Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG)

Saxony has drafted an Integration and Participation Act (SITG). The aim was to improve Saxony's integration structures at both state and municipal level, true to the motto »Challenge and Support«. This was accompanied by the goal of clearly distributing tasks at state and municipal level. This should enable the successful integration and participation of migrants.

The Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Cohesion (SMS) had deliberately decided to precede such an integration and participation law with a comprehensive participation process. The aim was to prepare the draft law in a broad-based dialogue and participation process, involving integration experts and interested parties from civil society in Saxony and beyond. The principle of this process was »Participation Creates Inclusion«.

As part of the participatory process for the law, specialist conferences were held on various topics, in which we discussed the development of a Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG) with experts, interested parties and fellow campaigners, and jointly advanced the process.

An overview of the dates can be found below:

6 May 2021
Kick-off conference

21 May 2021
1st Specialist conference Migrant Life in Saxony

10 June 2021
2nd Specialist conference Migration Social Work

23 June 2021
3rd Specialist conference Participation and Anti-Discrimination

9 July 2021
Additional conference Refugee Social Work

14 July 2021
4th Specialist conference Integration through Language, Education and Work

10 September 2021
Additional conference Labour Market Integration

23 September 2021
Final conference

During the digital kick-off conference on 6 May 2021, Sebastian Vogel, the former head of the Department for Social Cohesion and former State Secretary for Social Affairs and Cohesion, provided information about the framework conditions, the course of the participation process and the process towards a Saxon Integration and Participation Act.

At the beginning, Petra Köpping, Saxony's State Minister for Social Affairs and Cohesion, answered the question of why Saxony now needs an Integration and Participation Act after the ZIK II. Geert Mackenroth, Member of the Saxon State Parliament and Saxon Commissioner for Foreigners, discussed the steering function of laws and the associated opportunities and limits of a Saxon Integration and Participation Act.

Prof. Dr. Petra Bendel from the Expert Council for Integration and Migration provided insights into various existing integration laws in Germany. Afterwards, a digital feedback tool was used to give all participants the opportunity to ask questions of the experts. Finally, Kanwal Sethi, the chairman of the umbrella organisation of the Association of Saxon Migration Organisations, spoke about the community's expectations of the proposed legislation and participation.

The live stream of the digital kick-off conference was recorded for you. To see the conference with all the expert contributions, simply click in the video window.

The first of six specialist conferences was held on 21 May 2021 and was themed Migrant Life in Saxony. Together with experts, interested parties and fellow campaigners, we looked at and discussed integration and participation from the perspective of different migrant groups in Saxony.

In her welcoming address at the start of the specialist conference, Petra Köpping, Saxony’s State Minister for Social Affairs and Cohesion, emphasised the importance of inclusion and participation for the creation of the Saxon Integration and Participation Act:

The following three keynote speeches examined the fundamental issues of migration and diversity.

Paul Mecheril, Professor of Educational Science specialising in migration at the University of Bielefeld, pointed out that migration is an expression of people's maturity, because all people want a dignified life.

After that, Asiye Kaya, Professor of Social Work and Migration at the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida, provided insights into her current research project on migrant perspectives on the reunification process in East Germany.

Özcan Karadeniz, Managing Director of the Association of Binational Families and Partnerships, iaf e.V., in Leipzig, then spoke about the self-organisation of migrants and diversity in Saxony.

In the subsequent working phase, participants were able to take action themselves and participate in one of six discussion groups on various topics. In small workshop groups of up to 25 people, the opportunities, challenges and perspectives of different migrant groups in Saxony were discussed. The focus was particularly on EU citizens, former GDR contract workers, non-EU citizens, late repatriates, quota refugees, as well as refugees and asylum seekers.

At the end of the working phase, the results of the individual discussion groups were presented by the participants in a short contribution called »flashlight«.

The live stream of the digital specialist conference was recorded for you. To see the conference with all the expert contributions, simply click in the video window.

On 10 June 2021, the second digital specialist conference took place with a focus on migration social work as part of the Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG). The aim of the specialist conference was to consider the broad field of social and counselling work with migrants in the Free State and to shed light on their work and interaction. In two introductory keynote speeches, various aspects of migration social work were initially highlighted.

