Located in the heart of Europe, Vienna has historically played an important role in migration movements and is therefore often referred to as melting pot of cultures. Due to the high diversity of its citizens, the City of Vienna established numerous measures to encourage an open dialogue and exchange with all population groups. Following a human rights-based approach (HRBA), a conceptual framework based on international human rights standard, the four guiding principles – Participation, Equality, Accountability and Transparency – were established and implemented in the city strategy.
As a cross-cutting subject human rights play a crucial role in city policies regarding education and training, children and women rights, health, occupation, mobility, infrastructure, housing, standard of living, participation in culture and public life, safety and security, opportunities for refugees and immigrants, anti-discrimination etc.
In order to not only raise awareness but stepping up commitment for human rights at a local level the “Vienna Human Rights Districts” were initiated in 2019. Today, 14 out of 23 districts have declared themselves a Human Rights District, each of them focusing on topics that are especially relevant for their local communities. Joint initiatives and projects aim at discussing district activities and challenges in order to build together a more inclusive society.
MUST-a-Lab offers a platform to share those previous experiences with participatory processes that enhance dialogue among different groups and mutual understanding between decision makers and local communities. The active involvement and engagement of migrant communities and local stakeholders in order to improve existing integration and inclusion strategies within the planned Policy Labs will not only open a safe space for co-creation and exchange but also enable developing and testing new approaches and solutions.
The City of Vienna is looking forward to an exchange of experiences and best practices across different sectoral areas and the establishment of Europe-wide networks, which promote future-oriented and innovative integration and inclusion strategies.
Latest News
Insights from the final event of the Vienna Policy Labs
After almost one year of the Policy Lab on “Education and Participation”, the results are impressive: over 100 project partners from 50 organisations were involved
Micro Experiment “Social Media Campaign on Human Rights”
The growing social divide and the decreasing trust in public institutions are current challenges of our time and lead to the weakening of democracy. Human
Micro Experiment “How’s that job working out? Job perspectives for young adults”
The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as multiple crises of the present, are increasing mental illnesses and financial pressure on youth, particularly those who come from
Micro Experiment “Open School & Info Café”
Structural challenges and lack of resources make access to education and participation difficult, especially for low-income families. Current challenges in schools cover exclusion, discrimination and
Vienna’s chosen Micro-Experiments
Three thematic fields were identified as current challenges in the fields of “education and participation” during the first policy lab in Vienna (23.2.23) and transformed
Review: 2nd Policy Lab on “Education & Participation” in Vienna
Host and District Mayor of Meidling, Wilfried Zankl and Shams Asadi, Human Rights commissioner of the City of Vienna, welcomed the approx. 35 participants. Sarah