Mandate and responsibilities of the Commissioner for Integration

The Commissioner of the Berlin Senate for Participation, Integration and Migration supports people with a history of migration and newcomers in Berlin. She ensures that their perspectives are visible and that they can exercise their rights. This institution has existed in Berlin since 1981.

Main responsibilities at a glance

• Expanding welcome structures and making arrival easier
• Building genuine partnerships by strengthening migrant organisations
• Changing structures and removing barriers
• Connecting cities as actors in migration policy
• Funding programmes: investing in integration and participation

The Berlin Participation Act, which was developed in cooperation with migrant organisations, provides the legal basis for the work of the Commissioner for Integration.

Katarina Niewiedzial has served as Berlin’s Commissioner for Integration since May 2019. She is the first person with personal experience of migration to hold this office. Together with her department, she shapes the participation, integration and migration policies of the Berlin Senate, working closely with other administrations in the process. A key focus is to make the Berlin administration more reflective of the city’s diversity, including increasing the proportion of staff with a history of migration.

The Welcome Center is the Commissioner’s consultation office. It provides free and multilingual advice on issues such as arrival, residence, the labour market and social questions. An team of experienced legal and social advisors offers independent support, working together with various local organisations. The service is aimed both at newcomers and at long-term Berliners.

The Commissioner is also a member of the Hardship Commission, which has been supporting people in difficult residence situations for over 20 years.

The Commissioner for Integration collaborates with associations, communities, initiatives and organisations. She supports participation and integration projects run by migrant organisations through a variety of programmes.

As a member of the State Advisory Council for Participation, she maintains close exchange with the Commissioners for Participation and Integration from Berlin’s twelve districts. She also meets with her counterparts from the federal government and from the other 15 federal states at least twice a year.

In addition, she and her department play an active part in international city networks that advocate for a humanitarian asylum and migration policy. Examples include the International Alliance of Safe Harbours (IASH) or EUROCITIES.

Further the Commissioner for Participation, Integration and Migration also serves as Berlin’s Polonia Commissioner. In this role, she represents the interests and rights of the more than 100,000 people of Polish origin living in the capital. She is also dedicated to fostering good neighbourly relations between Berlin and Poland.