Joint civic involvement
Those who volunteer show that they are interested in and want to nurture the community in which they live. In addition, this commitment brings immigrants and locals closer together. Both sides get to know each other better through their joint involvement. In this way, they break down prejudices, and mutual understanding can develop.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees supports your commitment!
It is particularly important to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) that it supports civic involvement – another name for volunteering – and as a result the integration of immigrants and local interaction.
Locals and immigrants who have been living in Germany for some time can be involved as mentors, helping those who have only just arrived in Germany. By doing so, they help the new arrivals to integrate. In addition, civic involvement is a good opportunity to contribute one’s own strengths and skills.
If you are interested in volunteering, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees will support you by providing training and other forms of assistance. For example, the BAMF funds training for multipliers organised by immigrant organisations for voluntary work as part of their integration activities.
How can I become involved as a volunteer?
The advice centres responsible for you, such as the Migration Advice for Adult Immigrants (MBE) and the Youth Migration Service (JMD) will be happy to help you if you would like to be involved as a volunteer. You can also contact a local welfare organisation or an immigrant-run organisation.
In larger towns there are also volunteers’ agencies that can help you. You can find further information in German about this on the volunteer agencies’ website www.bagfa.de.
