Deutsche Fassung

When the 'World Mayor 2016' is being sought, the search takes place throughout the world. A European mayor is not always the first choice for this honor. When, for instance, the selection aims to draw attention to the dramatic situation involving countless refugees and to make the world aware of their hardship and misery, their hunger, unimaginable violence and death. We can hardly imagine the challenges confronting the mayor's offices in municipalities across the Middle East, such as those in Syria.

When we, as the European mayors selected among the finalists, rise to the demands set out for the “World Mayor 2016”, we strive to do so with a great degree of respect for what our colleagues in these areas of crisis have achieved. I presume to say this in the name of all my fellow mayors, as we may never compare the tasks before us to those facing our colleagues in the respective crisis areas across the globe.

Yet mayors in Europe are also earning merit for the ways that they are addressing new global challenges. Within our borders as well, mayors have a special responsibility in terms of the most humanly of tasks that one can imagine: Helping those whose lives are in danger!

As mayors of cities and towns in the wealthier parts of the world, both we and our citizens are confronted today with specific questions:
• Is protecting economic prosperity more important than showing solidarity with those in need?
• Are we taking the fears held by our inhabitants seriously? Or might we be reinforcing them through our behavior?
• Are we yielding to the voices that are most prevalent among our residents? Or are we contributing to the exclusion of minority voices?
• How do we make use of practical decisions to draw the line between maintaining the prosperity of our towns and cities and taking responsibility for those in need?
• In what areas must we clearly speak out against hate and defensive parties, without ifs, ands or buts?

These are the issues of vital significance in our municipal practices, and they are the ones that resonate across the world when the majority of us, as the wealthier municipalities, join in solidarity to provide answers. They become all the more meaningful when emotion and reason unexpectedly come into direct confrontation with one another, as was the case during the demonstrations in Lahr on 24 January 2016.

The wave of incoming refugees has reawakened an old debate in Germany: Are we a country of immigration? Is immigration only permissible if it is useful? Many prudent Germans showing solidarity are making efforts to change the perspectives held by their fellow citizens: We are a country of immigration AND even today of emigration. When the Russian Czar Catherine the Great invited a large number of Germans to migrate to Russia nearly 250 years ago, thousands made the move, becoming early economic migrants. And Lahr citizen Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff as well, who, as the Russian consul general in Rio de Janeiro, invited the people of Baden to migrate to Brazil at the beginning of the 19th century. Brazil is a country in which I spent several years and with which I have a very personal connection. What a coincidence that Lahr im Schwarzwald, the hometown of von Langsdorff, provided around 10,000 returning emigrants from Russia a new home. Their ancestors once responded to the call of the Russian Czar in her empire, and they were now making their way back to Germany.

The residents of Lahr showed an incredible amount of receptiveness and have welcomed residents with different cultural backgrounds to the city, who comprise a quarter of the local population. Long-established and new residents alike have taken up the generational task of integration together. They have developed a culture of togetherness that has asserted itself despite opposition and is now, 20 years later, reaffirming itself through the acceptance of refugees.

I am particularly glad that, after my nomination was announced, awareness was quickly raised among the city administration, the municipal council and among volunteers that: this nomination belongs to all of us!

We want to work together to show that something special has developed here, with countless people rolling up their sleeves and standing together when, rather than complaining, it was time to rise to the occasion: tackling the issue of successfully integrating these new citizens, even when faced with discontent and envy at times.

For one thing is clear: We are in need of an open society, one that must be persistently defended and constantly strengthened – as is the case here in Lahr. This requires a continuous process of shaping and organizing our coexistence.

In the wake of the large wave of migration, the euphoria of welcoming and helping gave way to a critical mood among large portions of the populace in Germany and in Lahr at the end of 2015. The famous quote from Chancellor Merkel, “We will cope” was answered with the following reaction from a large section of the population: “We are afraid of accepting too many immigrants!” Among German-Russians, the (false) rumor came into circulation that a 12-year-old German-Russian girl was raped in Berlin. In Lahr and other cities, organized demonstrations by “Aussiedler” materialized against the open policy towards refugees. A YouTube video depicts the angry mood among demonstrators in Lahr and how they reacted to my request to remember their own situation just twenty years prior. At that time, local residents exhibited a large amount of willingness to help, but there was also resentment and opposition. The latter appealed to the same arguments that one hears today in reaction to the refugees:” There are too many, they are dangerous, and they will take advantage of our social security system!”

