Over the last ten years, the number of people with a migrant background has risen almost continuously, by 31.5%. At the end of 2022, this age group already made up the majority of the population under the age of 18: the proportion of people with a migrant background was around 62% (result of the monitoring of the integration of migrants, 2023 report).

This means that the conditions that have shaped the integration debates and the understanding of integration in the city of Wiesbaden in recent decades are shifting. Today, it is neither possible to speak of a long-established majority society and an immigrant minority, nor is the host society so homogeneous that it is clear which standards integration should be based on in terms of "cultural adaptation".

The data from the Wiesbaden monitoring on the state of integration shows some clear differences in successful participation in the education system and the labor market between sections of the population with and without a migration background. In this field of structural integration, the challenge remains to equalize the different life situations.

The diversity and differences in our society represent an opportunity to build relationships and contribute to community cohesion. This opportunity requires everyone involved to be able and willing to deal constructively with diversity. The democratic principles enshrined in our constitution, as well as mutual respect and the recognition of diversity, provide us with the framework and rules for this. It is everyone's duty to abide by them, regardless of whether they are immigrants or not.

Religious and cultural difference is not in itself a sign of disintegration. This begins where human dignity is violated and where the rules of coexistence are disregarded. Integration policy is therefore still aimed at preventing xenophobia, racism and all forms of fundamentalism as well as strengthening those who experience discrimination and exclusion and are threatened in their individual freedom. It helps to see diversity as an enrichment and to activate the positive resources it offers for shaping society.