ERASMI network in Saxony-Anhalt discusses current regional developments in the field of migration and inclusion
On 12 October 2021, the ERASMI team at Harz University of Applied Sciences met with a small group of regional stakeholders in the field of integration for the 4th ERASMI network meeting in Saxony-Anhalt. Everybody was delighted that for the first time since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, the exchange did not take place online but on the university campus in Halberstadt.
The participants – which included migration counsellors, integration coordinators and state projects for counselling and support in labour market integration – discussed current regional developments in the field of migration and inclusion. These concerned, among other things:
– major changes in the project landscape due to new funding periods,
– ongoing changes due to the Corona pandemic,
– the development and publication of a state integration concept for Saxony-Anhalt as a framework for future regional integration policies,
– and a new state government since September 2021.
With regard to regional projects and services, the participants criticise the lack of consolidation of central structures for the inclusion of migrants. In addition, important services are still missing in rural areas. Regarding the ongoing Corona pandemic, the lack of technical infrastructure – especially but not only – in municipal administrations continues to be a problem. In some cases, it is still not possible to attend or organise digital events, and integration offers can sometimes not be implemented as an online format. However, migrants and refugees also seem to have fallen into a certain lethargy due to the restrictions of the pandemic and, according to the participants, are now taking up fewer inclusion offers. A positive example, however, is the Caritas in the city of Halberstadt, which has made its migration counselling available as an additional online service, which is to be maintained on a permanent basis also after the pandemic. The newly developed integration concept is perceived as not matching practical needs.
The meeting results help to prepare the next full-scale ERASMI network meeting in Saxony-Anhalt. Here, the topic of educational integration and language support, which is perceived as particularly important by the participants, will be discussed in more depth on a larger scale with more regional integration actors at the beginning of 2022.
Source: Birgit Apfelbaum |Harz University of Applied Sciences – ERASMI project
