Mr. Herwig, regional coordinator of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, speaks in an interview with ISE about integration courses, the BAMF and funding opportunities for graduates.
ISE: What is the BAMF?
Mr. Herwig: BAMF stands for "Federal Office for Migration and Refugees"; It is divided into a headquarters based in Nuremberg and branch offices in all federal states. The BAMF is a higher federal authority and is part of the remit of the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
ISE: What are the tasks of the BAMF?
Mr. Herwig: Promoting and coordinating linguistic, social and community integration; Implementation of asylum procedures, administration of EU funds, scientific accompanying research on issues of migration and integration, asylum and integration information center and a wealth of other tasks.
ISE: What is your job as regional coordinator?
Mr. Herwig: Contact person for all questions regarding integration in the care area; Control and coordination of integration courses on site; Support for project work; Participation in local networks.
ISE: How did the collaboration with ISE come about?
Mr. Herwig: ISE – like other educational providers – successfully applied to the Federal Office to run integration courses in 2005. With the “Immigration Act” the Federal Office was commissioned to carry out these courses. However, the BAMF does not run any courses itself, but rather has selected qualified educational institutions for this task through a strict approval process.
ISE: What were the changes since 2005?
Mr. Herwig: The topic of integration has now become a central topic in public consciousness. And that's a good thing, but that doesn't mean that all the problems have already been solved...
ISE: Can you briefly describe your first impressions of Sulzbach and Amberg and what it looks like today in comparison.
Mr. Herwig: Due to increased public awareness, including through the media, many citizens have only become aware of how many new residents live in the Upper Palatinate. However, people still need to find each other more.
ISE: Is there anything worth knowing about the BAMF?
Mr. Herwig: the Federal Office is a “global player” who wants to know more about our national and international activities, http://www.bamf.de/
ISE: What other funding opportunities are there for graduates of an integration course?
Mr. Herwig: The integration course is the (linguistic) foundation for activities based on it. Many (state) institutions offer further funding; However, this depends very much on the personal career of the graduates, so this cannot be generalized. However, there are individual consultations available for our customers, such as the initial migration consultation at Caritas in Amberg.
Many thanks for the friendly conversation. (db)