Cultural diversity is an issue that has been getting growing attention in German youth organizations since in the early 2000s. The migration streams in Germanysince the mid-1970s has affected youth organizations in a manner that they require it to be more open towards a heterogeneous ethnic youth environment (Assmann et al. 2011, 77). Unfortunately for a very long time many youth organizations did not see the challenges that cultural diversity of the German society leads to the self-concept of German youth organizations. This changed in the last years and many youth organizations started a discussion on change management that is so called the process of intercultural opening  (Jagusch 2014,  210; Jagusch 2007, 17).

Currently there are over 90 regional youth organizations in Germany, reflecting the complete spectrum of youth’s interests and activities. It is expected that nearly a quarter of all young people in Germany is organized, a total of more then six million young people. Studies suggest that young people with migration background do not participate sufficiently in the traditional German youth organizations (Otremba et al. 2011, 34). This result reflects the social and ethnic selective character of (self-)recruitment mechanisms of youth organizations. German youth organizations traditionally are middle-class organizations, which mostly were not able to include young people with migration background from the mostly socially marginalized lower class. It is recognized that structural barriers prevent the access of young migrants to youth organizations. On the other hand it is supposed that personal bias and the culture of the youth organization constrain if and how an organization takes notice of the need of cultural diversity (Seckinger et al. 2009, 38).

Currently there is only little research regarding how youth organizations view and handle on an ethnical heterogeneous client (Boos-Nünning& Karakaşoğlu 2012, 56). The lack of research leads to the study in investigating youth organizations and their practices of cultural diversity. The research question is: How do youth organizations in Germany view and handle cultural diversity?

There are some approaches on how cultural diversity in organizations can operated. Adler (1983) and Bissels, Sackmann & Bissels (2001) has identified  hetergenous orientations depending on cultural diversity. Regarding this these two approaches provide the theoretical framework that will be concentrated on and with which the empirical data will be analyzed with. The approaches that were realized have recognized different types of organizational views of the effects of cultural diversity on organizations on the one hand and strategies to implement cultural diversity within an organization on the other hand. It can be identified different types of handling cultural diversity in organization: 1. organizations, which are blind to cultural diversity, 2. organizations, which fend cultural diversity off, 3. organizations which are pragmatic with cultural diversity and 4. organizations  which commit themselves to cultural diversity. Eventually the strategies that are often implemented are based on organization’s view and capability to recognize cultural diversity.

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