Weltoffene Kommune (“World-Open Cities and Communities”) Initiative - from dialogue to cohesion

Local cities and com­mu­ni­ties are vital venues for diver­si­ty, inte­gra­tion and par­tic­i­pa­tion. Today more than ever, they have to shape ini­tial con­di­tions that pro­mote a ​“world-openness”and a good liv­ing togeth­er. So, how can this be done? The pilot project ​“Weltof­fene Kom­mune — vom Dia­log zum Zusam­men­halt” (“World-Open Cities and Com­mu­ni­ties” — from dia­logue to cohe­sion), fund­ed by the Fed­er­al Gov­ern­ment Com­mis­sion­er for Migra­tion, Refugees and Inte­gra­tion, seeks answers to these questions.

The project, ini­ti­at­ed by PHI­NEO and the Ber­tels­mann Stiftung, will sup­port up to 40 new cities and com­mu­ni­ties all over Ger­many in their wel­com­ing efforts until the begin­ning of 2022. The pilot project is work­ing on three approach­es to achieve this.

Here is an overview of the cur­rent pilot cities and com­mu­ni­ties and process facilitators

Our approach to a solution:

1. Self-check Weltof­fene Kom­mune initiative

At the heart of this approach, is a self-check that helps munic­i­pal­i­ties to ana­lyze their sta­tus quo in terms of their ​“world-open­ness”. Based on the results, local author­i­ties plan their next steps in a facil­i­tat­ed work­shop to fur­ther devel­optheir work on inte­gra­tion and diversity.

2. Sup­port for decision-makers

Munic­i­pal deci­sion-mak­ers are fac­ing a great chal­lenge to respond toa heat­ed social debate and to take a clear stand for ​“world-openness”and against dis­crim­i­na­tion and racism. In order to achieve this, the pilot project will devel­op for­mats of sup­port specif­i­cal­ly tai­lored to the needs of decision-makers.

3. Civ­il Dialogue

In order to be ​“world-open”, local res­i­dents must engage in dia­logue, joint­ly shape com­mu­ni­ty issues and devel­op inclu­sive nar­ra­tives. Depend­ing on the ini­tial sit­u­a­tion, the pilot project offers the pos­si­bil­i­ty of hold­ing dia­logue events between local res­i­dents, admin­is­tra­tion and pol­i­tics as well as play­ers from busi­ness and civ­il society.

FAQ

Advi­so­ry Board 

• Dr. Franziska Beck­er, expert for research-based con­sult­ing for munic­i­pal­i­ties; con­flict medi­a­tion in social urban and munic­i­pal development
• Prof. Dr. Petra Ben­del, Chair­woman of the Sci­en­tif­ic Advi­so­ry Board of the Fed­er­al Office for Migra­tion and Refugees (BAMF)
• Anna Dieter­le, project man­age­ment in the pilot project by Stiftung Mer­ca­tor and the Coun­cil of Experts of Ger­man Foun­da­tions for Inte­gra­tion and Migra­tion (SVR)
• Anne Keßler, Head of Depart­ment SW III 3 — Urban Devel­op­ment Pro­gramme ​“Social City”; ESF in the Fed­er­al Min­istry of the Inte­ri­or, for Build­ing and Home­land Affairs (BMI)
• David Lubell, Founder and Chair­man of Wel­com­ing America
• Hol­ger Michael, Own­er Loud and Clear — Strate­gic Communication
• Dr. Deniz Ner­giz, Man­ag­ing Direc­tor, Fed­er­al Immi­gra­tion and Inte­gra­tion Council
• Mar­ta Neüff, Board Mem­ber of the Ver­band für interkul­turelle Wohlfahrt­spflege, Empow­er­ment and Diversity
• Belit Onay, Gov­ern­ing May­or of Hanover
• Ayse Özbaba­jan, Deputy Direc­tor at the Depart­ment for Inte­gra­tion Pol­i­cy of the City of Stuttgart
• Dr. rer. soc. Bet­ti­na Reimann, Head of ​“City and Soci­ety” in the research depart­ment of Urban devel­op­ment, Law and Social Affairs, Ger­man Insti­tute of Urban Affairs
• Timo Rein­frank, Man­ag­ing Direc­tor Amadeu Anto­nio Foundation
• Dr. Elias Stein­hilper, Expert at DeZ­IM Institute
• Prof. Dr. Hacı-Halil Uslu­can, Head of the Foun­da­tion Cen­tre for Turk­ish Stud­ies and Inte­gra­tion Research
• Kirstin Wal­sleben, Head of divi­sion, Ger­man Asso­ci­a­tion of Ger­man Cities