Integration initiative: UASTW delegation visits HAS Ungargasse

As part of the “Together:Austria” campaign, Violeta Kaličanin, Head of the Finance Department at the UAS Technikum Wien, and her colleagues Osman Erkan Öztürk and Mahmoud Adam recently visited the HAS Ungargasse in Vienna’s third district as integration ambassadors. The idea behind the initiative launched by the Austrian Integration Fund: people with a migration background tell pupils about their personal integration stories and talk to them about integration, discrimination, tolerance and related topics. The visit of the UASTW delegation focused on the theme “Go your own way”. “We wanted to encourage the young people to follow this motto, to show them opportunities and possibilities, but also to convey how important the acquisition of knowledge at school and a completed education are in following ‘their’ path,” says Kaličanin.

Among other things, the Technikum delegation gave the students tips on how to find a job later on and also used the school visit to drum up publicity for UAS Technikum Wien. For Kaličanin, it was also important to give the students a woman’s perspective on the topic. “Go your own way, for me that also means: if others say it’s not for you, then do what you think is right anyway! And it is important that the teachers also encourage the young people at school to do this,” says Kaličanin.