Category: Companion Page

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Jobs4Refugees

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Finding a job is hard even if you speak the language, know how to write the perfect cover letter, craft just the right CV, and give all the right answers in an interview. Imagine having to learn to do all of that in a completely new country. Where do you even start?

Jobs 4 Refugees, helps newcomers with that start. In Germany, those who are seeking safety and stability often look for a job as a means to gain experience in their new home and provide security for themselves and their families.

Listen to today’s episode to hear Julia, a client of Jobs 4 Refugees, share her experience working with the organization, and attending its workshops. Then Friederike Löwe, Integration Coordinator, tells us about Jobs 4 Refugees’ history and how they have addressed the unique challenges of helping newcomers find a job in a new home.

We also address how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected refugees’ ability to work and find work.

Thank you, Friederike and Julia, for coming on the podcast and sharing your experiences.

Thanks again to Friederike for interpreting my conversation with Julia.

This podcast is made possible by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and Social Science Works.

Please visit the Jobs 4 Refugees webpage to learn more (English version): https://www.jobs4refugees.org/?lang=en 

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Mosaique: Integration as a reflection of society as a whole.

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Mosaique is a cultural center in Lüneberg, Germany.

This week’s guest is Dr. Corinna Krume of Mosaique, a cultural center in Lüneberg that creates space for refugees and locals to meet, interact, and create cultural events. The organization hosts yoga, German practice, meet-ups over coffee, and much more.

In this episode, you’ll hear about what Mosaique does and why it serves as an important model for our society as a whole.

We also address the important topic of burnout for volunteers and how to keep up motivation over a long term commitment to helping newcomers adjust.

Email with suggestions: feedback@integrationforeveryone.com

Follow on Twitter: @ifepodcast

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Minor: Advising Migrants and Refugees on Social Media

Logo of the organization Minor
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Welcome to the companion page to the Minor Podcast Episode. Here you will find links to Minor and their projects so you can read more about their work. For those pages in German, I recommend installing the Google translate extension if you are using the Chrome browser. If you use a different browser, DeepL is a fantastic translation tool.

https://minor-kontor.de/

Minor is an organization that offers research, consultancy, and pilot-testing services in Germany. Though their work covers a variety of issues in civil society, they boast an impressive number of projects related to migration. Their website lists 15 current projects and another 20 projects concluded in the last eight years related to migration topics from voting to science to religion.

The project we’re discussing in today’s episode is Fem.OS. With a focus on female migrants, their team of counselors engages on social media platforms in 10 languages (Arabic, English, French, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Turkish) to share reliable and quality information on a variety of topics.

Please enjoy listening to today’s episode and please connect with Integration for Everyone on Twitter!

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Refugee/Community Meet-ups, Begegnungscafe Babelsberg w/ Volunteer Katharina

Reading Time: 2 minutes

One of the most common types of refugee programs in Germany has been the meet-up cafes. It’s an obvious way to improve refugee integration as it offers an opportunity for refugees and members of the community to come into contact with one another. You simply find a location big enough to host a group and invite locals and refugees alike. These spaces end up being a place for language practice, making new friends, and learning. Many cities and towns have started a weekly meet-up cafe but not all of them are still functioning. Today, you’ll hear about the Begegnungscafe in Babelsberg and of the experience of one volunteer, Katharine.

The Begegnungscafe was founded by members of the Evangelical Church in Potsdam Martina and Günter Kruse. It’s located in Babelsberg which is a section of the city of Potsdam located between the city center of Potsdam itself on the west and the border with Berlin on the east. And Begagnung translates to something like encounter or meeting.

Meetings are held every Sunday, and according to the Evangelical Churches website, around 100 people attend every week (of course before COVID-19 requirements). Though the event takes place in the church itself, people from any religious background are welcomed to join. As you’ll hear, Katharine, this week’s guest, isn’t a member of the church herself, and many of the refugees come from a different Christian Denomination or adhere to Islam.

Yet, as Katherine explains, this connection with religion may be one factor that has kept attendance at the Begegnungscafe so high for so long. Refugees with a faith background might feel more comfortable in a space dedicated to religion rather than a strictly secular one, she explains. But as you will hear in this week’s episodes, there are other factors that Katharine believes have led to the success of the program including convenient the meeting time, the extra programming put on by volunteers, and the strength of personal connections that have formed.

Listen to this weeks episode to not only learn about a meeting cafe like Begegnungscafe, but also to hear about the experience of being a volunteer with refugees in Germany. Katharine draws on a variety of experience working with refugees for the past few years in cities all around Germany.

Send us your thoughts and ideas for who you would like to hear from at feedback@integrationforeveryone.com .

You can also follow us on Twitter to get updates on new episodes and news stories related to migration and refugee integration.

Twitter @ifepodcast

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When Refugees Arrive it’s All About Communication -Willkommen in Dallgow ft. Elisabeth Fleisch

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Welcome to Dallgow, a small town on the outskirts of Berlin of about 10,000 people. Here you can find the welcome initiative Willkommen in Dallgow which formed to create a welcome community for refugees when they arrived in Germany and found themselves temporarily placed in refugee accommodations. This week’s episode highlights the importance of those first days, weeks, and months for organizing community members for a welcome initiative. This week’s guest, Elisabeth, discusses what it takes to ready a community for this kind of commitment. She shares her experience as a communication volunteer organizing volunteers and sharing information with the residents of Dallgow. She also discusses things that are important for enhancing integration in Germany such as cultural events and maintaining strong lines of communication between refugees and the community.

