On August 21, 2007, NDR 90,3 Radio Station broadcast a program on German courses for medical staff with comments by course participants and Mrs. Beatrix Hösterey, instructor at IBH:
In case of plugin problems:
Audio file for download (MP3 – 2.5 MB).
On June 19, 2007, Youth Migration Services EvaMigra organized a one-day excursion to Berlin which included many participants of the integration courses at Hamburg-Osdorf.
As nearly all of the participants attended the orientation course, the visit of the Bundestag served as a practical example for political theory and teaching subjects.
After an informative city tour by a female city guide, and after lunch at a restaurant in Berlin Pankow, the travel group went to the government district. At the south entrance of the Bundestag, the group was welcomed by Mr. Carstensen, SPD member of parliament from Hamburg-Langenhorn, who guided his guests through the Bundestag. A photo below the dome of the Reichstag was, of course, mandatory!
The participants showed a keen interest, asked many questions, and made suggestions how to improve the situation of immigrants in Germany. It was, for instance, suggested to extend the integration courses to 900 teaching hours. Subsequently, they had three hours’ time to explore the city on their own. After a long and eventful day, the group returned to Hamburg about 11 p.m. Everyone was exhausted, but somehow stimulated by the numerous new impressions.
Initiative “Pro Integration” informed about integration courses
The meeting of the Initiative “Pro Integration” attracted more than 100 representatives from politics, science and practical work with immigrants. The Volkshochschule Berlin as host offered ample opportunities to evaluate the integration courses. In his opening remarks Amadeus Hempel, managing director of IBH, pointed to the tender spot: Because of the far too tight allowance of teaching hours many course participants were unable to reach the goal – only 30 percent of them passed the final exam. In Mr. Hempel’s words, it is now time to call on politicians and administrators to make necessary changes so that the program yields positive results which its participants badly need.
Working groups discussed various action plans; questions and demands were formulated during the panel in the afternoon. A great number of suggestions were made both by political decision makers, educational agencies and, last but not least, by instructors who demanded an adequate compensation for their competent work.
Hinnerk Fock, head of the administration district of Altona, visited IBH on January 15, 2007. Together with Amadeus Hempel, managing director of IBH, he held talks with students who received grants from the Otto Benecke Foundation. He inquired about their experiences in Germany and their professional plans.
On September 17, 2006, participants of language courses at IBH presented their cultures on the final event of the Festival of Cultures at Osdorf.
In brilliant sunshine the Festival of Cultures came to a close in Hamburgs district of Osdorf. A special highlight was the Market of Cultures on the school yard of Geschwister Scholl High School, where 17 nations presented special features of their cultural traditions. The students of the language courses at IBH displayed a colorful variety of objects typical of their countries of origin. The exhibits included filigree jewelry as well as daily utensils. Elaborate handiwork such as shower gloves and small cloths of finest yarns showed the skills of their makers.
The ceremony of an Indian wedding was shown on an impressive photo, next to it a burka was exhibited which reminded the visitor of the past sufferings of Afghan women.
Because of the event many women were festively dressed. The gay colors of women from different African countries were especially striking. Music and the expressive dancing of a group from the South Seas completed the event. The culinary delights were displayed on a seven meter long counter. After three hours there was, unfortunately, no food left!
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On February 23, 2006, Reinhard Grindel (Christian Democratic Union CDU), a member of the Bundestag and an expert in domestic affairs of the CDU parliamentary group, visited the integration courses at IBH.
The courses have been established by the Federal Office for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF). Through discussions with students, instructors and representatives of Integra DaF-Net, a network of language teaching institutions in Hamburg, as well as with representatives of the nationwide network pro Integration, Mr. Grindel gained a first-hand insight into the implementation of language courses after the Immigration Act went into effect in January 2005.
On May 2, 2006, a delegation of the FDP (Free Democratic Party) parliamentary group visited IBH.
The delegation included Mrs. Sibylle Laurischk of the FDP parliamentary group, Dr. Christine Kreutzer and Mr. Thomas Stein, both assistants to the FDP parliamentary group. They gathered information from students and teachers of IBH on problems and experiences at IBH after one year of teaching integration courses.
More recent news about IBH are on hour news page.
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