EUROPE

German Chancellor’s New Year Message: ‘Dedicating all my strength’

The German chancellor struck an encouraging tone in what is likely to be one of her last New Year’s addresses. Merkel addressed the challenges of the climate crisis, digitalization and migration. The climate crisis, the digitalization of the labour market, and European solidarity on migration formed the main themes of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s traditional New Year’s address, broadcast on Tuesday evening. But …

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N-Word: Noah Becker‘s victory in Berlin and the setback in Magdeburg

The State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Landesverfassungsgericht Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), sitting in Magdeburg, ruled on 19 December that sanctioning an AfD member of the state parliament, Nikolaus Kramer, over the use of the word “neger” during a debate in the house amounted to a restriction of his right to free expression. Kramer had taken the leadership of the state parliament to …

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OPEN LETTER: Germany, We are not your Negroes! – by Charlotte Nzimiro, petitioner against N-Word

Charlotte Nzimiro launched the ongoing petition against the scandalous judgement of the State Constitutional Court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), de facto recognising that the word “Neger” (Engl. Nigger, Negro) could be used to describe people of African descent in Germany. Nzimiro’s petition, launched on 20 December and which has already gathered more than 42,000 signatures within 2 days, calls for …

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Germany: Black activist petitions against court decision allowing use of N-Word

Activist launches petition campaign for the classification of “neger” as a racist word in Germany after eastern state court gives AfD member the right to call people of African descent by the derogatory word. AfD is a xenophobic, extreme right-wing party. The state constitutional court of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) ruled on Thursday (19 December) that sanctioning the leader of the …

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TANG mobilises diaspora for African development

The African Network in Germany (TANG) celebrated the concluding forum of its municipal development policy (kommunale Entwicklungspolitik) activities on Saturday, attracting participants, ranging from German government officials and communal politicians to representatives of African diaspora organisations. Declaring the event open, Dr Sylvie Nantcha, chairman of TANG, gave a brief introduction of the organization, a network of more than 600 African …

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Germany-based company builds for diaspora Nigerians at home

Millions of Nigerians live and work in the diaspora and they send billions of euros back home annually. In 2018, remittances of Nigerians living abroad amounted to about €20 billion, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria in March. Most of the funds are sent to friends and relatives for various purposes, with real estate, food, education …

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Afrozensus: Measuring anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Germany

While speaking at the opening of the People of African Descent (PAD) Week Germany on 28 November in the Bundestag, Goran Buldioski, co-director of Open Society Initiative for Europe, called for more data on the experience of Black people, including on racism and discrimination. That is precisely the objective of a unique project, presented at one of the workshops on the …

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Migrants strongly underrepresented in public service in Germany – study

Every fifth person of working age has a migration background in Germany. But they only make up six per cent of the employees in the civil service. This was revealed by a recent study. Experts call for intercultural opening of public administration. Citizens with foreign origin are severely under-represented in the civil service (öffentlichen Dienst). This is the conclusion of …

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Germany inaugurates new agency to recruit nurses from abroad

Germany urgently needs skilled workers for the health care sector. Recruitment from abroad has been slow. A newly-established specialist agency should speed up the recruitment process. A newly-established specialist agency should accelerate the placement of nurses from abroad in Germany’s care and nursing facilities. Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn and Saarland’s Premier Tobias Hans (both members of the CDU) inaugurated …

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Black People demand Equal Rights in Germany at historic congress

The historic People of African Descent (PAD) Week Germany ended on Saturday in Berlin with workshops and panel discussions on the situation of Black people in the country. Organised by Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V., a community-based education and empowerment project, PAD Week Germany, held on 28-30 November and attended by more than 250 participants, also marked the third …

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Naturalization: German states to introduce online application process

How long it takes from the time you apply to the presentation of the certificate of naturalisation varies from case to case, but, on average, it takes several months. In some cases, it could even take years. A new online procedure should make naturalization more citizen-friendly, easier and faster. Two states, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, are currently jointly developing an …

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Migrants are systematically discriminated against in Germany — sociologist

Turkish students receive worse marks for the same performance, women with headscarves are less likely to receive invitations to a job interview, Naika Foroutan, a sociologist, criticizes the systematic discrimination against migrants. In Germany, according to the German-Iranian migration researcher Naika Foroutan, Muslims are the most disadvantaged. Even if many feel that they are tolerant and open, the reality looks …

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