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Press Release: The ZEIT-Stiftung Receives 1 Million Euros to Implement Program for Immigrant Children

The ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius’ new program WEICHENSTELLUNG (“setting the course”) will receive EUR 1 million from the German Ministry of Family Affairs to support the integration of immigrant children into German society.

Under the program “Menschen stärken Menschen” (“people strengthen people”), the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has granted the ZEIT-Stiftung 1 million Euros for their program WEICHENSTELLUNG.

Initiated and developed by the ZEIT-Stiftung, the project WEICHENSTELLUNG works to facilitate the transition of immigrant children into their new lives and societies in Hamburg, while improving their performance in school.

Mentors in the program work to support the newly arrived children and teens. College students studying pedagogy, as well as from other academic disciplines, act as sponsors of the children, accompanying them to school events and exploring the city together. Each mentor supports up to 3 mentees in a year-long international prep course, which aims to facilitate their transition into the regular classroom and ensure their success in the longer-term.

Thanks to the support of the federal government, WEICHENSTELLUNG will be able to support between 400 and 500 immigrant children and young people in Hamburg, with the hope that the program can be extended as a model for other German states.