Being heard instead of being lost - How we can truly involve young migrants

A generation is growing up in German cities that often finds itself caught between two stools. These are young people with a migration background, many of them children or grandchildren of immigrants. They are growing up here, often speaking German better than their parents' language, yet they don't feel fully at home in either world. They are German, but aren't recognized as such. They wear their family's heritage with pride, but encounter suspicion. And it is precisely in this in-between position that a dangerous void lies.

Those who consistently feel like they're not being heard, who are never invited to participate, seek their own path. Some withdraw. Others end up in parallel milieus where frustration, disappointment, and powerlessness find space. In some cases, this is a gateway to criminal structures. In others, it leads to radicalization, be it religious, political, or social. It's not the immigrant background that fuels these processes, but the feeling of having no place. No hearing, no recognition, no future in mainstream society.

It's not enough to talk about integration in celebratory speeches or to rave about diversity as a source of wealth. It's about concrete responsibility, and this begins locally. Cities, schools, youth centers, and universities are not just service providers. They are places where belonging can be experienced, or not.

A school that views a child's cultural background as merely a "problematic background" sends a message: You're not like everyone else. A university that doesn't align its programs with diversity loses the opportunity to incorporate new perspectives into research and teaching. And a city administration that views immigrants only as a target group and not as partners fails to build a genuine relationship.

The need for action is clear. Studies show that young people with foreign roots experience more discrimination in the education system, have worse opportunities on the job market, and are underrepresented in political bodies. These are not just individual fates. They are structural gaps that we must close.

So what can we do? We need spaces where young people can express themselves without fear of prejudice. This starts with school projects that address their realities. With multilingual, culturally sensitive social work in disadvantaged neighborhoods. With mentors who come from similar backgrounds and show: You can do it, you will be seen.

We need youth parliaments that are truly empowered to participate in decision-making. Training programs that not only demand but also promote intercultural skills. Universities that actively support first-generation students with a migration background. And municipalities that don't just talk about integration but also give immigrants real responsibility, for example, in advisory councils, committees, and offices.

Particularly important: We must stop constantly trying to tell young people how they should be. Instead, we should listen to them, what they need, what they want to change, and what they bring with them. Because they bring a lot with them: languages, perspectives, resilience, life experience. Anyone who ignores this not only wastes talent, but also an opportunity for social cohesion.

Young people with a migrant background are not a problem. They are part of the solution if you let them. If you don't just offer them places, but trust them. If you don't just listen to them, but explore new paths with them.

The responsibility for this begins small. In classrooms, in youth centers, on campus, in city hall. If we start listening and taking things seriously there, then we won't build parallel societies. Then we'll build bridges. And create a society that doesn't ask where you come from, but rather where you want to go with us.