WIR IV

WIR IV: Workshops on Integration and Encounters

Since January 2022, the IOM Country Office for Austria has been implementing the project WIR IV and continues the focus of the previous WIR projects. In workshop series, a safe space is created in which young people can discuss topics such as experiences of discrimination, identity and belonging, as well as gender roles. Through dialogue and reflection, the youth’s self-confidence and autonomy as well as a sense of community and togetherness are fostered. The project aims to strengthen social cohesion in Austria and thus prevent segregation and possible radicalization tendencies. Read more here.

Key data

• Implementation locations: Vienna and Styria
• Project duration: January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023

WIR Workshops 2022

From September to November 2022, we will be offering youth workshops, including media education & production, in Vienna and Graz. Workshop dates will be announced soon!

Activities

• 1 "Train-the-Trainer" program for the intercultural mediators and the workshop team.
• 7 workshop series in Vienna and in Styria
• 4 media workshops in Vienna and Styria and creation of individual media products
• 2 trainings for young multipliers (mainly former project participants), who are supported to design and conduct their own school workshops 
• Exchange with cultural associations, diaspora organizations and individuals from migrant communities in Austria
• Needs-oriented networking with actors in youth, integration, and prevention work.
• 4 public closing events in which participants present their media products to their families, friends, communities, and other interested persons
• 1 closing online-conference for experts to present findings from the project.

A short description of the project is available for download here.

The films produced by the projects to date can be found on the IOM YouTube channel and on DorfTV at the following links:

• Short film About us - 2021 
• Short film I am a woman - 2021 
• Short film We are many - 2020
• Broadcast Nicht ohne uns über uns - part 2, 2019 (incl. trailer)
• Broadcast Nicht ohne uns über uns - part 1, 2018 (incl. trailer)
• Short film My goal is to help people - 2018
• Short film I wish people would accept each other like they accept the Danube – 2018

The genesis of the project WIR IV

In March 2018, the IOM Country Office for Austria launched the project WIR – Workshops for Integration and the prevention of radicalization. This first project was followed by two further projects with a similar focus. The projects aim to counteract segregation in Austria as well as potential radicalization and recruitment of young people by extremist groups by strengthening social cohesion and primary prevention. The projects foster networking and professional exchange with representatives of different migrant communities as well as actors in youth, integration, and prevention work in order to take into account current developments as well as the needs of the target groups.

The projects focuses on workshops and accompanying activities for young people with a migration background. Topics such as identity, belonging, gender norms as well as self-perception and outside perception are reflected through participatory workshop exercises such as discussion rounds, individual reflection work, brainstorming sessions and role plays. This is intended to strengthen the young people's individual resilience to radicalization tendencies. The group setting enables easy access without stigmatizing young people at potential risk of radicalization. At the same time, young people who are not at risk can be empowered as role models by expanding their awareness and knowledge. In addition, the participants' autonomy, and their ability to participate in society, are fostered in order to counteract experiences of marginalization. In media workshops and through the joint production of short films, the young people can express their thoughts in a creative way. The workshop participants can further engage in the project as multipliers by designing and conducting their own school workshops on project-relevant topics. This is intended to encourage the young people's own ways of telling their stories and their ability to form their own opinions.

In discussions with parents and other representatives of Chechen communities in Austria, as well as schools and youth associations in previous years, the need to support young people with a Chechen background in developing a positive sense of identity and belonging and counteracting any existing tendencies toward radicalization, had become apparent. These expressed needs were the conceptual basis for the development of the project WIR.

The projects WIR, WIR II and WIR III

The project WIR was carried out from March 2018 to February 2019 in close cooperation with the association Großes Schiff and actors in the field of youth work with two groups from the Chechen community: a group of boys and young men in Vienna and a group of girls and young women in Linz.

The follow-up project WIR II built on findings from the first project. Representatives of Chechen communities highlighted a need for more targeted activities for girls and young women. Between March 2019 and December 2020, a total of 25 female participants attended two workshop series in Vienna and Linz, which were designed to address the above-mentioned needs. An additional training for multipliers was attended by 11 girls and young women, who subsequently designed 7 workshops and carried them out in school classes.

The project WIR III again targeted girls and young women with a Chechen background. In addition, boys and young men were addressed with a workshop titled "Young, Chechen, Austrian - Belonging, Heroes and Expectations towards Young Men". Based on the recognition that young people from other migrant communities are confronted with similar issues and challenges as the Chechen youth in Austria, the original focus was broadened in the WIR III project and young people with different migration biographies were also addressed. Through targeted outreach work, the WIR III workshop series was aimed particularly at migrant communities in which young people are affected by multiple challenges such as stigmatization based on origin and religion, experiences of conflict and war or a perceived lack of prospects. WIR III was implemented from January to December 2021: in total, 34 young participants attended the workshop series. In addition, 12 adolescents and young adults were trained as multipliers - despite the pandemic situation, 3 workshops were held in school classes.

Contact

Ondine Delavelle

odelavelle@iom.int

+43 (0)1 585 33 22-14

 

Marlit Schardt

mschardt@iom.int

+43 (0)1 585 33 22-19