On the occasion of International Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Office of the City of Vienna invited participants to the event “Vienna Human Rights Districts – What Next?” at Vienna City Hall. The initiative, which has existed for five years and is anchored for the first time in the City of Vienna’s current government programme, aims to embed and strengthen human rights work and perspectives at the local district level and is now entering a new phase of development.

The Vienna Human Rights Districts are an initiative of the City of Vienna aimed at embedding human rights principles at the district level and implementing them through local projects, networking, and awareness-raising activities.

At the centre of the event was the presentation of the draft strategy of the Human Rights Office for the years 2026 to 2030. This strategy defines the office’s substantive orientation and thus contributes to the further development of Vienna as a human rights city. The draft was developed by the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) in a participatory process together with the Human Rights Office, involving the city administration and the Human Rights Districts. It outlines the vision and mission of the Human Rights Office and, building on this, concrete fields of action. The strategy also identifies potential areas of impact for Vienna’s Human Rights Districts and serves as a basis for deeper and more structured cooperation with them.

In interactive working formats and workshops led by Agnes Taibl, Katrin Wladasch and Johanna Blimlinger (LBI-GMR), participants exchanged views on the possible role of the Human Rights Districts on the path towards a future human rights city. In addition, initial ideas for possible implementation steps for 2026 were collected. Discussions addressed, among other topics, concrete measures at district level, forms of cross-district cooperation, and approaches to strengthening public communication, taking into account a human rights-based approach within Vienna’s Human Rights Districts.

The event was aimed at district heads and their deputies, public relations officers, district councillors from all Vienna districts, as well as human rights commissioners of the Vienna Human Rights Districts. The professional exchange and networking contributed to sharpening shared perspectives and coordinating next steps.