East Germany has lost almost 1.4 million of its inhabitants since 1991, about two thirds of them through emigration. Among other things, the project investigated which approaches to promoting return and immigration were successful in approaching those who had emigrated and in gaining partners from the business community and the labour administration. To this end, the project team analysed the structures, resources and tasks of the agencies, initiatives and the Return and Immigration Network. The instruments used were primarily quantitative surveys in the form of online interviews and workshops. The evaluation was used to draw up general recommendations for action for the next steps in developing an overall strategy to promote return and immigration. The Return and Immigration Network has been working as a transnational association of return initiatives in eastern Germany since 2006.

Duration: 07/2009 – 01/2010
Client: Stiftung Demokratische Jugend
Team: Daphne Reim, Ansgar Düben

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