Abdulkadir Kis is a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Integration Council

At the general meeting of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Integration Council held in Cologne last Saturday, 11 July 2026, Abdulkadir Kis from Bocholt was elected as a member of the Executive Committee. With 46 votes, Kis came fifth in the election for non-executive board members. Out of a total of 27 candidates, nine were elected as non-executive board members.

This means that, for the first time since 1995, a member of the City of Bocholt's Committee for Equal Opportunities and Integration (ACI) is represented on the Executive Board of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Integration Council. Kis expressed his delight at the election result and thanked everyone for the trust placed in him and for the broad support he had received.

"We, as the Committee for Equal Opportunities and Integration of the City of Bocholt, are delighted to have a representative on the State Integration Council and congratulate all the members elected to the Executive Board, but in particular, of course, our Bocholt member, Abdulkadir Kis"," said Juan Lopez-Casanava, Chair of the ACI, congratulating the first member from Bocholt to join the State Integration Council.

In his candidate presentation, Kis highlighted his many years of experience in local integration work - from the Foreigners' Advisory Board through the Integration Council to the current ACI - as well as his involvement in Bocholt's voluntary sector. He wishes to bring this experience to bear at state level in order to support the work of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Integration Council with professional expertise, practical experience and reliability.

In Bocholt, Kis is involved, amongst other things, as a member of the ACI committee and as chair of the Bocholt List within the ACI. He is also the chief delegate of the ACI Bocholt on the main committee of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Integration Council. The State Integration Council of North Rhine-Westphalia currently comprises the 121 ACIs from the municipalities and towns of North Rhine-Westphalia and sees itself as a democratically legitimised representative body for people with an international family history. In conclusion, Abdulkadir Kis stated: "Many thanks also for the support provided by the Bocholt delegates Selda Koldamca and Zeyneb Mohammady", and added: "I look forward to a fruitful and trusting collaboration and support within the ACI Bocholt in this area, and I wish you every success in your ACI work at state level as Bocholt's representatives on the new executive committee."