Integration Award 2022

At the end of 2021, the vhs received the news that the project had been awarded the city's 2022 Integration Prize: "Your project (...) has made a special contribution to the integration of migrants from different social backgrounds in Offenbach," said Martin Wilhelm, Head of Social Affairs, in his letter of congratulations. "Of course, we were very pleased about the confirmation of the work. But we are representative of many who have developed, promoted and advanced the project. Last but not least, the award is due to the multipliers who are involved as "educational mediators" for parents so that they can accompany their children well on their educational path," explain Birgit Gehl and Kai Seibel, who manage the project at the vhs.

The project "Parent-oriented educational work - parents empower their children" provides important educational information in various languages of origin. This is primarily aimed at newly immigrated parents in Offenbach who are not familiar with the German education and training system from their own experience or who are unable to attend information events in daycare centers and schools due to language barriers.

The information offer, which has been implemented by qualified educational mediators since 2019, is primarily dedicated to educational transitions, for example the change from nursery to elementary school. "Transitions are important "hinge points" in the individual educational biography, which are often fraught with uncertainty for parents and where important decisions have to be made for the further educational development of children and young people," explains vhs director Dirk Wolk-Pöhlmann.

The service was initiated by Nadira Korkor in 2018 as part of the BMBF project "Education Coordination for New Immigrants". With funding from the city's Parents' School Network, it was implemented and tested from 2019. Thanks to the financial support of the Georg Spamer Foundation and the Parents' School Network, it was continued in 2021 and 2022 and was awarded the City of Offenbach's Integration Prize. The official ceremony took place on July 7, 2022 in Hafen 2.