Initiative Minderheiten
Gumpendorfer Str. 15/13
1060 Wien
Autriche
Personne de contact: Cornelia Kogoj
+43 1 9669 001, +43 1 9669 003
+43 1 9669 001
office@initiative.minderheiten.at
kogoj@initiative.minderheiten.at
http://www.initiative.minderheiten.at/
Les Thèmes
- Droits de l'Homme
- Projet des médias
Qui sommes-nous
The Minorities Initiative, founded in 1995, is a non-state and non-profit-making organisation, which acts as a platform for networking and mediating for minorities in Austria. It has offices in Vienna and Innsbruck.
The Minorities Initiative works towards a society which treats minorities fairly, and in which everyone’s life plan has equal value – regardless of the person’s ethnicity, social or religious background, sexual orientation, or disablement. A society can only claim to be fair to minorities if the various life plans of the people within it are made equally possible and are equally encouraged.
The aim of the Minorities Initiative is to build up „minority alliances“, in order to deal with sociopolitical concerns. It works closely together with minority societies, organisations and individuals and is geared to their needs. Due to its structure, resources and experience, the Minorities Initiative has the necessary competence, and hence the responsibility, to intervene in Austrian societal and political affairs, in order to make Austrian society fairer to minorities.
Strategies:
• Information. Lack of knowledge often reinforces existing prejudices and strengthens social marginalisation mechanisms. These should be outweighed by well-grounded information, at various levels. Our target audience is both the majority and the minorities. We use various public spaces; the media (publications – the magazine „Stimme“, meaning „Voice“ – radio – „Radio Stimme“ – and the internet), institutions (schools universities and adult education centres) and events (symposia, summer schools, cultural events, exhibitions).
• Service. The Minorities Initiative gives practical help to minority projects. The Minorities Initiative has an emancipatory approach. The point is to help people and organisations belonging to minority groups to influence their situation by their own initiatives. This is done by organising seminars, curating events, providing a library, giving specific information and organising meeting places.
• Political lobbying. The fight against structural discrimination is a central pillar of our work, and can be achieved through political lobbying. This includes: membership of political committees and NGO networks, responding to questions concerning minority politics, work with the press, drawing up concepts.
Dr. Cornelia Kogoj is general secretary of the Minorities Initiative.
We can offer other net participants advice, an expert opinion, or a presentation. We can pass on up-to-date information and contacts in the field of our work..