Between February 2019 and January 2021, the Expert Commission on the framework conditions for integration capability was commissioned by the German Federal Government to address a wide range of topics in the field of migration and integration.
The result is this report, which clarifies interrelationships in this field, advocates an understanding of integration for society as a whole, and contains a wealth of recommendations on how policymakers and all people can work together to better shape the immigration society. You can find the report in English as well as other documents here.
Its authors are 25 experts from various scientific, political and civil society fields who have been working on processes of migration and integration for several years. They were all appointed to the Expert Commission for two years by the German Federal Government under Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel. Information on the members can be found here.
All members worked on a voluntary basis for the Expert Commission and were appointed personally, i.e. not as representatives of the organisations to which they belong. They were independent in their work and not subject to directives, both from the German Federal Government and from the organisations to which they belong. The consultations, of which you can find some pictures here, were confidential, the process was open-ended and the cooperation was limited in time. The Commission was chaired by Derya Çağlar, member of the Berlin House of Representatives, and Ashok Sridharan, former Mayor of the federal city of Bonn.
The Expert Commission dealt with many aspects in the field of migration and integration; you can find an overview here below or in the report, for example in the core messages. They dealt with terms, concepts and approaches as well as concrete measures in the areas of work, education, health, housing and racism, extremism, discrimination and equality. The members also discussed the question of how Germany defines itself as a country of immigration, what it means to be German in the 21st century, and what conditions are necessary for participation. What resulted out of this is an abundance of ideas for policymakers and society.
