Refugee Migration - Basics and Current Challenges

The topics of flight, solidarity with refugees and integration in the sense of participation in all areas of life have accompanied politics and society at least since the brief summer of welcome culture in 2015. Flight movements have been increasing worldwide not only since the war in Ukraine. In addition to more than 20 wars and 204 violent conflicts in the world, ecological disasters, economic exploitation, discrimination and political violence are among the current causes.

The first lecture in the series is devoted to the situation in Brandenburg. Here, well over 20,000 people have found shelter since the start of the war in Ukraine. Most of them have found private accommodation and are experiencing a wave of solidarity. The speaker will also discuss the situation in Cottbus. This includes both the current task of the city of the best possible initial reception of people from Ukraine and the accompaniment of all other groups of people seeking protection.

Prof. Dr. Birgit Behrensen sees refugee migration as a new social issue: "The reception or exclusion of people seeking protection reveals a lot about relations of inequality. That's why I think it's important to take a closer look. That's what we want to do with this series of lectures. It's not about helping, but about finding ways to live together in equality and solidarity."

The public lecture series was initiated by the Department of Sociology for Social Work at the BTU and the Cottbus Refugee Network. Nabil Abo Nasser, graduate and employee of the BTU as well as spokesperson of the Geflüchteten Netzwerk Cottbus says, "We are happy to now be able to hold our lecture series, which was postponed several times due to corona. I very much hope that many will take advantage of the opportunity for exchange. By working together as the Geflüchteten Netzwerk with the Department of Sociology, civil society engagement, academic education and applied research can enrich each other."

Interested parties are welcome to attend! For planning purposes, registration is requested by email seven days before each event to: fg-soziologie(at)b-tu.de.

Further dates and topics:Wednesdays from 17:30 to 19:00 Campus Sachsendorf of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Lipezker Straße 47, 03048 Cottbus, Room 15V.110

• May 18, 2022:Asylum laws: rights and difficulties in everyday life, Susanne Riepe, Caritas Cottbus
• June 01, 2022:Racism as a Dimension of Right-Wing Violence in the City of Cottbus and in the State of Brandenburg - An Inventory, Martin Vesely, Opferperspektive Brandenburg
• June 15, 2022: Muslims in Brandenburg, Dr. Yunus Yaldiz, RAA - Fachstelle Islam
• June 29, 2022: Self-Organization and Empowerment, Nabil Abo Nasser and Enas Taktak, Geflüchteten Netzwerk Cottbus
• July 13, 2022: Anti-discrimination work in East Germany, Katharina Warda, author/ sociologist/ literary scholar