Laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace—including discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, religion, or belief. But what does that mean in practice? How can a team position itself effectively in this regard and honestly address the question of how racism and anti-Semitism influence its own structure, decision-making, and communication?

Since 2020, the Cologne Municipal Integration Center (KI Köln) has been following this approach: As part of an organizational development process focused on combating racism (RKOE), the team of about 50 members has set itself the goal of gradually eliminating discrimination in order to create fairer and more effective services for people with an international family background and to promote a healthy work environment for everyone. What began with initial workshops on the fundamentals of anti-racism has led to a noticeable cultural shift over the years. Especially in the early days, however, the RKOE was marked by uncertainties, doubts, and fears: Are we racist or anti-Semitic? Won’t the process divide the entire team? What’s the point of this anyway? And how much will it cost?

Answers to these and other questions, information on the structure and progression of the process, as well as employees’ personal perspectives, are provided by KI Köln in its guide „Organizational Development with a Focus on Combating Racism at the Cologne Municipal Integration Center: Experiences and Insights from Five Years of Work“ documented. In this guide, we aim to provide transparency regarding the successes we have achieved so far and the challenges that still lie ahead. We want to build trust that the public sector is also open to structural changes regarding racism and antisemitism, and to encourage others to initiate such changes elsewhere as well.

Guidance Document on Anti-Racist Organizational Development at the Cologne Municipal Integration Center