Isabelle Ihring, Professor of Youth and Social Work at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg, highlighted the importance of a human rights-based perspective.

Afterwards, Marianne Sand and Bernhard Wagner from the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Dresden provided insights into their current research project on refugee and migration social work in Saxony.

In the subsequent discussion groups, participants of the specialist conference were able to have their say. The individual groups served to discuss various topics and needs of social work for people with migration backgrounds in greater depth. The topics included the sub-areas of refugee social work, return counselling, migration counselling for adults, youth migration services, asylum (procedure) counselling, the Saxony Psychosocial Centre and the Migration and Disability Service Centre. The results of the group discussions were presented by the participants in contributions called flashlight.

Pursuant to the coalition agreement, the Free State of Saxony has set itself the goal of drawing up its own Integration and Participation Act (SITG) during the current legislative period. Saxony wants to use this to enable and promote the successful integration and participation of migrants. The second specialist conference was able to lay another important foundation stone for the law.

The live stream of the digital specialist conference was recorded for you. To see the conference with all the expert contributions, simply click in the video window.

The third specialist conference in the context of the Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG) served to examine the interplay and opportunities for participation and anti-discrimination, in order to derive possible suggestions for the planned law based on this.

The conference started with two expert inputs dealing with the successful participation of migrants in Saxony and the active prevention of discrimination.

Birgit Glorius, Professor of Human Geography with a focus on European Migration Research at the Technical University of Chemnitz, spoke about how participation can succeed. She emphasised that participation is a process of approaching one another and requires an understanding of different cultural backgrounds and an open dialogue.

Dr Doris Liebscher, from the ombudsman's office of the State Office for Equal Treatment against Discrimination (LADS) of the State of Berlin, then reported on the experiences with the State Anti-Discrimination Act (LADG) of the city of Berlin. Access to justice for refugees and migrants is particularly relevant.
 
In the subsequent discussion groups, participants were able to discuss various challenges and needs for participation and successful anti-discrimination work themselves. In particular, the topics of intercultural opening of the administration, participation at state and municipal level, state and municipal commissioners, and anti-discrimination work as the key to a participation-oriented migration society were discussed. Participants summarised the results of the respective discussion groups in short contributions called flashlight.

The live stream of the digital specialist conference was recorded for you. To see the conference with all the expert contributions, simply click in the video window.

In the participation process for the Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG), there have already been three specialist conferences with lively participation. Due to the particularly high level of interest in the topic of refugee social work, an additional conference was organised on 9 July 2021.

A large discussion round was held, in which panel participants from the municipalities, from organisations involved in social work with refugees, from the field of science and from the State Working Group on Social Work with Refugees (LAG FSA) discussed the standards in social work with refugees, the principle of subsidiarity, the professionalisation of social work with refugees, the personnel key and secure financing.

In the open discussion, all participants had the opportunity to exchange views with the panelists and with each other on the current needs in refugee social work and to formulate demands for the SITG.

The fourth specialist conference on 14 July 2021 focused on the topic of integration through language, education and work.

Prof. Dr. Hans Vorländer, who is, among other things, a member of the German government's expert commission Framework Conditions for Integration Capacity, director of the Mercator Forum Migration and Democracy (MIDEM) and a member of the Council of Experts for Integration and Migration, spoke at the beginning of the conference. In his keynote speech, Prof. Vorländer explained the structural requirements for successful cooperation between the federal and state governments, local authorities and civil society in the field of integration.

In the subsequent discussion groups, participants of the specialist conference were able to deepen their knowledge of the framework conditions for successful integration in six discussion groups on the topics of general language acquisition, day care, school, vocational training, labour market integration and university/integration. Participants summarised the results of the respective discussion groups in short contributions called flashlight.

In the concluding panel discussion, Manuela Andrich, head of the Department for Migration and Integration of the City of Leipzig, and Matthias Resche, integration coordinator in the district of Zwickau, reported on integration practice in the municipalities.

As part of the process of developing a Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG), participants have already been able to contribute to four specialist conferences and one additional conference on a range of topics. The topic of labour market integration was met with particular interest in the fourth specialist conference on Integration through Language, Education and Work. For this reason, an additional conference was held on 10 September 2021 to derive further suggestions for the planned law.

