Diversity policy in employment and service provision - Case study: Stuttgart, Germany

Today, people from over 170 countries live in Stuttgart: a quarter of the population are foreigners, 38% of the population have a migration background. In 2001, the Stuttgart city council adopted a new comprehensive Pact for Integration between the public sector, the private sector and civil society. Hence, this coalition consists of partners committed to integration and aligned in network structures. The Pact for Integration explicitly states that people with a migration background are seen as a benefit for the city as a whole: the municipal integration policy has been re-orientated towards a resource approach. The pact formulates three goals for municipal integration policy: 1. participation and equal opportunities for everyone, 2. social cohesion, and 3. the capitalisation of cultural diversity to extend competences within the international municipal society.