The workshop also started from a premise that is often missing in public discussions about religion. Religious communities are not only constituencies whose needs public authorities need to understand. They also hold knowledge, trusted relationships, leadership, and communication networks that can be resources for the wider city. The question was therefore not only how institutions can respond to religious diversity, but what public institutions and communities can achieve when they know one another well enough to work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This made the Kreisky Forum a natural place for the exchange. The Forum sits between political debate, diplomacy, civil society, and public life, and has long created space for people with different positions to work through difficult questions without requiring those differences to disappear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The range of institutions were represented. Among the participants were the City of Vienna Human Rights Office, MA17 Integration and Diversity, the Vienna State Parliament and City Council, and the Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, alongside the Islamic Religious Authority in Austria (IGG\u00d6), Jewish communal organizations, Jewish and Muslim youth organizations, the University of Vienna, schools, Caritas Vienna, churches, religious leaders, educators, and grassroots dialogue initiatives. Public policy, education, religious life, and community practice were all woven into conversation and recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Vienna workshop built on the earlier Bridging Beliefs<\/em> capacity-building exchange in Vicenza, while beginning from Vienna\u2019s own experience. MA17 shared examples drawn from more than two decades of cooperation with religious and migrant communities. The projects differed, but the lesson behind them was consistent: cooperation rests on relationships built over time. Trust, regular contact, and knowledge of the communities involved are what make it possible to work together when more difficult questions arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the day was spent in breakout working groups focusing on three areas: education and religious literacy; youth participation and sustainable interreligious engagement; and freedom of religion or belief, non-discrimination, and institutional cooperation. Participants began by asking what already works in Vienna, then where the gaps remain, and finally what could realistically be strengthened. The groups were asked to move from diagnosis to proposals grounded in local responsibilities, possible partners, and practical first steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A clear picture emerged. Vienna has no shortage of good initiatives. Schools are creating spaces for people to come together. Religious communities and public institutions have built working relationships over many years. Youth and civil society organisations are bringing people together across religious and social divides. What is often lacking is continuity. Successful work can depend on a small number of committed individuals, unpaid labour, short funding cycles, or relationships that have to be rebuilt when staff change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants discussed a format for interfaith dialogue, a more robust school-based exchange programme involving greater youth participation, and the possibility of establishing a more regular city-wide framework for interfaith cooperation. The topic of religious literacy also recurred throughout the day: public institutions need the knowledge and confidence to engage seriously with religious life, whilst religious communities need the ability to work effectively with public institutions and communicate beyond their own constituencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The closing discussion centred on what happens after an event such as this. Participants were clear that the work should not be put on hold until the next meeting, only to start again from scratch. The relationships and proposals developed during the workshop should be taken forward through smaller working groups, ongoing dialogue with stakeholders, and the next stages of Bridging Beliefs<\/em>. Better coordination can in itself make a difference: sometimes the missing piece is not another project, but knowing what already exists and bringing the right people together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The workshop also demonstrated why Vienna can be of significance beyond Austria. The city is home to established religious communities, public institutions with decades of experience in working with diversity, active schools and universities, and a strong network of civil society and youth organisations. Participants suggested that Vienna could show other European cities what sustained cooperation between public institutions and religious communities can look like in practice. The opportunity now is to link these strengths more deliberately and ensure that successful initiatives have sufficient continuity to be of benefit beyond the city itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bridging Beliefs: Advancing Peace, Democracy and Inclusion through Interfaith Dialogue in Europe (Bridging Beliefs<\/em>) is a European project that brings together local authorities, religious communities, civil society organisations and citizens across European cities. Through capacity-building, local workshops, consultations and dialogue events, the project works to strengthen democratic participation, inclusion and sustainable cooperation across religious and ideological differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Muslim Jewish Leadership Council (MJLC) is one of the project partners and leads the project\u2019s work on Muslim-Jewish dialogue. ALDA \u2013 the European Association for Local Democracy \u2013 coordinates the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Project:<\/strong> Bridging Beliefs: Promoting Peace, Democracy and Inclusion through Interfaith Dialogue in Europe<\/em> ALDA \u2013 European Association for Local Democracy; European Buddhist Union; Equal Society; Local Democracy Agency Mostar; Regional Foundation for Local Development Zamah; Centre for Cultural Dialogue \u2013 CKD; Muslim Jewish Leadership Council; COREIS \u2013 Italian Islamic Religious Community; Municipality of Centar, Skopje; with the Academy for Interreligious Studies as an associated project participant. The Grant Agreement identifies ALDA as the coordinator and MJLC as one of the participating organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Funded by the European Union.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CERV. Neither the European Union nor the funding body can be held responsible for them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":15121,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"news-kategrie":[48],"class_list":["post-15115","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-kategrie-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAbout the project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/em> Project number:<\/strong> 101249742
Programmes:<\/strong> Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV)
Project period:<\/strong> 1 January 2026\u201331 December 2027
Project coordinator:<\/strong> ALDA \u2013 European Association for Local Democracy
Project contact:<\/strong> Sara Afendi, Project Manager, ALDA
Email:<\/strong> sara@aldaintranet.org<\/p>\n\n\n\nProject partners<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/grafik.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n