Latest posts by Hans Blokland (see all)
- German bureaucracy in the integration of newcomers and how it can be reduced. - July 9, 2025
- Citizens’ dialogue in Paulinenaue once again well attended: the requirement to justify positions rationally is what unites us Europeans. - June 25, 2025
- New BAMF project launched by SSW: Building bridges, volunteering for migrants and against discrimination - June 19, 2025
Over the past two weeks, SSW has conducted the first three workshops with refugees from Ukraine, Syria, and Afghanistan on volunteer work and discrimination. The project is supported by the Federal Office for Refugees and Migration. Many more workshops will follow. Below are the considerations underlying this project.
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Refugees who come to Germany are less likely to volunteer than would be possible and desirable. There are, of course, various reasons for this. One reason is that in some cultures, organized volunteer work receives less attention and recognition than in German culture. This also means that people are sometimes unfamiliar with organized volunteer work.
At the same time, we know that volunteering can make an important contribution to the integration of new arrivals. Through volunteering, they can build the networks they need to find their way in society, they can orient themselves to German norms and values, and they can improve their knowledge of the German language. In general, we know from research that volunteering contributes to people’s well-being. It gives them a sense of contributing to society and being seen, and it proves to be an effective remedy for loneliness and social isolation and the mental health problems they cause. Of course, volunteering enriches society as a whole: it enables important activities that would not be remunerated in a market economy but are crucial for social cohesion.
Discrimination is a universal phenomenon. Refugees also discriminate. This discrimination—including sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism—makes it difficult to live together in refugee shelters and hinders integration into German society.
In this project, we want to bring both considerations together. We want to explain and illustrate the importance of volunteer work and educate participants on how and where they can become active as volunteers, especially in the area of anti-discrimination.
In eight modules of two to three hours each, we will first discuss the fundamental values of our society and the importance of volunteer work. We will also address the practical question of how and where people can volunteer. Then we will look at different forms of discrimination (sexism, racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia) and discuss their causes. What exactly are the mechanisms behind such behaviors and thought patterns? What do these attitudes and ideas have in common? How and why do prejudices arise? How do we recognize discrimination? How can we deal with these tendencies?
