Local Municipalities and Labour Market Integration of Refugees – Research Minister Bauer Praises PH and ZEW Cooperation Project

Minister of Science, Research and the Arts, Theresia Bauer, visited the Heidelberg University of Education (PH) to give her personal seal of approval to the research project "Real-World Lab Asylum". The cooperation project between the PH Heidelberg, the Mannheim Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), and a number of additional partners addresses the question of how asylum seekers living in the towns of Heidelberg, Sinsheim and Wiesloch can be integrated into society as quickly as possible.

Researchers shall focus on the areas of work-related language skills, labour market integration, decentralised living and civic engagement as they consider which conditions and measures might be used to facilitate and accelerate integration. Their aim is to support integration through data-based evaluation of developments, by assessing the implementation of measures, and by developing, for example, new teaching concepts.

"The Real-World Lab envisaged here today could not be more relevant. The question as to how asylum seekers can be integrated into our society and into our job market is one of the key challenges which we'll be facing in the very near future," emphasised Minister Theresia Bauer. "I am therefore delighted that this real-world lab project aims to identify obstacles on various levels of administration which might hinder integration. The project demonstrates just how eminently relevant projects can develop from the "Urban Real-world Lab" programme in Baden-Württemberg."

Subsequent to Minister Bauer's speech, Professor Holger Bonin (ZEW) and Professor Anne Berkemeier (PH) gave a short presentation introducing the project to approximately 50 representatives from the areas of research, adult education, charity, civic organisations, schools, and the local municipalities involved. The presentation highlighted that the questions addressed in the various sub-projects have been developed in discussion with project partners with practical experience in integration. As a result, questions are of direct relevance to integration. How can language learning be more closely linked to the work-related skills taught in vocational courses? How does the employability of refugees develop following their arrival in Germany, and what measures are best suited to supporting positive development? Which factors must be considered when organising decentralised accommodation in order to ensure that integration in the town is really achieved? And what approaches might be taken by citizens working on a voluntary basis in response to new challenges?

As Mayor Sauer from Wiesloch confirmed, "These are the very questions which we need answered. We are delighted to be receiving support from the field of research – the challenges are substantial, and it is through sound scientific input that sustainable, well-conceived solutions will be found."

Background

The project "Real-World Lab Asylum in the Rhine-Neckar Region" is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts as part of the "Urban Field Lab" programme. In the second round of tenders for projects in specific municipalities, the project has been granted total funding of 1.1 million euros.

The project is focused on the cities of Heidelberg, Sinsheim and Wiesloch. It will commence on January 1, 2016, and is planned to run for three years. Alongside research activities, one of the project aims is to provide platforms for exchange with practitioners in integration and with the wider public.

Further information can be found on the project website at www.reallabor-asyl.de

For more information please contact

Holger Bonin, Phone: +49(0)621/1235-151, E-mail: bonin@zew.de

Dr. Monika Gonser, Phone: +49(0)6221/477-58, E-mail: Monika.Gonser@vw.ph-heidelberg.de