Visit Willkommen in Dallgow at their website and Facebook page:

Willkommen in Dallgow Website
Willkommen in Dallgow Facebook

Follow us on Twitter: @ifepodcast

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How Refugees in Germany Get the News While Learning German

Logo for refugee news website Amal, Berlin! with Arabic writing.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Episode 3: Amal, Berlin! Julia

Episode 04: Amal, Berlin! Asmaa

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Learning the language of a host country connects immigrants to their new society. However, learning German is a slow process, and refugees in Germany need to connect to their communities before they’re fluent. Becoming part of the community you live in is complicated and looks different for everyone but might include giving feedback on policies that affect you, discussing political candidates, volunteering, or going to cultural events in your neighborhood. When you’re a native speaker, you may take your ability to easily do these things for granted, but refugees who are still learning the language of their host country can easily miss out if this information is presented in a language they are still learning. Recognizing this problem, the founders of Amal, Berlin! began to publish the most important news stories for Berlin in Arabic and Farsi so newcomers could have access to current events up-to-date information. As a result, the news platform has built a readership eager to learn about their new home in Berlin and has recently expanded to Hamburg.

When refugees can stay informed and get the latest news they feel included in their communities. This was especially true during the coronavirus pandemic when the German government announced restrictions on daily life that came quickly and it was sometimes unclear what was allowed in public life. During this confusing and difficult time, Amal helped by being a reliable source of accurate information that its readers could rely on.

In Episode 03 you will hear from Julia cofounder and reporter at Amal, Berlin!. Julia shares the philosophy behind Amal’s approach and what it has been like building a multicultural news platform. After speaking with Julia, she recommended I also speak with her colleague, a reporter writing in Arabic, Asmaa. In Episode 04, you get another perspective from Amal. Asmaa draws on her work writing for an Arabic speaking expatriate community and her own experience adapting to life in Germany to talk about why information is important during the integration process and what we need to think about in the future of refugee resettlement.

In these conversations, you will hear:
– Reporting during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
– What “integration” means and why it may be time to think beyond integration.
– Next steps for involving refugees in society in a meaningful way.
– Two-way integration, where refugees learn about Germany and Germans learn about their new neighbors.
– Asmaa’s own experience moving to Germany.

If you’re a reader of Amal, Berlin!, please share how their reporting has affected you in the comments below.

Below you can find links to Amal’s online resources including their Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please read their stories and share their content.

Follow Amal

Amal, Berlin! Website

Amal, Berlin! Facebook

Amal, Berlin! Youtube Arabic

Amal Berlin! Youtube Farsi/Dari

Amal, Hamburg! Website

Amal, Hamburg! Facebook Arabic

Amal, Hamburg! Facebook Farsi/Dari

Amal, Berlin! Instagram

For more on Refugees in Germany

To hear past episodes of Integration for Everyone Podcast and subscribe click here: Integration for Everyone Podcast.

Follow Integration for Everyone on Twitter here: @ifepodcast

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E02 – Brandenburg has Space

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In this episode, I talk with Jo of the organization Potsdam Konvoi about their campaign to bring 2000 people living in refugee camps in Greece to the German Federal State of Brandenburg.

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Potsdam Konvoi Website  – https://www.potsdam-konvoi.de/

Brandenburg hat Platz Campaign site (click here to see their poster) – https://www.openpetition.de/petition/online/brandenburg-hat-platz-landesaufnahmeprogramm-fuer-gefluechtete-jetzt

Kurzgesagt YouTube video on the European “refugee crisis” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnT-iF0CAZk

Asylum statistics for Germany – https://www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/germany/statistics

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E01 – An Organization for the Community: Helping Refugees in Falkensee

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At the foundation of Integration for Everyone is the idea that helping refugees can be beneficial for everyone. That is why the first organization featured on this podcast will be Willkommen in Falkensee. It is an organization that decided to help refugees in a way that was open to everyone in their community. As you’ll hear in this episode, Willkommen in Falkensee is an organization located right outside of Germany’s capital that was ahead of the curve. They decided to begin preparing their town to help refugees in 2013, before the large scale migration that began in 2015 when Germany famously opened its doors to people fleeing the Syrian Civil War.

In the first half of this episode, you’ll hear about some of their current work. It’s an expansive list and might give you some interesting ideas if you also work with refugees. Around the nine-minute mark, we switch to talking a bit about the history and philosophy of the organization. Near the end, we also discuss the structure of the organization, for example, how decisions are made, how programs are managed, and how they’ve been able to stay active for the last few seven years.

Learn more about Willkommen in Falkensee

If you would like to learn even more about Willkommen in Falkensee you can visit their website. Fair warning, it’s in German but if you have the Chrome browser you can easily translate the website by using the Google Translate plugin.

Webiste: https://willkommen-in-falkensee.org/

About and Contact page: https://willkommen-in-falkensee.org/selbstverstaendnis/