LIVING IN GERMANY

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 —– …

Céphas Kosi Olatidoye Bansah, the Togbe Ngoryifia of the Hohoe Gbi Traditional Area, Ghana, has been living in Germany since 1970. After he was named chief of the 300,000-strong community of Ewe-speaking people in 1992, Bansah chose to continue living in Germany instead of returning home. The master agricultural machinery mechanic and master motor vehicle mechanic, who is better known …

In view of the high infection figures and the new coronavirus variant omicron, the federal states are again tightening their coronavirus pandemic containment rules. From 28 December, an upper limit of ten persons, usually aged 14 and over, will be in force in all federal states. This applies, for example, for private meetings at home or in public as well …

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 …

About ten weeks after the Bundestag elections, the new Federal Government is in office. The Social Democrat Olaf Scholz has been elected as the new Federal Chancellor by the federal parliament. Carsten Hauptmeier introduces Angela Merkel’s successor. The social democrat Olaf Scholz heads the new governing coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP as federal chancellor. Olaf Scholz, who already …

Like in every month, new laws and other changes enter into effect in December 2021. We have summarised the most important ones for you here. —- Prescription drugs become 20 cents more expensiveOn 15 December, a law comes into force that makes prescription drugs more expensive. The prices for pre-packaged medicines will generally increase by 20 cents. Deutsche Bahn Winter …

More and more refugees are becoming successful in appealing against a negative asylum decision. In the vast majority of cases, they are granted protection status by the courts. The Left party complains about “political pressure” on the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. A growing number of refugees are successful in appealing against the rejection of their asylum application. In …

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 …

In view of the rising infection figures, the federal states and the federal government on Thursday agreed on far-reaching measures, which will enter into effect on 24 November and have adverse practical consequences for the unvaccinated. Soon only vaccinated and recovered people will be allowed into restaurants, cinemas, gyms etc. An overview of what the federal and state governments decided …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany e.V. will launch a series of formal conversations on how the diaspora could have a more impactful effect on homeland development in December. The first edition of the ‘Development Roundtable’, as the series is called, will hold virtually on 4 December 2021, with the theme “Driving diaspora engagement towards the realisation of the …

In November 2021, Sangano Black Business Hub, a collective initiative from diaspora and Afro-German entrepreneurs in Germany, launched its annual survey for 2021/2022. The survey seeks to understand the entrepreneurship experience of Black-led businesses and start-ups in Germany and Europe. The survey asks a series of questions about entrepreneurship challenges, the scale of barriers to entry for new start-ups and …

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 newly-elected German Bundestag, the lower house of the federal parliament, convened for the first time on Tuesday (26 October). The inaugural meeting of the parliament, taking place about four weeks after the general elections, marked the official start of the 20th legislative period. The parliament held its first session, with one of its first acts being to elect Bärbel …

Nollywood Film Festival Germany, NFFG, was one of the big winners at the first AfroNews–Ortel Mobile African Community in Germany Awards, which took place on Saturday in Frankfurt. The NFFG, which has been holding regularly in Germany for more than 15 years, clinched the Best African Festival in Germany Award 2021. Other big winners of the evening were Kenyan Women …

A Facebook-based support group for women in Nigeria has been selected to participate in the 2021 Facebook Community Accelerator, a program for people who run groups/communities on Facebook. Germany-based Osamakue Izevbokun Iroha, who also runs Africans in Deutschland, created the Mothers, Kids and More (MKM) on Facebook in 2017 to provide a non-prejudiced platform for women and mothers to communicate, …

Ambassador Wahab Adekola Akande recently assumed duty as the Consul General of Nigeria in Germany’s main commercial city of Frankfurt. The alumni of the Department of European Studies of the University of Ibadan from across the globe gathered in Frankfurt to celebrate the top diplomat, who is one of their own, for his professional accomplishment. Mr Akande is an alumnus …

A prominent Nigerian traditional leader, Iba Gani Adams, who is the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, recently visited Germany. Though Chief Adams was on a private visit with his family, he nevertheless took time to interact with members of the Nigerian community in Southwest Germany under the auspices of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. At …

Dr Joy Alemazung has won the election for mayor of the city of Heubach, near Stuttgart, with an outstanding result on Sunday. The Cameroon-born politician, who ran as an independent candidate, won a whopping 66.22% of the popular vote, resoundingly defeating more than six other contestants. Speaking to the inhabitants and the press on Sunday evening after his election, the …

The Bundesrat, the upper chamber of the federal parliament, has approved the long-discussed amendments to the catalogue of fines (Bußgeldkatalog), which regulates what penalty is imposed for which traffic offence in Germany. Speeding and parking violations will now be particularly expensive as from mid-November when the amendments enter into effect. —— As part of the long-discussed reform of the Road …