AGI Launches Project on Integration in Germany as part of the “Year of German-American Friendship”

Washington, DC, October 3, 2018 – The American-German Institute (AGI) at Johns Hopkins University announced today that it has received a grant from the German Federal Foreign Office to support a new project that highlights Germany’s efforts in integrating its immigrants and refugees into society and the workforce.

The project “Integration: Made in Germany” will bring advocates and practitioners who work on behalf of immigrants in Germany to the United States on a speaking and discussion tour. Participants will engage with their U.S. counterparts and exchange ideas, solutions, and best practices, working to establish a transatlantic network of integration advocates and experts. Destinations will be in the Midwest and Southwest of the country with two trips planned in March and September 2019.

While the U.S. has been regarded as a country of immigrants since its inception, and the integration of people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds is rarely seen as problematic, Germany has only recently, although not unanimously, declared itself to be an immigration country with a diverse population. Germany and the U.S. can learn from each other, especially at the local and community level, in their efforts to welcome newcomers. Exchanging ideas and results of their respective integration policies and programs, as well as workforce development efforts, will benefit the societies they serve. Joining forces and developing networks of integration advocates will maximize results on both sides and strengthen the transatlantic bond. Wunderbar Together!

AGI is pleased to partner in this effort with AAU e.V. in Nürnberg, an association that was established in 1999 and focuses its work on projects in the field of education, migration, and the economy. AAU e.V. is a center for collaborative vocational education and aims to strengthen migrant entrepreneurship and integration into dependent employment and to raise awareness of the significance of self-employment and inclusive entrepreneurship.  It also addresses the challenges and opportunities for labor market integration for refugees.

Follow #AICGSintegrationideas and #WunderbarTogether to see what AGI and others are doing as part of the Year of German-American Friendship.

The Year of German-American Friendship (“Deutschlandjahr USA”) is a comprehensive and collaborative initiative funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, implemented by the Goethe-Institut, and with support from the Federation of German Industries (BDI).