Strong consensus on integration issues

The Minister for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia and Deputy Prime Minister, Joachim Stamp (FDP), visited the city of Jena on Thursday. At the table of Lord Mayor Thomas Nitzsche, he discussed the topic of integration with his Jena colleagues, Integration Officer Dörte Thiele and Integration Manager Andreas Amend as well as Ramona Scheiding (Economic Development).

As different as the sizes of the federal state of NRW and the city of Jena are, the successes and problems of integration were very close to each other in the discussion. Joachim Stamp, for example, sees new obstacles due to federal legislation. Opportunities for good skilled workers must be improved and not made more difficult. He advocates liberal residence regulations. In his eyes, the wrong people often have to leave Germany again. Our country is dependent on the creative power of newcomers. At federal and state level, forces must be pooled to support local authorities in recognizing the abuse of our asylum law.

From Jena's perspective, the need for skilled workers in the city was pointed out. Only immigration from abroad could cover this high demand in the future, as demonstrated by the skilled labor study conducted by the Jena Economic Development Agency. Mayor Thomas Nitzsche sees himself in line with Minister Joachim Stamp in this regard. Populist exaggeration of problems must be consistently countered.

Stamp took an interest in the efforts to help Vietnamese citizens in Jena. Integration officer Dörthe Thiele reported that language courses are currently being offered so that younger residents with Vietnamese roots can also understand their parents and grandparents later on. This is particularly important for later care. In Düsseldorf, there is a similar problem with widows of Japanese migrants.

Due to the large number of very similar issues and challenges, contact between Jena and NRW will be further intensified.