Integration – a central concept of politics at all levels. The City of Nuremberg started its inter-cultural work 30 years ago, has built bridges, eased communication between different ethnic groups. But the task has continued to grow. According to Albert Schmid, president of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, we are living in the "decade of integration". The integration of all immigrants and their families is a challenge for our society.
Nuremberg has about 85,000 citizens who have a non-German passport, from 154 nations. With 17 per cent of the population foreigners, Nuremberg is above the Bavarian and Federal German average. If you count Germans who originated in foreign families or who have one foreign parent, the proportion is even higher, at one third (source: Nuremberg Residents' Register, MigraPro). Statistically, city districts with many immigrants have a higher degree of unemployment. Children from these areas – as the PISA study confirmed – have worse educational opportunities.
After taking office in 2002, Ulrich Maly gave migration and integration policies top priority. He established an Integration Commission – similar to a City Council expert committee. In addition, Maly founded a coordinating team within the municipal administration in order to "organise the social coexistence of all people in Nuremberg, regardless of what passports they carry and of what they believe in“. This means that support is offered to all citizens – whatever their nationality.
