not just since the increased admission of asylum seekers last year. There has been an integration network in Chemnitz since 2002, for example, and a framework plan for the integration of migrants adopted by the city council in June 2008.
In the recent past, the topic of migration has increasingly come to the fore. As the changes in this topic are very complex, cooperation between the individual players has been intensified in many areas and the structures for support, counselling and guidance have been changed. Cooperation between the various players - from institutions and authorities to independent organisations and volunteers - is essential to meet the challenge of migration and integration.
At the kick-off event on 16 August 2016, chaired by Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig, the participants met to jointly develop the City of Chemnitz's integration concept. In addition to leading representatives from the following organisations, the neighbourhood managers of the city of Chemnitz also took part:
- Federal Employment Agency
- Federal Office for Migration and Refugees
- Chemnitzer Verkehrs-AG
- Grundstücks- und Gebäudewirtschafts-Gesellschaft m. b. H.
- Evangelical Lutheran Church District
- Chamber of Crafts
- Chamber of Industry and Commerce
- Job Centre
- Jewish community
- Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Saxony
- Catholic Probstei
- State Directorate of Saxony
- League of independent welfare organisations
- Police Directorate
- Saxon Education Agency
- City Parents' Council
- City Sports Association
- Technical University.
The main features of the concept development were jointly agreed and the forms of even closer cooperation were discussed. The aim is to have the integration concept adopted by the city council in the first quarter of 2017.
As many Chemnitz residents as possible should be involved in the development of the integration concept. To ensure this, the conference to promote the integration of migrants in the city of Chemnitz, which will take place on 24 August 2016 in the chamber hall of the IHK, represents the first major stage. In its third edition, the information and exchange event for practitioners from the fields of migration social work and asylum support will focus this time on the development of the City of Chemnitz's integration concept by working out common integration goals and, above all, concrete measures based on the various fields of action.
The next important step in the development process will be the survey taking place from 5 September to 25 September 2016, in which the citizens of Chemnitz will be asked to develop ideas for integration and coexistence in Chemnitz.
Various discussions and workshops are planned with the stakeholders involved in the further development process.
Current information on the development process can be found at www.chemnitz.de/fluechtlinge