The Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) registered as a fund with the City of Vienna. VIDC has a consultative status with ECOSOC of the United Nations.
VIDC has a long tradition in the field of development cooperation and education in Austria and was founded in 1962 by Bruno Kreisky. VIDC acts on the assumption of a fair global world order and accordingly supports social processes of transformation, which initiate this social change.
The VIDC is divided into 4 departments. 1) “global dialogue” which focuses on international politics and development, 2) “moving cultures” which engages in intercultural exchange with the Global-South 3) Parliamentary North-South Dialogue which fosters partnerships with parliaments in Southern Africa, and 4) “fairplay”, working for diversity and against discrimination in sport.
The fairplay department kicked-off with EU funding in the European Year Against Racism 1997. Since then the scope of intervention and activities were continuously broadened into 3 main areas of action: anti-discrimination, sport and inclusion and sport, sport for development and human rights.
VIDC-fairplay and has coordinated from 2001-2010 with the support of UEFA the pan-European Football against Racism in Europe (FARE) network. FARE was established in 1999 in Vienna by the VIDC department fairplay. Since 1997 fairplay has carried out regular sport events and competitions including the annual fairplay youth tournament “Vienna meets Balkan” and since 2017 the annual Girls Football Festival in Vienna.
As an active member of the Austrian Working Group on sport and integration of the ministry of sport, fairplay works closely with sport governing bodies, including the Austrian Sport Organization (BSO).
Operations at VIDC are overlooked by board with 5 members. Currently it has 25 paid staff, 5 employees work for the fairplay department.
Sport Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees
In 2011 VIDC-fairplay brought together a group of experienced NGOs and sport organisations from 7 countries to run the Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) project funded by the EU. The aim was to encourage the inclusion and involvement of migrants, (ethnic) minorities and asylum seekers through and in mainstream sport.
After the end of the project the partners continued to work together. With the launch of the Erasmus+ sport programme we developed and implemented a series of innovative projects: “European Sport Inclusion Network”, “Sport Welcomes Refugees” (2019-2018) and “SPIN Women” (2019-2020).
The ongoing SPIN partnership has allowed for the development of a series of innovative methods, products and events. These include two Guides to Good Practice, a Handbook and a Baseline Study, multiplier trainings for different sport stakeholders (trainers, clubs, federations) and European awareness-raising events such as the Football Refugee Day or the regular networking conferences in Vienna, Budapest and Lisbon.
Core functions of the SPIN partnership include:
- Developing high quality training and educational tools for sport stakeholders
- Reflection, analysis and research: creating an evidence-base for social inclusion through sport interventions
- Facilitating action at a grass-roots level (lending practical support to small groups & promoting migrant self-organisations)
- Advocacy / lobbying for policy change at European and national level
- Raising public awareness through public interventions and campaigning
