The Salzburg State Parliament held a fact-finding hearing to discuss the new integration policy framework for the State of Salzburg. Lisa Fellhofer, director of the Documentation Center Political Islam (DPI), was also invited to speak. She gave a presentation on the topic “The Need for Action in Integration Policy with Regard to Political Islam.” At the start of the hearing, sociologist and integration expert Kenan Güngör—who played a key role in drafting the framework—explained the central tenets of the policy paper to the state legislators from an academic perspective.
The topic was examined in light of various integration policy challenges. Franz Wolf, Director of the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), spoke about language acquisition and the development of values in the integration process. Franz Neumayer, speaking on behalf of the head of the Integration Division, Wolfgang Schmidbauer, addressed the function and benefits of an integration mission statement from the perspective of the administration. Elie Rosen, President of the Jewish Community of Salzburg, addressed the topic “Anti-Semitism as a Challenge for Integration Policy,” while Markus Krieger from the State Office for National Security and Countering Extremism (LSE) spoke about prevention efforts at the intersection of youth and integration.
In addition, State Parliament President Brigitta Pallauf and Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek, who is responsible for integration, spoke about the importance of the mandate for action on the issue of integration. The integration policy statement was subsequently debated further and adopted by the Salzburg State Parliament committee. Submitted for adoption.