Being a diverse city means creating the best possible framework conditions for all residents. Different needs based on age, gender, educational level, income, origin and lifestyle as well as the demands and wishes of residents are taken into account by good urban planning from the outset. This is why the integration centre is located in the Service Unit Strategy and integration department.
What are the tasks of the Integration Office?
- Introduction of social issues into urban planning and development
- Public relations
- Initiation and implementation of projects
- Networking internally and externally
What offers & projects are there?
Offers for parents & children
German language courses with childcare
There is a great demand for German language courses that also offer childcare during course times. In order to meet this demand, the city of Innsbruck supports childcare during German courses at the Berufsförderungsinstitut (BFI) Tirol. Children between the ages of one and four are looked after by Kinderfreunde.
Offers for asylum seekers and persons entitled to asylum
Job fair chancen:reich Innsbruck
In cooperation with AMS, WK and itworks, the city of Innsbruck organises the annual chancen:reich innsbruck careers fair in the town hall. The aim is to place people with a positive asylum decision with Tyrolean companies and integrate them into the labour market.
German in summer: courses for children
At "Deutsch im Sommer", children who have attended a municipal kindergarten in the past year and who need support in German are offered German courses. The offer of the city of Innsbruck and the Youth Red Cross takes place during the summer vacations. The goal is a playful and age-appropriate preparation for starting school. For more information, please contact the kindergarten your child attends.
Swimming courses for refugees
As many refugees are unable to swim, the city of Innsbruck offers swimming courses for this target group every early summer at the Tivoli. Half of the offer is funded by the state of Tyrol. The costs for admission are covered by IKB. A total of four courses take place.
Offers for volunteers in the refugee sector
Many volunteers support people with a history of flight. They help them to arrive in Austria and find their way around. In addition to language barriers, questions about the labor market, education and social system, health or housing may arise during the support. Many of these questions may not be easy to answer straight away. The Integration Office therefore organizes regular information evenings and offers for volunteers in the refugee sector.
Parties, discussions, events & prizes
Innsbruck is part of ECCAR
With the unanimous decision of the municipal council on 24 October 2025, the city of Innsbruck has joined the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR). This means that Innsbruck is now one of over 180 cities in Europe that are actively committed to equal treatment. Joining is not just a political commitment, but the start of a binding process: Innsbruck undertakes to develop a municipal ten-point action plan that defines measures against racism and in favour of equal opportunities. This plan is being developed together with experts from administration, politics and civil society. Initial discussions have already taken place. The aim is to target areas where unequal treatment is visible or hidden, as a fair city is created through daily action, reflection and the courage to critically scrutinise structures.
As part of the ECCAR accession, the City of Innsbruck is organising a lecture by Melisa Erkurt on the topic "Was that racist?
Series of events to stand up for each other
75 years ago, the United Nations signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration sets out universally recognized standards for the treatment of people by governments and societies. To mark the 75th anniversary, the City of Innsbruck, Initiative Minderheiten, Plattform Asyl and Haus der Begegnung are hosting a wide range of events on the topic of human rights from May to December 2023. Because even in Austria, respect for human rights cannot be taken for granted.
You can find more information here:
Integration conference
The integration quintet offers space for discussion with experts from science and practice and provides impetus for concrete action. The province of Tyrol, the city of Innsbruck, the Haus der Begegnung and the Tyrolean Integration Forum invite experts every year. Lectures and panel discussions provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions on topics relating to diversity. The aim is to highlight the need for action as well as to strengthen the exchange and information between the various groups.
15. Tyrolean integration conference
16. October 2025: 10.00-18.00 in the Landhaus, Innsbruck
Growing up in the context of migration
Children, adolescents and young adults face different challenges in the process of growing up and develop different strategies to master them. Friendships, disappointments, conflicts, surprises, marginalisation, sometimes violent experiences and much more play an important role in the search for recognition and belonging. Children, adolescents and young adults face even greater challenges in connection with their own and external expectations and responsibilities due to a history of migration.
This year's Enquete focuses on young people themselves - in particular the question of what social, familial, cultural and media expectations are placed on them. Based on the realities of life for young people with a migration biography, we want to shed light on questions of identity, feelings of belonging and non-belonging as well as aspects of developmental psychology.
