The Institute for Cultural Infrastructure in Saxony invites you to an international colloquium titled “Migrant Enculturation and Regional Resilience” on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 (Day of Repentance and Prayer) at Building Klingewalde in Görlitz.
The colloquium will be opened by Friedrich Albrecht, president of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, who will speak about his experiences with enculturation as a German in Ecuador. Presentations will be given by Werner Patzelt and Christoph Meißelbach (Dresden), Stefan Garsztecki (Chemnitz), Raj Kollmorgen (Görlitz), Anton Sterbling (Rothenburg), Luigi Ferrara and Florinda Monacò (Naples), Milada Bastná and Antonin Veishar (Brno), and Patrice Neau (Vice President of the Franco-German University).
Discussion participants include, among others, state parliament members Thomas Baum, Franziska Schubert, Mirko Schultze, and Octavian Ursu.
The colloquium will be chaired by Matthias Theodor Vogt (Professor of Cultural Policy Studies at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences) together with Stefan Garsztecki (Professor of Cultural and Regional Studies of Central and Eastern Europe at Chemnitz University of Technology) and Werner J. Patzelt (Professor of Political Systems and Comparative Politics at the Technical University of Dresden).
The research project of the same name, “Migrant Enculturation and Regional Resilience,” is funded by the Saxon State Chancellery and examines the prerequisites for successful integration.
Migration flows—currently estimated by the Saxon state government at 40,000 people per year, or 1% of the resident population—pose a major challenge for politics, public administration, and civil society. This is particularly true for rural districts.
On the one hand, current migration flows offer a potential corrective to previous demographic projections. On the other hand, the successful acculturation of migrants is a prerequisite for more than just a quantitative gain—particularly with regard to the following three areas: 1) Saxony as a high-tech hub with only a limited need for underqualified workers, 2) the political system based on civic responsibility, and 3) the social climate. The demands placed on those being accepted—who predominantly come from traditional societies—to internally embrace the German federal system of values and laws are enormous; the same applies to parts of the Saxon population.
What are the prerequisites for successful integration? How can parallel societies be avoided?
Ultimately, this involves a highly complex communication effort within German society, with migrants as well as among them—an effort that is not merely desirable but absolutely necessary.
Students and staff of the university are warmly welcome; admission is free. If you are interested, please register with K. Fondis (email: fondis@kultur.org).
Contact:
Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences
Faculty of Managerial and Cultural Studies
Prof. Dr. phil. Dr. habil. Prof. h.c. Matthias Theodor Vogt
Phone: 03581 42094-22
Email: m.vogt@hszg.de