Archive 2023

Here you will find selected reports on events organized by us and the work on projects in 2023.

Entrepreneurial commitment is very important to her: Master hairdresser Tülay Bozan

Thirty years ago, Tülay Bozan founded her hairdressing business, Coiffeur Tülay, in Hamburg's Eidelstedt district. On November 4, 2023, the master hairdresser celebrated the anniversary with numerous guests, a buffet, and a show program in her salon at Pflugacker 7. ASM Managing Director Marion Wartumjan personally congratulated the entrepreneur, whose experience has been used to benefit female entrepreneurs at various ASM events.
The hairdressers’ guild also

The jubilarian, who has trained several young people over the years, conveyed personal congratulations.

And on November 22nd, Bozan was honored for her volunteer work on the journeyman examination committees as part of the Hamburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts' 150th anniversary celebrations in the Great Hall of the Gewerbehaus – representing the approximately 1,000 volunteers in Hamburg's skilled crafts sector. ASM wishes Tülay Bozan continued success with her company!

Aikaterini Koletsou from the MiFeB project presented the project's offerings, before Nicole Bachmann from hei. gave a presentation on "When Women Start a Business... Important Tips for Women Starting a Business." A lively question-and-answer session followed. Bachmann, Hansen, and Koletsou answered the numerous questions from potential female founders. The lively exchange continued during the refreshments that followed. Due to the positive response to the project and the intensive use of opportunities to share experiences at the event, ASM is offering further events for female founders this year: the "Development of the Business Model" workshop on November 29, 2023, and a networking event on December 6, 2023.

Trainee Stammtisch on the shortlist for the Commerzbank Foundation Prize

Among 117 applications for the prize ASM's application for the trainees' table was shortlisted for the Commerzbank Foundation's ZukunftsWege (Future Paths) award. The association competed against 18 other shortlisted applicants for one of three prizes, each worth €35,000. Even though we were not among the three winners honored at a public awards ceremony on October 19, 2023, in Frankfurt am Main, we are proud that the work of the trainees' table, supported by the Hanns R. Neumann Foundation, has received public attention and recognition through this nomination.

Successful start of training in the project “Mobil for Training” (Mofa)

Eleven parents have participated in the first training session of the "Mobil für Ausbildung" (Mobile for Training) project (MofA). "MofA" is being implemented in a joint project involving Entrepreneurs Without Borders (Entrepreneurs Without Borders) as the project sponsor and the Association of Self-Employed Migrants (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Selbstständiger Migranten eV) as a sub-project partner. In a total of three training modules, participants learned the most important content on training and the associated career opportunities. This gave them an in-depth insight into various career profiles and application processes. The training concept was developed jointly with the KAUSA Hamburg regional office. The training content provides parents with the know-how to educate and inform other parents about the topic of training.

What do you want to achieve with the training?
Arzu Pehlivan, project coordination: "Our goal is to train the immediate caregivers of young immigrants so that they are well informed about the dual training system and the added value of the training, so that they can inform other caregivers and, above all, increase the motivation of young people to begin a dual training program."

What content is taught to the participants in the training courses?
"The training courses are structured in modules with low barriers. Each module lasts 90 minutes and can also be offered in multiple languages. The training topics include: stimulating motivation for training, exploring dual training and recognizing career opportunities, and imparting knowledge about application procedures."

What was your experience with this first round? Will it result in changes for future training courses?

"The response was overwhelming. We received only positive feedback, and word of the training was so popular among parents that the number of participants increased from nine to eleven during the training. That was a great sign for us. Of course, there is always room for improvement. For example, we realized that sometimes less is more. This meant that the participants had a great need to exchange ideas with each other, so much so that we even had to omit an exercise once to allow more space for this. In future training sessions, we would like to allocate more time for exchange among the participants right from the start."

What is planned to maintain the commitment shown by the participants?

"The participants' wish was to receive up-to-date information on training topics. We are currently considering introducing a digital advice day, which would take place monthly and provide a good basis for sustainable exchange. In addition, we plan to hold a networking and reflection meeting twice a year so that the reference persons can also benefit from each other's experiences. In the further planned training sessions, we will train members from migrant communities, youth organizations, and sports clubs, as these reference groups in particular reach the young people and are in close contact with them."

