NGO portrait: Verein Multikulturell from Innsbruck

We are very pleased to introduce an association from Tyrol (Innsbruck) today. How long has the Multikulturell association been around? Why and when did you found it?

It all began 25 years ago (that's how long we've been around) when three people with a migration background had the idea of publishing a multicultural magazine for migrants and Austrians. A name for the publication was quickly found and so MOSAIK was distributed throughout Tyrol over the course of a few years. In the course of time, the three founders - themselves quite well-known in the scene - received more and more inquiries as to why these and those programs could not be offered to migrants. The Multikulturell association developed step by step from these obvious needs and celebrated its 25th anniversary this year at the beginning of May under the motto "We all need it!".

There is a long list of projects on your website. Which one/s are you particularly proud of?

Some people with a refugee background find it very difficult to gain a foothold in the Austrian school system due to the lack of education in their country of origin. Basic education courses encourage those affected to actively and self-empoweringly shape their own future. Due to the merging of two funding streams, we have an unexpected funding gap from the beginning of April to the end of June 2018. As the 10 young people lose a lot of time, energy and confidence without continuing the course, we will continue this course despite the difficulties. We have launched a crowdfunding campaign to create this bridge financing.

With another project, Migrant Girls' Day , we have been dedicating a day every year for the past 15 years to career guidance for young girls with a migrant background (7th-9th grade). This gives them the opportunity to gain new insights into the world of work and perhaps establish contacts for their future career choice.

Since the choice of future educational paths and professions is particularly difficult for young people with a migration background in terms of future income and life opportunities, we offer them Educational and careers advice. Our work focuses on providing information about career paths and the corresponding requirements, basic information about the Austrian school system and the situation on the labor market.

Advice and education are two of your main focuses. What services do you offer here? Who is your target group?

The Multikulturell association offers advisory services and educational opportunities in various areas. The main target group is people with a migration or refugee background.

Our services and workshops cover areas such as health skills (exercise, nutrition, preventive measures, etc.), educational skills (career counseling, job application training, skills analysis, career guidance) and social skills (family and women's counseling, psychotherapy (Turkish/German)).

Kürzlich haben wir von eurer Veranstaltung „Frauencafé“ erfahren. Was hat es damit auf sich?

Once a week, women from various countries of origin (including Austrians) meet in our women's café to work on and/or discuss various topics over tea and coffee. Examples include Information on health, authorities, domestic violence. We also go on excursions with the participants or are artistically active. Once a month, the participants bake bread together - political figures sometimes take part in this event to get in direct contact with the women.

I'm sure there are interested NGOJobs users in Innsbruck who would like to get to know you and get involved with you. Do you offer internships? Do you advertise paid positions? Is it possible to volunteer?

We advertise paid positions on various platforms. Of course, you also have the opportunity to get to know us through volunteering or an (unpaid) internship. In the latter case, we differentiate between short-term (min. 1 month) and long-term internships (max. 1 year). Applicants should be interested in and committed to international projects, multilingualism is of course an advantage in our work, and an interest in and understanding of people from different cultural backgrounds as well as social challenges and diversity and interpersonal communication is a prerequisite. The areas of responsibility are diverse and are always linked to the topic of migration. For example, interns or volunteers can help with the planning, organization and implementation of workshops, events, etc.

You have three wishes for your club. What do you want?

Of course, it would be good if programs offered did not depend on the respective government or the willingness of civil servants. There should be much more of a specific and consistent duration and programs/projects should be thought of more outside of the cost-benefit ratio in order to do justice to the issue of sustainability.

Of course, we would also like more Austrians to take part in our multicultural and diversity-oriented activities. Intercultural yoga and the women's café are just two examples of this. Integration happens together - and to use the motto of our 25th anniversary celebrations: It takes all of us!