RLC Siegen Awarded Prize for Intercultural Commitment

Special Commendation for the RLC Siegen: A student-run legal advising office has received the City of Siegen's 2023 prize for intercultural engagement.

Together with the Integration Council, the City of Siegen has awarded its 33rd annual prize for intercultural engagement in the historic Council Chamber in the Oberstadt’s City Hall building. This year's recipient was the Refugee Law Clinic Siegen e.V., a student-run legal consulting service for refugees at the University of Siegen.

Mayor Steffen Mues and the chairperson of the Integration Council, Hanan Tahmaz, presented the 500-euro prize to the association, which was founded in 2018. It offers students the opportunity to gain practical legal consulting experience while also offering charitable support to those most in need of assistance. Refugees are offered no-cost consultation on issues related to migration rights.

“I’m very grateful that there are so many people here in Siegen willing to be a good role model and take part in building a more tolerant and colorful Siegen,” Mues says. He furthermore emphasized that the event was intended to honor not just the prizewinners, but all those nominated. Above all else, the event was intended to serve as “a symbol and public acknowledgment” of the importance and value of “this kind of model of voluntary action to build understanding and interconnectedness between people with a migration background and German-born citizens, for us and our society.”

The evening was accompanied by a program by the municipally operated Fritz Busch School of Music. The event was conducted as part of the Intercultural Days, a series of over 20 events dedicated to the entire spectrum of integration and migration work underway in Siegen. The Intercultural Days will conclude on Saturday, 7 October.

Mayor Steffen Mues (7th from left) and Chairperson of the Integration Council Hanan Tahmaz (4th from right) present the 2023 Prize for Intercultural Engagement to representatives of the Refugee Law Clinic e.V. (Photo: City of Siegen)