Events

'Together' at the Vienna International Centre - young students talk about human rights and protecting refugees

VIENNA, 21 September 2017 - On the International Day of Peace, a class of 13 year-old students from the Polgargymnasium in Vienna came for a visit to the Vienna International Centre to learn more about refugee protection and discuss how to help and support newcomers to Austria in their new home.

The visit was organized in support of the Together campaign and was part of a week-long workshop offered by the Austrian magazine "Das Biber" - the first transcultural magazine in Austria targeting young audiences with a migration background.

First the students had a 90-minute human rights tour, offered by the UNIS Vienna's Visitors Service, which centered around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and introduced the young visitors to the basic concepts of human rights.

Sitting together in front of a real refugee tent, the students discussed afterwards some of the hard choices faced by people forced to flee their homes with Marie-Claire Sowinetz from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Austria.

All of the participants found the different activities that introduced the topic "human rights" memorable and thought-provoking.

The event was organized by the United Nations Information Service (UNIS Vienna) in cooperation with the Biber magazine and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Austria.