In migration and integration counseling and in social institutions such as communal accommodations, in schools, with committed volunteers, social workers, social pedagogs, and helpers, one always encounters differing perspectives and migrant backgrounds.
It is not only people who help asylum-seekers who work together with people from a different cultural background; such work is also important for social pedagogs, social workers, teachers, counselors, family helpers, committed volunteers, minders, authorities and the police – as it is in social coexistence in general.
In the course of work in the above-mentioned areas with refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers from differing cultures, problems of communication arise caused from a German point of view by these differing cultures. There can be misconceptions; or actions, comments, attitudes or statements of values or behavior can be unintentionally wrongly understood or wrongly interpreted.
These obstacles in the path of understanding with people with a different cultural background have major negative influences, which must be overcome.
It is the task of migration and integration counselors to practice a form of intercultural communication that is acceptable to everyone involved.
In a society including many persons with a migrant background mutual understanding is essential, with the aim of promoting a future of appreciation, robustness, and diversity.
Intercultural communication is a real challenge for the social services – and for the whole of society.
