Childhood and adolescence create the basis for successful social integration in the course of passing through different institutions of socialisation. For immigrant families, this process is potentially associated with complications, as they may be forced to expand, change and reorganise their behavioural repertoire, whereby a contradiction may be felt between integrating the new into one's own personality as well as not abandoning one's own cultural roots.

The programme „Education, Upbringing and Health in Migration“ contributes to intercultural openness on the basis of field research in the education and health sectors. The questions to be addressed are not only of academic relevance, but can also be linked to institutional counselling contexts or the development of (school) curricula, for example. The topic of migration of skilled workers and academics to and from Turkey is also part of this programme.

In disciplinary terms, the programme is located in political sociology and sees itself as a contribution to a better understanding of the meso-level of participation on the one hand and governance on the other: What contribution do organisations, in particular migrant organisations, make to the representation of interests, but also to supporting government integration policy? As a supplement to the micro and macro perspectives in migration research, which focus either on individual characteristics (e.g. language and cognitive skills of the individual, the educational orientation of families) or social structural conditions (e.g. the labour market), there is a great need for research on how organisations mediate between the levels, contribute to the formation of social capital, influence integration orientations and articulate interests.

The programme is part of a long tradition of work by the ZfTI on migration-related organisations, beginning in 1999 with the first inventory of organisations in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, at that time together with the Institute for Political Science at the University of Münster. This was followed by inventories and analyses of Muslim communities in Germany, the field of migration-related associations in NRW and further general and case-related work, including international comparisons. The subject of the programme is an extremely dynamic one, as the field of migration-related organisations is changing rapidly as a result of social change among their clientele. The core scientific questions of the programme also result from this dynamic:

• How do migration-related organisations develop in relation to the social integration process of their clientele? To what extent do both developments depend on each other?

• How do different national and transnational framework conditions and opportunity structures determine the work of migration-related organisations?

• How do national and transnational orientations of the organisations relate to each other? What do such orientations depend on?

The work carried out in the programme aims to contribute not only to a better understanding of political processes in immigration societies, but also to the empowerment of civil society actors, be they migrant or non-migrant, as well as to the inclusion of migration-related organisations in public funding and governance.

The programme has particular intersections with the ZfTI programme „Transnational Connections Germany-Turkey“, in view of the large number of migrant organisations active in Germany with a Turkish connection, as well as with the programme on social structure and social cohesion, whereby the organisations are important actors in creating social cohesion.

The programme promotes the active participation of migrants in economic life and municipal structures and strengthens social cohesion. The programme focuses on supporting and researching migrant self-employment, strategies to attract skilled workers and the exchange of migration-related experiences between municipalities – including across borders.

The programme aims to make socio-structural characteristics and individual orientations in migration and integration processes within the immigration society visible. It utilises microdata-based analyses of quantitative and qualitative surveys. In particular, intergroup differences are analysed comparatively in order to identify the requirements for integration and social cohesion. On this basis, the programme provides both research into the fundamentals and the development of recommendations for action for politics and administration.

The programme is dedicated to the transnational interdependencies that have been created by German-Turkish relations and a process of immigration and emigration that has lasted for over 60 years. The programme also deals with the repercussions of these interdependencies on interstate relations. In more than six decades, over 7.5 million people have immigrated and emigrated from Turkey. This migration and integration process in the German-Turkish space has had a lasting impact on the political, economic and cultural relations between the two countries. Integration and disintegration dynamics as a result of political debates and conflicts also have a direct impact on social cohesion and the image of Turkey in Germany and are reflected by the public and politics in the respective other country. In this context, special challenges arise for research on (transnational) social integration, which is addressed within the framework of the programme.

At the same time, the programme addresses the public interest in developments in Turkey and the interdependencies in bilateral relations by initiating political education projects in the context of political commitment beyond national borders, reviewing key developments in Turkey for politics and the public and engaging in transnational networking.