Vienna shows flag: Conference against racism moves 250 participants!

Vienna shows flag: Conference against racism moves 250 participants!

Wien, Österreich - on March 21, 2025, the international day against racism, the specialist conference "Vienna against Racism" took place in the Vienna City Hall. The event, organized by the integration and diversity department in cooperation with the Zara Association and the Vienna Children's and Youth Attorney, focused in particular on the racism experiences of young people and their effects. Around 250 participants, including Vice Mayor and City Councilor Bettina Emmerling, discussed the consequences of discrimination in various areas of life, such as education and social media. Emmerling emphasized the urgency of creating clear structures in order to counteract racism: "Racism must not have a place in our society."

An alarming increase in racist incidents

In the context of this conference, current figures on racist discrimination in Austria were also presented. According to Zara Racism Report 2024, there was a worrying increase in the reported racist incidents, from 1,302 in 2023 to 1,647 in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of around 26.5 percent. It should be emphasized that over 60 percent of these cases come from the online area, evidence of the deeply rooted problems of racism in today's society. The anti-racism initiative Zara made it clear that despite these reports, the true dimension of the problem is often not grasped, which it considers as a structural phenomenon.

Barbara Liegl, managing director of Zara, pointed out that the statistics often do not change the actual situation and that the underlying problems of structural racism cannot be presented. It called for comprehensive, state -financed campaigns to combat racism and more precise statistics on discrimination cases. In the meantime, political representatives, including SPÖ municipal councilor Mireille Ngosso, appeal for a national action plan against racism in order to counteract the alarming situation, as the last developments in other federal states showing increasingly problematic

The conference was a clear sign of the fight against racism, which is firmly anchored in Vienna's city policy. Vienna has undertaken to appreciate the diversity and reject any form of discrimination. Initiatives and dialogues are intended to promote an inclusive and respectful coexistence that includes all citizens of the city, as the Vice Mayor emphasized in her opening speech.

For detailed information about racism in Vienna and its consequences, visit the Report by diepresse.com .