Voices of people

— Waldo Emerson

"Been using the service for 4-5 years or more, should've given a review earlier."

— Elisa Austen

"These guys will still go the extra mile to help you out even if you don't subscribe to the policy."

— Jane Emerson

"Been using the service for 4-5 years or more, should've given a review earlier."

— Jack Austen

"These guys will still go the extra mile to help you out even if you don't subscribe."

Learn about the Policy Labs from the first-hand experiences of participants and stakeholders! 

"The Policy Labs in Vienna were really professionally organised and facilitated. The interactions were very relaxed, informal and respectful. From my point of view, a complete success. The three micro experiments are all exciting and rich in content."

„Die beiden Dialogwerkstätten waren wirklich super professionell organisiert und moderiert. Es war stets ein lockeres, ungezwungenes und respektvolles Miteinander. Aus meiner Sicht ein voller Erfolg. Die drei Pilotprojekte sind allesamt spannend und gehaltvoll.“

"It may sound cliché, but I think of "interaction". I mean, it was very interesting to see people with different experiences, professional but also of life, identifying the same problems and precisely seeking solutions, each with their own contribution, based on their own experience."

„Sembrerà banale, ma penso a "interazione”. Cioè è stato molto interessante vedere persone con esperienze diverse, professionali ma anche di vita, individuare medesimi problemi e cercare appunto soluzioni, ognuno con il proprio contributo ecco, in base all’esperienza propria.“

"Human rights work as a cross- cutting issue - both between the political fields and between municipalities, cities and countries. Participatory involvement opportunities - such as the Policy Lab - actively involve civil society in political processes and make them tangible for the population. This expansion of human rights activities and education and the inclusion of young people are crucial to strengthening democracy and participation."

„Ich verstehe Menschenrechtsarbeit als Querschnittsmaterie – sowohl zwischen den politischen Tätigkeitsfeldern als auch zwischen Gemeinden, Städten und Ländern. Partizipative Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten – wie die Dialogwerkstatt – beziehen die Zivilgesellschaft aktiv in politische Prozesse ein und machen diese für die Bevölkerung erlebbar. Dieser Ausbau von Menschenrechtsaktivitäten und -bildung sowie das Einbeziehen der Jugend sind ganz entscheidend, um Demokratie und Partizipation zu stärken.“

Deputy Mayor and City Councillor for Human Rights Christoph Wiederkehr Tweet

"So, the word that came to mind was 'contribution'. What I found very important during the Policy Lab was that even though everyone came from different backgrounds, everyone was able to contribute and bring out an idea. And this makes me realize that even if we have different habits and cultures, we can still come together and make ideas grow."

„Allora la parola che mi è venuta in mente è “contributo”, nel senso che quello che ho trovato molto importante durante il Policy Lab è che, anche se ognuno viene da diverse realtà, ognuno è riuscito a dare un contributo e a far emergere un’idea. E quello mi fa capire che anche se abbiamo delle abitudini e delle culture diverse, possiamo comunque incontrarci e far crescere delle idee.“

“As district mayor, I am very pleased that human rights are being brought to life in our district through such projects and campaigns and that the title "Human Rights District" is not just a resolution in the district council."

„Als Bezirksvorsteher freut es mich sehr, dass die Menschenrechte in unserem Bezirk durch solche Projekte und Aktionen zum Leben erweckt werden und der Titel „Menschenrechtsbezirk“ nicht nur ein Beschluss in der Bezirksvertretung ist.“

Wilfried Zankl, district mayor of the 12th District Tweet

"The word is ‘mosaic’, in the sense of bringing together different knowledge, different cultures and different cultural backgrounds, but above all trying to find a common idea. When you go to see the mosaic, the result is beautiful, so we all came together, everyone with their own experience and background of life and work, we came together to find a solution, to create a mosaic of colors that when you see it you say wow!"

„La parola è mosaico, nel senso di mettere insieme diverse conoscenze, diverse culture e diversi bagagli culturali di conoscenza, ma soprattutto cercare di trovare un’idea comune. Quando vai a vedere il mosaico il risultato è bellissimo, quindi noi ci siamo incontrati tutti, ognuno con la sua esperienza e il suo bagaglio di vita e di lavoro, ci siamo incontrati per riuscire a trovare una soluzione, dare vita a un mosaico di colori all’esterno che quando lo vedi dici wow!“

"You don't know anyone in the group, but from the moment you arrive at the first policy lab there is coffee ready, there is tea ready, there are cookies. That welcoming moment also lasted long enough to already have a little chat with the others. That's a very good foundation to build on."

PL participant from Mechelen Tweet

“Methodologies challenge your thought process and so you don't immediately start talking. You are first challenged to think, think broadly. You know you first have complete the activity before you can enter the conversation. It also helps to give speaking opportunities. This gives time for ... who else has an idea?”

