LIVING IN GERMANY

A combined low for the ruling coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in voter support has emerged in a new survey. Her conservative sister parties CDU/CSU and coalition partner Social Democrats polled 26 and 15 percent respectively. Up to second place are the Greens. Germany’s regular Deutschlandtrend has charted eroding support for Merkel’s conservatives and especially her Social Democrat (SPD) …

The youth empowerment initiative to promote educational achievement in the African community in Germany holds its annual award ceremony at the premises of the IHK in Hamburg on Saturday, 13 October 2018. The annual African Youth Education (AYE) Awards aim to motivate young people of African origin in Germany to seek excellence in school. The scheme was initiated in 2011 …

According to the latest report of the European statistical agency Eurostat, 16.7 million men and women in the 28 member countries of the EU were unemployed in August 2018. Compared with August 2017, unemployment fell by 1.9 million in the bloc. The lowest unemployment rates in August 2018 were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5 %), Germany and Poland (both …

The coalition partners in the federal government have agreed on new laws that will prioritize education, age and financial security in admitting new migrants to Germany. The laws are based on the Canadian model. Germany’s coalition government announced in the early hours of Tuesday (2 October) that they had agreed on new immigration laws after several months of back and …

Anti-racism demonstrators in Hamburg called for safe migration routes and an end to right-wing extremism. The march comes after the eastern German town of Chemnitz experienced several anti-immigrant protests. Thousands of demonstrators attended a parade against racism in the northern German city of Hamburg on Saturday, police said. The “United against Racism” parade, a collaboration between more than 450 organizations …

Germany’s Social Democratic and Green party are haemorrhaging support from people with migratory backgrounds. The main benefactor is Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Union bloc, but the anti-migrant AfD has also seen gains. David Martin reports from Berlin. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative bloc has become the most popular party among German citizens with migratory backgrounds, according to a report published on …

Members of the Black Community from across Germany and Europe will converge on the city of Nuremberg on Saturday (22 September) for the second edition of ‘Night of the African Living Legend Award & Recognition’. Organised by the African German Information Centre (AGIC) Hamburg, the event’s aim is to shine the spotlight on people of African descent in Germany and …

The international money transfer operator MoneyGram is calling on Africans in Germany to introduce themselves in a short video and stand a chance to win a return flight ticket to their home country. We ask Banji Akinyomi, who is the CEO of Image Planet, a modelling agency based in Lagos and active in Africa and Europe, about making a video …

Germany replaced the United States as the country with the best global image in a survey of 50 countries, according to the 2017 Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index. Simon Anholt, founder of the Index, talks about Germany’s image – and the responsibility that it creates. Germany was ranked number 1 in the most recent Nation Brands Index (NBI). What were the reasons …

German schools are short by nearly 40,000 in total, the teachers’ association says. One answer could be permitting people to become educators even if they didn’t begin their careers that way. Nancy Isenson reports. “We haven’t had such a dramatic lack of teachers in Germany in three decades,” Heinz-Peter Meidinger, the president of the DL teachers association, told media days …

An increasing number of naturalized Germans are no longer required to renounce their original citizenship before receiving a German passport. Exceptions for EU citizens and refugees have led to more naturalized Germans holding two passports in recent years. Some nations prohibit or make it difficult for nationals to give up citizenship when becoming German. Chase Winter reports.    An increasing number …

MoneyGram constantly strives to make money transfers to Africa as affordable, fast, secure and easy as possible. Not only does the world’s second largest provider of money transfers offer its customers a great service, but MoneyGram also supports the African community in Germany by sponsoring events like  the recent African Village Festival in Frankfurt. Furthermore, MoneyGram’s interest in interacting with …

The international money transfer operator MoneyGram is calling on Africans in Germany to introduce themselves in a short video and stand a chance to win a return flight ticket to their home country. The contest, #thatsmyway video competition, seeks to show Africans, in their diversity, as an active part of an increasingly multicultural society. How to participate Pull out your …

Seven migrant transfer centres have begun operation in Bavaria. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer hopes to use them to bundle and accelerate asylum procedures.

The winners will not only gain extra publicity but also MoneyGram sponsoring with a total value 3,000 Euros

Despite unrelenting rain, around 20,000 people demonstrated in Munich on Sunday to protest the hardline immigration stance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies CSU, three months before they face a tough election in the state. Demonstrators said they marched against a “politics of fear” of state premier, Markus Soeder, and CSU leader and federal interior minister, Horst Seehofer, whose …

As Germany’s elderly population continues to grow, its under-staffed old age care system is struggling to keep up. Recruiting foreign care workers will be Germany’s “nearest option” to fix understaffing at homes for the elderly, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn. A patients’ advocacy group says standards must not be lowered. Spahn sought to implement a key promise of Chancellor …

The Munich state court ruling marks the end of one of the most important trials in Germany's postwar history. It was also one of the most complex, covering five years — more than 430 trial days — and featuring the testimonies of around 600 witnesses. Nine of the NSU's victims were of immigrant background; the tenth was a police officer.

Following last year’s successful debut of “afrika! Community Award”, application for the sponsorship scheme for Africans in Germany has opened. The Award was introduced in 2017 by MoneyGram, the global money-transfer company, to support the work of socially-engaged organizations in the African community. There are more than 700 African clubs and associations which support projects in Africa or promote integration …

The Dortmund-based AfricanTide Union e.V. has opened its first branch office.  Since 15 June, there is now the opportunity to exchange and develop joint projects in the Gutruf Haus in the immediate vicinity of the Alster in Hamburg. “We are happy to be in Hamburg now. Together with local stakeholders, we want to implement our successfully tested programmes for promoting integration and …