Heimatkunde

The Heinrich Böll Foundation's Portal on Migration Policies

Heimatkunde is the Heinrich Böll Foundation's migration policy portal. We present analyses and publications on the topics of migration, asylum, participation, diversity and arts and culture. On this site, you can find our contributions in English.

Latest Articles

Collage von zwei Fotos, zu sehen sind Salwa und Jasmeh, deren Geschichten im Artikel erzählt wird

Between Borders, Bureaucracies and Resistance: Two Sudanese Women in Cairo

As Sudan’s war rages on, millions have been displaced—most of them women and children. On World Refugee Day, journalist Shimaa Samy shares the intertwined stories of two Sudanese women in Cairo. While struggling with trauma, discrimination, and structural obstacles, they continue to fight for recognition – and support a growing community of refugee women.

Foto von Mekonnen Mesghena an einem Rednerpult

How Two Children Unmasked a Society

As the father of one of the two girls whose courageous intervention in 2013 sparked both a national and international debate on language, racism, and belonging, Mekonnen Mesghena reflects on acts of child-led civic courage, a responsive and solidaristic public, and the transformative power of political engagement.

By Mekonnen Mesghena

Trapped in Overlapping Conflicts: Refugee Securitization and Regional Geopolitical Dynamics

The violent clashes in Sudan since April 2023 have led to considerable displacement and great hardship for the civilian population. Despite this, the humanitarian crisis is hardly being addressed by the European public. An analysis of the causes and consequences of the conflict and the resulting refugee movements.

By Samuel Zewdie Hagos and Marcus Engler

Frauen in der IT-Branche

Gender and tech education: How to improve women’s training and access opportunities to the IT industry

The IT industry is still male-dominated: Only 17 percent of tech startups' employees in Germany are women. What access barriers exist for women of different backgrounds, and how can they be removed? FrauenLoop conducted a study to examine the barriers to education and the labor market for resident, migrant, and refugee women who want to work in the IT industry.

By Nakeema Stefflbauer

Two women at Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol, 2016

The Seeds of Abolition

While millions protested the murder of George Floyd and racist police brutality all over the world, there has been a lack of acknowledgement of the injustices towards Black women, and of their leading roles in social movements. Edna Bonhomme analyses the significance of Black women within social movements throughout history until today.

By Edna Bonhomme

Upcoming Events

21

October

Between Open Arms and Closed Borders

Expert conference Tuesday, 21. October 2025 in Berlin

A Decade of Flight and Arrival in Germany
Livestream

Dossiers

Vogelperspektive auf Straßenzug in San Francisco, auf dem Black Lives steht

#BlackLivesMatter: Entanglements and continuities of racism

Border Politics – Migration in the Mediterranean

Mobility and Inclusion – Managing Labour Migration in Europe

Dossier The Living Archive: kulturelle Produktionen und Räume

Dossier Krise und Migration - Die neue griechische Migration nach Deutschland

Dossier Migration & Entwicklung

Das Dossier führt in das Themenfeld und die Kontroversen ein, indem es Analysen und Standpunkte aus den unterschiedlichen Perspektiven der beteiligten Akteure gegenüberstellt - so entsteht jenseits schematischer Generaldiagnosen ein differenziertes Bild des Migrations-Entwicklungs-Nexus. With contributions in German and English.

Flight and Asylum

The life of a trans* activist

Alia Khannum, LGBTIQ* activist from Pakistan, shares her story as a transwoman and reflects upon her journey to become a trans* activist, engaged for the rights of LGBTIQ* refugees and migrants.

By Alia Khannum

Coverfoto des Dossiers Border Politics

About the Dossier Border Politics - Migration in the Mediterranean

The articles in this dossier shed critical light on several related sites of Euro-Mediterranean border management. They look at the “border within” as well as the effects of the exterritorialisation strategy in the Libyan example and show both the deadly and the “productive” aspects of the border regime.