                        Fotos: Unternehmer ohne Grenzen

MofA kick-off event "Let's go! We're making mobility for training" on September 13, 2023

Self-determined career choices are important – this is precisely where the "Mobil für Ausbildung" (MofA) project comes in, providing innovative help and support for young immigrants and their young descendants. The event on September 13, 2023, at the Kulturhof Dulsberg marked the official launch of the "MofA" project.

Representing Kazım Abacı, the Managing Director of Entrepreneurs Without Borders, Evelyn Jabben welcomed 80 guests and highlighted the potential of the model project, which is being implemented by two strong partners in Hamburg: the project sponsor Entrepreneurs Without Borders (UoG) and the sub-project partner Association of Self-Employed Migrants (ASM). Marion Wartumjan, Managing Director of ASM, also highlighted the added value created by the cooperation and referred to the association's many years of experience in providing training for young immigrants. A special role is played by the cooperation with the ASM-based KAUSA Regional Office HamburgThe important project tasks can only be accomplished thanks to the funding of the model project within the "Give Advice – Yes to Training!" program by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus. Thanks were also expressed to the Hamburg Social Services Department for co-financing the project.

Arne Dornquast, Head of the Office for Labor and Integration at the Hamburg Social Services Department, emphasized the importance of training, as the supply of apprenticeships will "outweigh demand for the foreseeable future." Previously, companies could choose their apprentices, but this is now reversed. In her project presentation, project manager Evelyn Jabben addressed the special role of immediate caregivers of young immigrants, including parents/relatives, trainers, educational professionals, and migrant communities. They are the target group of the MofA project.

Following this, four representatives of the various reference groups presented their role in the transition process from school to dual training in an interview with project coordinator Arzu Pehlivan. Chella Ramli from the German-Maghreb Children's and Women's Center eV highlighted the need for information, as careers are constantly changing: "I want to help my children, but where should I send them?" Sylvaina Gerlich from IMIC eV also addressed the existing need for information among parents, as many have the problem of not being able to fully understand the training system due to language barriers – even though training and education are so important. Garret Zabel, youth handball officer at TH Eilbeck, emphasized that trainees are often under enormous pressure, which is why it is particularly important in his role as a coach not to exert even more pressure and to show "that not everything always goes perfectly."

Philipp Heidergott, director of the HDJ Alter Teichweg, praised the multi-perspective approach of the "MofA" project. In his experience working with young people, the problem is not that young people cannot find a training position, but rather that they do not complete their training, i.e., they drop out. Through the diverse perspectives that were incorporated into the moderated discussion, the guests gained diverse insights into the complexity and hurdles of the topic of "school-to-work transition." Over refreshments, the numerous guests took the opportunity for in-depth discussions and to exchange experiences. The subsequent network meeting of the KAUSA Hamburg regional office offered in-depth information on the willingness of young people with a migration or refugee background to undertake training and also demonstrated how both projects can strengthen the training landscape in Hamburg in the future.

Answers to all questions about starting your own business: ASM with offers at the "Hamburg Founders' Day" 2023

Educate yourself, network, Information about self-employment – all of this was available to visitors to the "Hamburg Founders' Day" at the Hamburg Chamber of Crafts on June 30, 2023. Experts from the Hamburg start-up network held a total of 20 workshops and specialist presentations. They were also available for discussions at booths. The start-up consultants from ASM also had a booth and offered the well-attended workshop "First Steps into Self-Employment." ASM consultant Katarzyna Rogacka-Michels was also part of the three-person team to whom prospective founders presented their projects in 5-minute pitches and received individual feedback on their own business ideas. The "Hamburg Founders' Day" is organized once a year by the hei. Hamburger ExistenzgründungsInitiative.

╬╬╬ EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY AND SYRIA╬╬╬ EARTHQUAKES IN TURKEY AND SYRIA
Thank you for your willingness to help!

In response to the incomprehensible suffering that the devastating earthquake has brought to millions of people in Turkey and Syria,
Our association collected donations for the disaster-stricken region. Our field staff have visited local business owners over the past few weeks and asked them for donations. The association's employees, the affiliated Hamburg Foundation for Migrants, and the Kurt & Maria Dohle Foundation also supported the fundraising campaign.
We were able to raise 4315 euros, which we donated without any deductions toUNICEFand theNGO AHBAPforwarded. We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the campaign!