Sharing and Participating: Pathways to Equal Social Participation Across the Life Course

Integration Department

Project head: Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nowicka ,  Dr. Edward Omeni

Project team members: Lea Baro

The once-celebrated "Golden Era" of welfare states is increasingly seen as outdated, signaling a paradigm shift toward proactive approaches that prioritize prevention, empowerment, and societal resilience over direct state intervention. This is reflected in the evolution from the "Providing State" to the "Enabling State" (Küntzel, 2012; Evers & Guillemard, 2012). This shift occurs within the broader context of significant transformations in social policy, where traditional welfare benefits are being restructured to address new challenges such as demographic change and population decline (Hall, 2013).

In the context of these ongoing neoliberal transformations of social policy, inclusion remains a central issue (Hall, 2013). Rapid sociodemographic changes, (forced) migration, an aging society, and new configurations of diversity and intersectionality present the risk that certain groups may be unintentionally overlooked in welfare state efforts. While concepts such as integration, inclusion, and participation have inspired fundamental principles to combat marginalization, inclusion policies and strategies often result in unequal outcomes.

Building on previous research and acknowledging the urgent need to understand the complexities and ambiguities of inclusion approaches in healthcare, social welfare, and other areas of life for migrants, this project examines the design, implementation, and political, spatial, and practical implications of inclusion policies in place-based initiatives in Germany, with a particular focus on the age/migration nexus. Investigating how diversity approaches are conceptualized and managed in everyday situations and large-scale institutional strategies provides a foundation for understanding the structuring and disciplining practices within shared spaces of encounter. The project extends beyond active policies and municipal organizations to consider dynamics of neglect or "benign neglect," which perpetuate widespread inequality and structural marginalization.

The critical importance of an intersectional approach is also acknowledged, addressing the overlapping realities and experiences related to gender, ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ identity, particularly in the context of (voluntary or forced) migration and aging populations. From this perspective, the project offers deeper insights into how diversity approaches affect different population groups and explores the broader cross-sectoral implications of inclusive strategies in care and welfare initiatives for older individuals, while creating space for further investigations into the topic of inclusion.

Funding: Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (Institutional funding)