Awareness work has many tasks:

• Extremism and violence prevention
• Support for experiences of discrimination and violence
• Prevention of queerphobia, transphobia, interphobia, racism, and misogyny

… which in their worst forms can escalate into psychological and physical violence.

Awareness work involves, on the one hand, working with awareness teams at events or in public spaces, and ongoing support work in structures. On the other hand, it is about preventing the specific ideological manifestations of violence against individuals and groups of people and countering them through educational and networking work.

Until 2024, there were no uniform standards for awareness work. To ensure high-quality support for those who use awareness services and to meet expectations for awareness work, these standards were necessary. AwA* set out to develop these standards with the help of other structures from the German-speaking region.

The awareness standards have been developed and are continuously being improved with the help of awaGraz, Crucible Vienna, the Awareness Institute, LAWA Kiel, Ann Wiesental and other supporters.

As part of the project, AwA* aims to:

Promote and expand educational work on awareness work in Austria.

Together with other structures that engage in educational work in Austria, we are developing materials and awareness concepts for events of all kinds, offering workshops, and promoting the development of support structures within organizations.

AwA Workshop Program*

Nationwide workshops as part of the project.

Intensify and expand the networking and collaboration of various awareness structures in Austria and the German-speaking world.

The exchange with awareness structures such as awaGraz and Verein Arche* Awareness Innsbruck, as well as with the umbrella organization of the Awareness Institute, especially Ann Wiesental, serves to ensure quality control and evaluation of awareness work and the further development of awareness concepts. In Salzburg, an awareness structure (awa_salz) is being established, which will further contribute to networking.

Further development of standards for awareness work.

Before this project began, there were no unified standards for awareness work. In collaboration with other awareness structures, unified standards for awareness work and associated violence prevention standards have been developed and are being continuously refined. It should be clear to people what they can expect from awareness work so that they can access it and receive truly valuable support.

The awareness standards were developed and are being further refined with the help of awaGraz, Crucible Wien, the Awareness Institute, LAWA Kiel, Ann Wiesental, and other supporters. They were presented on November 13, 2024, at a press conference at the 4lthangrund Café, which could be followed online or in person.

Information on the presentation of the standards can be found HERE.

A website has also been created, which includes the awareness standards, contact information for the organization, ways to use the standards, and reporting violations of these standards, as well as other information. This can be found HERE. + English version.

As part of the project, in addition to individual handouts, a brochure on the fundamentals of awareness work and support structures is being created. Furthermore, an awareness conference is planned for 2025.