Why we need to listen now
Belonging begins with being heard.
Migration, integration and belonging are talked about constantly in Germany. But the people whose experiences are at stake far too rarely get to speak for themselves. Many experience in everyday life, at school, at work or in public spaces that they are overlooked, treated differently or not naturally perceived as part of this society. Precisely therein lies a hidden knowledge that has barely been documented.
“zugehört … & zugehörig?” makes these experiences audible. The project examines when children, adolescents and adults feel they belong, when they do not – and what, from their perspective, would need to change. The result is Free Knowledge that strengthens communities, changes narratives and shows people in positions of responsibility what belonging really means in everyday life.
How the voices are gathered
Many voices. Safe, anonymous and multilingual.
Two privacy-conscious voice assistants were developed for the project: one for children and adolescents and one for adults. The assistants enable qualitative conversations in multiple languages and can speak with many people at the same time.
Their development draws on established research into belonging and connectedness, purpose-built qualitative interview guides and special safeguards for sensitive experiences. They were built by Zeitgeist Labs, a team at the intersection of AI, social and behavioural science.
The conversations are anonymous. No real names are actively requested. The focus is on personal impressions, experiences and perspectives on belonging, exclusion, recognition and participation.
What grows out of the experiences
Individual experiences become shared knowledge.
The interviews from the participating communities are brought together and analysed according to the standards of qualitative research. The aim is to make visible which experiences people in Germany have with belonging, exclusion, participation and recognition – and what follows from them for schools, workplaces, communities, media, research and policy.
The results should not remain hidden in individual conversations or institutional projects. They will be made accessible in a public report and an interactive presentation, so they can take effect where societal narratives are formed and decisions are made.