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Successful integration
Germany looks back on a longstanding and formative tradition of migration with many examples of successful integration.
At present, 15 million people from 200 different countries live in Germany. This is nearly every fifth inhabitant of our country. After the US, Germany thus has the highest share of migrants in any population worldwide. Every third child below the age of six comes from an immigrant family. In some major cities in Germany, more than half the population below the age of 40 will have a migration background in 2010.
German society has profoundly changed as a result of our life with the migrants. It took a long time until the nature of this development was really understood. It is a reality which offers many opportunities and is fraught with the risk of social tension. It is a reality which requires a forward-looking and sustainable integration policy.
Two guiding principles
As a result, the Federal Government has defined integration as a key responsibility for the future and has adopted a new approach which provides new opportunities. In its efforts, its orientation stems from two guiding principles:
Integration cannot be imposed; it is a matter of living. It requires the preparedness of those to be integrated, to embrace what the country is offering. And the hosting society group is required to show tolerance, acceptance and the willingness to honestly welcome the minority or marginalised groups. A sense of living together will only develop when all people feel at home, when they participate in society, in both their professional and private lives, and when they experience mutual and equal respect for their achievements. The government alone cannot fulfil the integrative tasks – it is the responsibility of our entire society. Integration will only be successful when everyone assumes practical and concrete responsibility. This is the only way to develop a lasting climate which encourages those being integrated to consider themselves as natural parts of our society.
Jointly tackled at all levels
The key interdisciplinary task of integration must be jointly tackled at all levels, in all fields of politics and by the state and society as a whole. It should be tackled by representatives at all levels of state administration, local authorities, industry associations and trade unions, churches and religious communities, foundations and welfare organisations, sports, culture, the media and the scientific community.
For instance, the German Integration Plan includes 400 actions and voluntary commitments - 150 of them initiated by the Federal Government and 250 by non-governmental organisations of which 50 are organised by migrant organisations or organisations of minority groups.
Important role of environment
The immediate or residential environment also has a very important role to play in the integration process. The environment will decide on the success of integration in the everyday coexistence of people of different origins.
Thus, cities, counties and municipalities are aware of their crucial responsibility with regard to integration. They promote coexistence between ethnic groups in social spaces with integration deficits, by managing residential quarters and networking. They take into account the increasing significance of ethnic economies in the context of local plans for promoting business and industry. Moreover, all social stakeholders have to enter into voluntary commitments. They naturally differ in their scope and significance, but each one matters, and is most welcome as a concrete contribution towards integration.
Guiding principles
In all these activities we are guided, and Sri Lanka should consider being guided, by the following principles: integration is a key responsibility of our times, and it concerns everyone. It is important for us all to ensure that all people living in a country understand and experience an open-minded home country which is worth living in.
Successful integration needs a secure financial basis, but it also requires expertise and practical assistance. I am delighted in the signing of an MoU to legally enshrine Germany’s commitment to the Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration and the Sri Lankan National Social Cohesion Programme. We acknowledge the challenges faced by the Ministry and Sri Lanka and we are full of respect for the progress already achieved.
Tackling the structural impediments for cohesion
The reconciliation process following the end of the war, as well as the most recent communal violence show that the roots, the structural impediments for cohesion, need to be tackled not only between north and south, ethnic and religious groups, but also between old and young generations, cities and rural areas, the rich and poorer parts of society. I am very pleased that Germany, GIZ-experts and the FLICT program are able to support and contribute to meeting these challenges. This contribution is not only on a policy level, but also on the implementation level in communities in certain provinces.
Moreover, I very much appreciate having successfully coordinated the German project with the EU-co-sponsored program ‘Arts + Culture for Social Integration’.
I am convinced that we will reach sustainable results in the three years to come, and that we will be able to jointly look back at 15 years of a very successful FLICT program.
