April 17
The Youth Integration Summit 2012 has started this week in Berlin. Since 2010 young people from every part of Germany are invited to attend this annual initiative. Among the participants there are a great number of young migrants of different backgrounds. Participants are expected to discuss aspects such as “Education and Integration”, “Civic Engagement and Integration”, “Media and Integration” and “Inter-generational Conflicts” in different workshops. In her opening speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed integration as a responsibility for the whole society.
However, there is a degree of criticism around the initiative. Representatives of the opposition Green party have criticized the Youth Integration Summit as an insubstantial event, which gathers engaged youths without concrete aims and leaves them with a little more than a family picture for the gallery.
