Being a diverse city means creating the best possible framework conditions for all residents. Different needs based on age, gender, education level, income, origin and lifestyle as well as demands and wishes of residents are taken into account by good urban planning from the very beginning. Therefore, the integration office is located in the Service Unit Strategy and integration.. is located.
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
SOS Kinderwelt mobile
The low-threshold, outreach family assistance offers support for disadvantaged families with a migration background and those who are socially isolated or not sufficiently connected to regular systems. The offer is a supplement to the outreach family work for people with refugee and migration experience. The aim is to provide direct support for children and women in particular and to build a bridge to the many existing services.
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, in cooperation with the Berufsförderungsinstitut (BFI) Tirol and the Kinderfreunde Tirol, offers free childcare for children between one and four years of age during German language courses for which a fee is charged. The offer is financed by the province of Tyrol and the city of Innsbruck.
Offers for asylum seekers and persons entitled to asylum
Career fair chancen:reich Innsbruck
The city of Innsbruck, in cooperation with AMS, WK and itworks, organizes the annual job fair chancen:reich innsbruck in the city hall. The goal is to place people with a positive asylum decision with Tyrolean companies and integrate them into the work process.
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.
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
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 discussion of diversity issues. The aim is both to highlight the need for action and to strengthen the exchange and information between the various groups.
The 13th Integration Enquete took place on Thursday, October 19, 2023. You can find more information about the event and registration in the program:
"Festival of Diversity" - every spring there is a celebration
In early summer, the "Festival of Diversity" takes place at the Tyrolean Folk Art Museum. Every year, visitors enjoy the diverse music and cultural program as well as culinary delights from all over the world. With the festival, the city of Innsbruck celebrates every year the togetherness in all diversity.
As soon as the date for the next Festival of Diversity is fixed, you will find more information here:
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 Center 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 walks 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 train station (history of guest worker migration)
- Educational paths (insight into the education system and the 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 in cases of language barriers. The service, which is free of charge for citizens, can be accessed within a maximum of two minutes. Access is available to employees in the Social Welfare Office, Registry Office, Housing Service, Health Office and Child and Youth Care.
Interpreting offer
Here you can find interpreters who have successfully completed the university course "Community Interpreting - Professionalization for Lay Interpreters in Social, Medical, Psychotherapeutic and Community Settings".