PL participant from Mechelen Tweet

"My participation in the Policy Labs in Levadia made me change my way of thinking. I realized the problems that both stakeholders and migrants face every day, I shared my personal experience, thoughts and ideas and interacted with the participants in a safe, secure and respectful environment. It was a unique experience."

„Η συμμετοχή μου στα Εργαστήρια Πολιτικών Ένταξης στη Λιβαδειά συνέβαλε στην αλλαγή του τρόπου σκέψης μου. Συνειδητοποίησα τα προβλήματα που, τόσο οι φορείς όσο και οι μετανάστες, αντιμετωπίζουν καθημερινά, μοιράστηκα προσωπικές μου εμπειρίες, σκέψεις και ιδέες και ήρθα σε επαφή με τους συμμετέχοντες σε ένα ασφαλές και προστατευμένο περιβάλλον, γεμάτο σεβασμό. Ήταν μια μοναδική εμπειρία.“

PL participant from Livadia Tweet

“First and foremost, I think it's for the parents who participated - what a commitment! - To participate in that, to take time off. That didn't stop when it was done. We also talked further with each other during informal moments."

PL participant from Mechelen Tweet

"It is often a long way from the ideal of articulated human rights to their practical realisation in everyday life. That's why I welcome the current project in Favoriten, which organises excursions for young people to local companies and offices in order to support young people looking for prospects when entering working life. This is where participation in society, self- determination and the right to work Become concrete and tangible."

„Vom Ideal der artikulierten Menschenrechte hin zu einer alltagspraktischen Umsetzung ist es oft ein weiter Weg. Deswegen begrüße ich das aktuelle Projekt in Favoriten, das Exkursionen für Jugendliche zu lokalen Betrieben und Dienststellen organisiert, um perspektivensuchende Jugendliche beim Eintritt ins Berufsleben zu unterstützen. Hier wird Teilhabe an der Gesellschaft, Selbstbestimmung und das Recht auf Arbeit konkret und greifbar.“

Marcus Franz, district mayor of the 10th district Tweet

“The setting and the way we interacted, person to person. That made policymakers not exercise their influence immediately. Quite the contrary."

PL participant from Mechelen Tweet

"The participation of the Human Rights City of Vienna through the human rights districts of Neubau, Favoriten and Meidling in this prominent EU project is a great opportunity to try out a new format in order to launch innovative projects that address current challenges. The pilot projects in the three human rights districts are a living example of how cooperation between many active stakeholders can work well and contribute to cohesion in the neighbourhood, promote human rights education, open up future prospects and at the same time implement overarching EU objectives."

„Die Teilnahme der Menschenrechtsstadt Wien durch die Menschenrechtsbezirke Neubau, Favoriten und Meidling in diesem prominenten EU-Projekt ist eine große Chance, ein neues Format auszuprobieren, um innovative Projekte, die aktuelle Herausforderungen adressieren, ins Leben zu rufen. Die Pilotprojekte in den drei Menschenrechtsbezirken sind ein lebendiges Beispiel dafür, wie die Zusammenarbeit von vielen aktiven Stakeholdern gut gelingen kann, um einen Beitrag zum Zusammenhalt im „Grätzl“ zu leisten, Menschenrechtsbildung zu fördern, Zukunftsperspektiven zu eröffnen und dabei gleichzeitig übergeordnete EU-Ziele umzusetzen.“

Shams Asadi, Human Rights Commissioner of the City of Vienna Tweet

"We are living in a time of great social upheaval and changes. We have to deal with issues that we thought no longer existed. War in Europe, inflation in our everyday lives, growing anti-Semitism and racism. The enormous value of human rights, as well as our democracy, our prosperity and our cosmopolitanism, is becoming apparent right now. As a human rights district, we are particularly pleased about the new pilot projects presented today and will continue to work with the city to promote human rights on a daily basis."

„Wir leben in einer Zeit von großen gesellschaftlichen Verwerfungen und Umbrüchen. Wir müssen uns mit Themen auseinandersetzen, von denen wir geglaubt haben, dass sie eigentlich nicht mehr vorkommen. Krieg in Europa, Teuerung in unserem Alltag, stärker werdender Antisemitismus und Rassismus. Gerade jetzt zeigt sich, welchen enormen Wert die Menschenrechte haben, genauso unsere Demokratie, unser Wohlstand, unsere Weltoffenheit. Als Menschenrechtsbezirk freuen wir uns besonders über die heute präsentierten neuen Pilotprojekte und setzen uns gemeinsam mit der Stadt weiterhin tagtäglich für die Menschenrechte ein.“

Markus Reiter, district mayor of the 7th district Tweet

"I think it has become a space of freedom and trust that has been generated through different Policy Labs' sessions."

„Creo que esto se ha convertido en un espacio de libertad y de confianza que se ha ido generando a través de las diferentes sesiones.“