In a large discussion round, the topics of »school education« and »vocational training« were discussed in depth. The focus was particularly on job placement services and structures, labour market mentors as support for refugees and people with a migration background, the recognition of professional qualifications, cooperation and coordination at the municipal level, and the contribution of companies to integration. The panel guests included representatives of the certificate recognition office at State Office for Schools and Education, the Moritzburg production school, the Saxony state network of the IQ network, the Federal Employment Agency/Saxony regional directorate, the Dresden social welfare office and the association »Business for a Cosmopolitan Saxony«.

After brief, expert input, the panel guests formulated various demands for the SITG, which were taken up and expanded on by the participants in the open discussion. Among other things, a legal deadline was set and standardisation for recognition procedures, an increase in personnel and broad participation at the municipal level were called for.
Abbas Hosseini, a retail salesman with extra-occupational further training as a commercial specialist, then shared his own integration experience with the participants and talked about supportive counselling services, but also about hurdles on the way into the German labour market.

»Participation Creates Inclusion« – this is the motto of the participation process within the framework of the Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG). This participation process completed the first stage with the final conference on 23 September 2021.

The topics of migrant life in Saxony, migration and refugee social work, participation and anti-discrimination, and integration through language, education and work were discussed in a total of seven specialist conferences, and valuable suggestions for the planned law were formulated. The final conference served to review the topics of these specialist conferences, to compile and discuss interim results and to deepen these together with the participants and guests.

At the beginning of the conference, Petra Köpping, Saxony's State Minister for Social Affairs and Cohesion, emphasised the importance of introducing an integration law in Saxony.

Afterwards, the former State Secretary for Social Affairs and Cohesion, Sebastian Vogel, provided an insight into the participation process to date and the next steps in the legislative process.

In the first panel discussion, the panel guests Geert Mackenroth, Saxony's Commissioner for Foreigners, Prof. Dr. Hans Vorländer, MIDEM Mercator Forum Migration and Democracy, Kanwal Sethi, the umbrella organisation of immigrant associations in Saxony, Reinhilde Willems, the Federal Employment Agency in Chemnitz and Sebastian Vogel discussed demands, wishes and possible solutions for existing challenges that are to be included in the Saxon Integration Act.

As before at the previous specialist conferences, participants were able to take part in one of seven discussion groups focusing on different topics during a working phase. In small workshop groups of up to 25 people, the topics of social cohesion, participation at the municipal level, anti-discrimination, medical/psychological care, the labour market, social work with refugees and religious life/religious holidays were explored in depth together and presented in a final flashlight session, as well as discussed on the podium.

The live stream of the digital specialist conference was recorded for you. To see the conference with all the expert contributions, simply click in the video window.

Those who communicate act: The participation process for integration and participation is not independent of communication about integration and participation. Therefore, the process of involving as many experts as possible is already a value in itself.

In the participation process for the new Saxon Integration and Participation Act (SITG), we are guided by firm principles. These include, among other things...

• Quality through diversity: All and as many different perspectives as possible are brought into the participation process, discussed and weighed.
• Upholding the free democratic basic order: The participation process and its actors should meet the requirements of the free democratic basic order. This basic consensus should always be visible and identity-forming, despite all – completely legitimate and expectable – divergences of interest.
• Participation: We want to enable people with different skills, information, perspectives and interests to participate in this process. That is why the process is designed in such a way that different opinions are also heard.
• Empowerment through the provision of orienting knowledge: We avoid frustration for all participants by thinking about and providing the necessary orienting knowledge for the process.
• Taking into account the ideas of democracy and the resources of the participants: The participation process corresponds to the political and social culture of Saxony and the Federal Republic of Germany.
• Legitimacy: The inputs are weighed up in the further process and discussed with the participating actors – whenever possible – in a transparent and communication-oriented manner.
• Making pluralism visible: The participation process makes the diversity of interests visible. In addition, it enables the civil society actors to recognise conflicting interests and views.
• Legitimacy through communication: Communication is an important key to the process. The participation process should be transparent, and the objectives, procedural and discussion statuses, remaining participation options, etc. should be presented in a simple and comprehensible way. In addition, the intentions and justifications of all participants should be communicated and discussed in as comprehensible a way as possible.