A Europe of many – but how?

This article is the result of a meeting with the Turkish Community in Germany (TGD) – a migrant organisation that is not only active in the field of political advocacy, but is also committed to ‘the qualification of migrant organisations, the promotion of civic engagement and the improvement of the educational situation of disadvantaged young people’ (TGD).

Introduction

The meeting with the TGD took place as part of the master's seminar ‘Onboarding in Europe? Social Cohesion in a Diverse Europe. Strategies, Controversies, Future’ at the European University Viadrina (Frankfurt Oder), which was offered by Dr. Schöll-Mazurek (academic staff member at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies) in the summer semester of 2022.

In this application-oriented seminar, students addressed the overarching question of how social cohesion and equal opportunities can function in a Europe that, despite increasing social diversity and the conflicts that accompany it, such as those relating to religion or diverging worldviews, can still function. Among other things, the seminar focused on actors representing the interests of minority groups in Germany who are committed to equal rights for people with a migration background and to greater participation of these groups in the white majority society. Regular discussions were therefore held with relevant stakeholders, who reported on their work and experiences in this field.

On 19 May 2022, the students and Ms Schöll-Mazurek met in Berlin-Kreuzberg with TGD Federal Executive Director Susanna Steinbach and Lena Glaser, Project Manager in the Structural Support Department of the TGD. The discussion initially focused on the presentation of the organisation ‘Turkish Community in Germany’ and the ‘Federal Conference of Migrant Organisations’, launched by the TGD in 2017, which aims to network migrant organisations and act as a forum for discussion on integration policy ‘in order to give the voices of the migrant community more of a hearing’.Federal Conference of Migrant Organisations, which aims to connect migrant associations and serve as a forum for discussion on integration policy ‘in order to give the voices of the migrant community more of a hearing, to provide political impetus and [...] to contribute to a forward-looking and participatory policy’ (BKMO).

About the TGD and the BKMO

The Turkish Community in Germany (TGD) was founded in 1994 and ‘sees itself as part of the democracy and human rights movement in Germany’ (bpb). It aims to involve as many people as possible in social cohesion and to make the commitment to greater equality and inclusion in society more visible. As an umbrella organisation, it was founded almost 30 years ago to represent Turkish guest workers in Germany. The right-wing terrorist attacks of the 1990s, for example in Rostock, Mölln, Solingen and Lübeck, were also a catalyst for its foundation.

As an interest group, the TGD now campaigns for the legal, social and political equality of the immigrant population and seeks to counteract violence and racism. While in the 1990s the representation of the Turkish community was at the forefront, today the work of the TGD is also determined by the interests of the rest of the immigrant community. Therefore, the TGD now generally lobbies on behalf of the migrant community in Germany with the aim of giving as many migrant organisations as possible greater visibility at the various federal levels.

In conversation with the two TGD employees, they emphasised how important it is to keep political demands ‘alive’ and to engage in active advocacy work. Even though the coalition agreement for the 20th legislative period shows some success in lobbying for the promotion of democracy, the fight against racism and integration compared to 2017, the interest groups representing migrant communities must check whether the plans set out in the coalition agreement are actually being implemented.

In contrast to the TGD, the Federal Conference of Migrant Organisations (BKMO) is a young organisation. In 2017, the BKMO met for the first time in Berlin with more than 100 representatives from over 60 organisations. Today, the BKMO is one of the relevant political actors in Germany. As a forum for discussion on integration policy, it brings together various migrant organisations to jointly voice political demands and represent the interests of immigrants and their descendants. The organisations belonging to the BKMO work with shared resources to promote social cohesion in a united Germany.

Discussion

The presentation of the two organisations was followed by a discussion on the importance of lobbying by NGOs in order to give minority groups in Germany a stronger voice. At the same time, the structural disadvantages faced by NGOs in their lobbying activities vis-à-vis representatives from the business community were addressed. While companies have far greater financial resources to invest in areas such as political communication, thereby ensuring that economic interests are given greater consideration in the political decision-making process, state-funded NGOs are severely limited in this respect. Positions in the field of political communication can hardly be financed with public funds, if at all, which poses a major challenge for NGOs. As described above, practice shows the relevance of political representation for minorities. The question remains as to how and whether the structural disadvantage of NGOs with regard to their limited opportunities for advocacy work can be changed in the future.

Link reference:

BKMO (n.d.): Home

Bpb (n.d.): Turkish community in Germany – Almanya Türk Toplumu e.V.

TGD (n.d.): Projects

Editor — Aurélie Karadjov