_GERMANY SLIDER

To offset the impact of rising energy prices caused by the Ukraine war and encourage the use of public transport, the German government introduced a subsidised nationwide ticket which costs only 9 euros per month for travels on public transport during ninety days in the summer. The upper chamber of the federal parliament approved the plan last Friday, clearing the …

ANNOUNCEMENT The extraordinary seminar programme offered by the State of Berlin on the topic of start-ups and self-employment for people with a migration background interested in starting a business begins a new round in May! For exactly 20 years, the state of Berlin has been strengthening and honouring the economic growth and cultural diversity of Berlin’s start-ups and has been running the …

Hamburg-based actress, author, model and TV presenter Dayan Kodua has issued an alert for her new book My Black Skin: Life Journeys. The German-Ghanaian beauty, the first woman of African descent to win a state beauty contest in Germany, published the book alert on her Facebook page on Friday, announcing: “The coffee table book comes in two languages: English & …

The first beneficiaries of the new Hamburg regulation for third country students from Ukraine received their Fiktionsbescheinigung (Transitional Residence Permit) yesterday. A Fiktionsbescheinigung is issued if a decision has not yet been taken on an applied-for residence title or if the decision could not yet be taken. It is therefore a provisional right to stay in Germany. As we reported last week, …

As the Federal Statistical Office announced in Wiesbaden on Tuesday, 22.3 million people living in Germany have a so-called migration background. This corresponds to a population share of 27.2 per cent. People with a migration background are those who themselves or at least one parent was not born with German citizenship. According to the data determined on the basis of …

Some important changes in general regulations and laws enter into force in April. For example, many coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions will finally be abolished, people working in nursing care will receive more money and those who move from one place to the other for job-related reasons will be able to make bigger deductions from their taxes, among others. —— COVID-19 restrictions …

The amended Infection Protection Act was passed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat on Friday, opening a new phase in the management of the coronavirus pandemic after two years. The previous protective measures will be replaced with effect from Sunday with significantly fewer regulations: no more masks in schools, shops and restaurants. They will only remain compulsory in nursing homes, clinics …

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, speaking in the Bundestag (federal parliament) on Wednesday, said the registration of displaced persons from the war in Ukraine was currently being improved. Refugees who are admitted to initial reception centres are registered there. This should be further intensified, she said. As at Wednesday (16 March), the Federal Police had registered around 175,000 refugees from …

Germany’s Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration has said there should be more police officers, teachers and public administrative staff with a migration history. A new study, meanwhile, highlights institutional racism at German authorities. Benjamin Bathke reports. “We need more diversity in order to do away with prejudices on both sides and make authorities more aware of immigrants’ …

A new library in honour of Theodor Wonja Michael will be opened on Saturday 19 February in Cologne as part of activities marking this year’s Black History Month. The Theodor Wonja Michael Library was set up by the Afro-Diasporic association Sonnenblumen Community Development Group e. V. Michael, who died in October 2019 at the age of 94, was one of …

Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been re-elected for a second term as the President of Germany. The Federal Assembly confirmed the 66-year-old Social Democrat in Berlin on Sunday with a large majority. He will thus remain Germany’s head of state for another five years. After his re-election, Steinmeier gave a combative speech in which he emphasised the strength of democracy, condemned …

The number of foreign students in Germany continues to rise even during the pandemic, a new report by the Academic Exchange Service reveals —- Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the number of foreign students in Germany has apparently increased. As the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) announced in Bonn on Tuesday, according to a survey-based forecast, between 330,000 and 350,000 …

Like at the beginning of every new month in Germany, new regulations come into force in February. These affect, among others, deadline for the submission of tax returns, validity of the EU vaccination certificate and new rules on hate online. Here’s overview of the most important changes: ——– Validity of EU vaccination certificates From 1 February, the validity of EU …

The minimum wage and Hartz IV rate will rise in the new year just as postage rates and the prices of petrol and diesel will go up. New regulations on plastic shopping bags and beverage cans and plastic bottles enter into effect as well. Here are some of the changes most likely to affect most people living in Germany —– …

Maisha – African Women in Germany e.V. recently celebrated 25 years of its existence in Frankfurt. Maisha, which means “life” in Swahili, is a self-help organisation of African women in Germany founded in 1996 by Virginia Wangare Greiner. The occasion, attended by members as well as friends and partners of the organisation, was a milestone for self-organisation in the African …

In his first government declaration, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following up on his election campaign promises, announced plans to make naturalisation easier and create more opportunities for more participation in society for people with a migration background. Germany is a country of immigration, now it must now become an even better country of integration, he added. —— Chancellor Olaf Scholz has …

The labour force in Germany, the number of people who are potentially available to the country’s labour market, will decline in the long term due to demographic changes. Even with an increasing labour force participation rate of women and older people and an annual net immigration of 100,000 people, the labour force will decline from 47.4 million in 2020 to …

The African Youth Education Awards (AYEA) is an initiative to promote higher educational achievements among youth in African-origin communities in Germany. Every year, young people who have excelled in their educational and training careers are honoured with AYEA at a colourful ceremony in Hamburg. AYEA was initiated in 2010 to act against the observed low educational attainment levels of African-origin …

From 1 November 2021, a series of new laws and changes to the law that affect our daily lives, will come into force. Among these are higher penalties for traffic offences, Christmas market season begin, big-discount day for shoppers and the deadline for changing vehicle insurance, among others. We have summarised for you the important changes from 1 November 2021 here:

The city of Bad Dürkheim, the heartland of the wine-producing region of southwest Germany, and its Carnival Society “Derkemer Grawler” have named Togbe Céphas Bansah as the Golden Winemaker 2022. The Ghanaian traditional ruler is being honoured for “realising many aid projects and thus in fact improving the living conditions of his people”, the Carnival Society said in a press …