- How do I find my way in society?
- What obstacles and support networks do I have?
- Can I develop my skills?
- Where do I live in a constant dichotomy?
- What impact does everyday racism have on the development of my identity?
We would like to discuss these and other questions at the 15th Integration Enquete and illustrate them with practical examples. The aim of the Enquete is to gain a better understanding of young people with a migration biography and their life situations.
This underlines the fact that diverse life plans represent great added value for society as a whole and should be recognised and promoted - but also that a self-critical view is necessary where structural exclusion prevents a sense of community.
"Festival of Diversity" - a celebration every spring
On 14 June 2025 , the "Festival of Diversity" took place at the Tyrolean Folk Art Museumfrom 11:00 to 20:00 . Every year, visitors look forward to the diverse music and cultural programme as well as culinary delights from all over the world. With this festival, the city of Innsbruck celebrates togetherness in all its diversity every year. You can find more information in the flyer for the Festival of Diversity:
Prize of Diversity
Since 2008, the City of Innsbruck has been awarding the "Prize of Diversity - Promoting Coexistence" (formerly "Prize of Cultures"). The prize is awarded to individuals and institutions that have made a special contribution to the integration of immigrants in the city in their everyday lives. The award is endowed with 4,000 euros, and a jury decides on the award.
City walks on the history of migration
In cooperation with the Centre for Migrants (ZeMit), the city of Innsbruck offers city walks on the traces of migration. The target group includes interested citizens as well as school classes and "new" Innsbruck residents. The tours lead to the following places:
- Around the Sillpark (Herrburger and Rhomberg textile factory)
- Through St. Nikolaus (in the footsteps of the "guest workers" of the time)
- The Pradler South Tyrolean settlements (architectural history past and present)
- Around the railway station (history of guest worker migration)
- Educational pathways (insight into the education system and integration measures for the offspring of migrant workers in the 70s and 80s)
Multi-religious walks
A group of students of European Ethnology at the University of Innsbruck, under the direction of Prof. Timo Heimerdinger (University of Innsbruck) and Mag. a Magdalena Modler-El Abdaoui (House of Encounter of the Diocese of Innsbruck), looked at more or less well-known places of religious life anddrucks in Innsbruck. This project resulted in various routes for city walks. The technical implementation was carried out by the city of Innsbruck.
City map Innsbruck postcolonial
Innsbruck entangled in global colonial relations? A digital city map shows it: the Tyrolean capital is not only a center of the Alpine region, but has also been part of a networked world for centuries. The city map was developed by students of history and European ethnology at the University of Innsbruck and technically implemented by the City of Innsbruck.
A total of 29 stations located throughout the city invite visitors to explore previously unknown traces, places and stories - and thus also to reflect on inequalities, racism and resistance. The stations and the respective texts deal with topics such as the colonial goods trade, Capuchin missionaries around the world or a solidarity movement that fought against apartheid in South Africa. On the one hand, the virtual city map makes the work of the students accessible to a broad public, and on the other, the stations show how closely intertwined with the world our city was and is.
Solo for many - a listening experience through Innsbruck
With the audio guide "Solo für Viele - ein Hörerlebnis durch Innsbruck" (Solo for many - a listening experience through Innsbruck), the city of Innsbruck invites you to discover the city center differently with headphones and the voice of a narrator. To the sounds of a masterful violin, the tour passes sights and along socially generated everyday life. Strolling through city life, one can discover how people create anonymity and routinely deal with strangeness. A project of the city in cooperation with the University of Innsbruck.
Contact for the rental of the audio guides: University of Innsbruck, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Marc Hill, E-Mail: marc.hill@uibk.ac.at
Video interpreting
Video interpreting is a service provided by the City of Innsbruck and offers support with language barriers. The service, which is free of charge for citizens, can be accessed within a maximum of two minutes. Employees in the Social Welfare Office, Registry Office, Housing Service, Health Office and Child and Youth Care have access.
Interpreting offer
Here you will find interpreters who have successfully completed the university course "Community Interpreting - Professionalisation for lay interpreters in the social, medical, psychotherapeutic and community sectors".