The European Union: a fortress or gated community? Clearly its member states are deciding who is allowed to enter - and who to stay out

The European Union as a Gated Community: The Two-faced Border and Immigration Regime of the EU

Henk van Houtum and Roos Pijpers argue that the European Union is less a fortress and shows more resemblance with a gated community - an intricate system based on fear, judging on economic reasons who is allowed to enter- and who to stay out.

Read more on "Flight & Asylum"

Migration Policies

Graphic Recording Oktober 2013

Care Crisis: Racialised Women at the Crossroads of Migration, Labour Market and Family Policies

Besides job creations and responding to care needs, a central argument justifying the development of in-home care has been that of gender equality. In her paper, Emilia Roig argues that the stated policy objective of “freeing” the productive potential of the more highly-skilled women - as announced by the European Commission – widens the gender pay gap, instead of fostering gender equality in the workplace.

London Tube

Migration and urban development: reflections from the UK

Multicultural landscapes are evident through the transformation of urban geographies by spectacular religious buildings, or the influence of ethnic minority economies and businesses.

Heimatkunde

Migration now and then - Greeks in Germany

Elena Marda connects the "old" migration of the 1960s to the recent developments, where thousands of young and well-educated Greeks leave their home-country hoping to find a better future.

Read more on "Migration Policies"

Participation

Person hält Schild mit Aufschrift "Black Lives Matter!" in London 2016

Black Lives Matter and British Policing

The summer of 2020 will be remembered for the period that saw the largest anti-racist protests in British history. Dr. Adam Elliott-Cooper, sociologist at Greenwich University in London, gives an overview about the history and current state of the Black Lives Matter movement and institutional racism in the UK.

By Adam Elliott-Cooper

Gary Younge

Racism and the Infrastructure of Injustice - in the United States and Europe

The murder of George Floyd amidst of a global pandemic has triggered a global conversation among the Black diaspora and its progressive allies. In the editorial for our #BlackLivesMatter focus, award-winning journalist Gary Younge analyses the current debates in the U.S. and in Europe.

Bashe Rroma

Antigypsyism and Language

In his essay, Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov describes discrimination through the devaluation of Romani as a language. He emphasizes the urgency of establishing language teaching in Romani and sees the appreciation of the language as both an appreciation of Roma culture and a means of combating “antigypsism”.

By Hristo Kyuchukov

Read more on "Participation"

Arts and Culture

The filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky photographed by Inzajeano Latif

My filmmaking is a form of protest against conflict, injustice and human rights abuses

The documentary film "Tell Spring Not to Come This Year" by the filmmakers Saeed Taji Farouky and Michael McEvoy won this year’s Berlinale Amnesty International Award. Find out more about the production process in our interview with the filmmakers and watch the trailer here.

By Safiye Can and Hakan Akçit

Maroula Blades "Spilling Words", Werkstatt der Kulturen, 18.08.2013, © 2013 poetrykitchen

Maroula Blades: "I do have this other side, more direct and in your face"

Jacqui Dunne interviews Maroula Blades for erbacce-press

v.l.n.r: Antoine Vumilia Muhindo, Safiye Can, Maria Kohlert-Németh, Dr. Boniface Mab

"The results were tearful poems"

The author Antoine Vumilia Muhindo in an interview with Safiye Can.

Read more on "Arts and Culture"

Publications

Racism and Discrimination in Greece today

Krise und Migration - Die neue griechische Migration nach Deutschland

Mobility and Inclusion – Managing Labour Migration in Europe

Border Politics - Migration in the Mediterranean

The Living Archive: kulturelle Produktionen und Räume

Migration & Entwicklung

Read more contributions in English

Get in touch!

If you have questions or want to collaborate with us, get in touch

Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V.
Domestic Department
Migration & Diversity Division
Schumannstr. 8, 10117 Berlin
Fon: (030) 285 34-283
E-Mail: heimatkunde@boell.de

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