"The vision that has driven us as an association every day for 10 years is a society of fairness, respect and tolerance. A society in which people are not asked about their origins, but are promoted according to their abilities," said Chairman Nihat Sorgec to the one hundred invited guests from business, politics, science, society.
The approximately 800,000 entrepreneurs with a migration background stand for a new economic miracle with 2.3 million jobs created. According to Sorgec, on the one hand we can be proud of this, but on the other hand there is still a lot to be done, such as the reform of the citizenship law, the recruitment of foreign specialists and general inequalities on the labor market. In particular, the association is also fighting for a participation law so that people with an immigrant background are adequately represented in the public sector. The fact that young people with a foreign-sounding name have to apply three times more often than applicants with a German name in order to get an interview is a shame for Germany, he says. Another problem, is that 63,000 apprenticeship positions will remain unfilled in 2021, while every second seeker with an immigrant background will not get an apprenticeship.
Aydan Özuguz had a somewhat more positive view. She emphasized that a great deal had already been achieved in terms of integration into the labor market and the way how foreigners were treated compared to previous decades. Migrants have significantly more opportunities in the labor market, are accepted and respected as members of society, and are now also represented in parliaments and in government, as could be seen this evening.
In his keynote speech, Federal Minister Cem Özdemir paid tribute to the association's 10 years of work as an assertive representative of the interests of entrepreneurs with a migration background and emphasized that its members can also serve as role models for young people to find their own professional path. With vivid stories from his childhood, when he helped his father in his company, his speech got a refreshing aspect.
After the speeches there was a panel discussion in which 2 entrepreneurs with a migratin background presented their companies and the founding phase. They also expressed their wishes for the German economy. Tao Tao, the founder of getyourguide said that he would like to see more mentoring programmes for founders, but also for young people in general because this is the best support he had.
This was followed by a champagne reception, where good conversations were held on strengthening the migrant economy.