Twenty years ago, the vast majority of established Lahr residents and the German- Russians got along with one another well. They developed a common identity while also maintaining their cultural uniqueness. Many German-Russians speak German but also many speak Russian among themselves. The German Lahr residents and the German-Russian new Lahr residents each have their own characteristics, but they also share a common basis. They are proud to be inhabitants of- Lahr and feel at home here.

For any who might believe this picture is too rosy, just remember: Establishing and maintaining a welcoming culture requires constant and active support in order for fear and skepticism to be overcome.

Perhaps that is why Lahr has been commended for its spirited policy of integration:

The city has had an intercultural advisory committee for eleven years that advises the municipal council on intercultural matters, initiates integration projects and involves migrants of many nationalities.

The beloved and increasingly popular Lahr Soup Festival (Lahrer Supperfest) has garnered excitement among locals and strangers alike for nine years. Migrants of various backgrounds cook soups based on recipes from their own cultures and offer them to anyone who is interested. This year, a total of 57 soups were on offer.

Every other year, Lahr also celebrates a large street festival. It is held in combination with the Festival of Cultures, at which various cultural groups present dances, music and food from their countries of origin, with people coming together to celebrate in high spirits.

One particularly effective arena of coexistence is offered through Lahr’s associations, especially for sports. Nowadays some of the long-established associations host a majority of migrants at their events. At the same time, those established by German-Russians enjoy the involvement of long- established Lahr residents.

For the Chrysanthema Lahr Festival in 2018, a group of locals and migrants will create a common intercultural garden. In the spirit of a permanent garden exhibition, various plant cultures from the participants’ countries of origin will be brought together, which will go on to serve as a permanent community garden and a meeting place for intercultural exchange.

Lahr is home to over 110 nationalities and a diverse array of languages. Under the guidance of the city administration, a pool of voluntary interpreters was established three years ago, in which primarily migrants offer translation services for other migrants. This is an excellent instance of fostering self-help and also a practical example of successful integration.

At the moment, the four-week-long Intercultural Weeks are in progress. The diverse program is only made possible by the mixed work commitment exhibited by migrants and locals, which is the key to the event’s success. For the very first time, a Best Practice Economic Forum is being held this year at which entrepreneurs with a migrant background present their businesses and encourage entrepreneurship.

A collection of helpers encompassing around 100 volunteers established itself at the very beginning of the large influx of migrants in the fall of 2015. As in many other cities and towns, the Friends of the Refugees (Freundeskreis Flüchtlinge) association has developed into an essential element for alleviating

some of the administrative burden facing local authorities in their duties to provide accommodation and, primarily, care. Personal assistance provided for individual refugees represent real-life solidarity in practice.

And let us not forget the array of measures and offers initiated by the city of Lahr through which children, youth and adults with migrant backgrounds are supported in particular, and through which coexistence is promoted and a life with diverse cultures is strengthened. The city of Lahr has allotted 1.5 million euro for this endeavor.

I am really very pleased that this large network of volunteers in Lahr and the common work done by those on the municipal council and in the city administration is being recognized through the city’s selection on the shortlist of candidates for World Mayor 2016. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for this accomplishment!

This should give us further impetus to continue down the path we have set for ourselves. It is also motivation to ensure that tolerance, consideration and assistance are always supported by the populace and achieve the necessary majorities within municipal policies.

And this has also been confirmation of the path for which I have always needed, and will always need, to seek fellow activists – and so far I have been able to find many enthusiasts very quickly. This also represents the motto that I set for social issues in my election campaigns for mayor in 1997, 2005 and 2013: Living together in our city, peacefully and united. I would like to mention a quote from the opening ceremony to the Olympics in Rio on 5 August: “The objective is to celebrate difference rather than to flatten it.”

I am all too familiar with the efforts and the ongoing risks associated with this path. But I also know our obligation as mayors to enhance the necessary strengths, and the responsibility of wealthy nations to assist those poorer.

This challenge of today’s world demands all of our attention. I would like to thank the foundation for contributing to the selection of topics for the World Mayor 2016!

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