Working Together for Local Integration of Migrants and Refugees in Berlin

Berlin has long been a diverse, multicultural city and today about 1 million – or 30% – of its inhabitants have a migration background, meaning that they – or at least one of their parents – were born without German nationality. Berlin’s authorities perceive diversity as generally accepted in Berlin’s society. This case study takes a close look at the city’s migrant integration programmes and services, examining how all levels of government participate in these programmes, as well as the growing role played by third-sector agencies. It considers how Berlin’s administration reacted to the sharp rise in asylum applications in 2015-16, rapidly updating existing integration measures as well as developing emergency ones. The integration of these newcomers needs to be monitored in order to demonstrate policy impact and to help establish whether such policies can be expanded to help other migrant groups that still experience wide socio-economic gaps compared to native population.
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Introduction
The objective of this case study is to analyse refugee and migrant integration policy in Berlin. The study highlights the design and implementation of integration actions within the German multi-level governance framework for integration, as well as interactions between the municipality and other public and non-state stakeholders. The study is based on different sources of information: a questionnaire filled out by the municipality of Berlin and its partners, interviews conducted during the OECD mission (8-9 March 2017) and complementary responses, and existing data and literature.
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