The “NEUER START” Sports and Culture Association cordially invites journalists and media representatives to the 13th Integration Festival, “From Kabul to Vienna.” The festival will take place on July 4 and 5, 2026, at the ASKÖ sports complex and the Brigittenau Sports Hall, and has been one of Vienna’s largest intercultural sports and cultural events for many years.
Venue
ASKÖ Sports Complex & Sports Hall Brigittenau
Hopsagasse 5 and 7
1200 Vienna
Event Times:
• Saturday, July 4, 2026: 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, July 5, 2026: 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
Sports bring people together. Democracy thrives on interaction.
While millions of people around the world are watching the World Cup and Vienna is hosting one of Europe’s largest open-air festivals—the Danube Island Festival—the “NEUER START” Sports and Culture Association is organizing the “From Kabul to Vienna” Integration Festival for the 13th time. With this event, the association is once again sending a clear message of democracy, social cohesion, and active integration.
Since 2011, the integration festival has steadily developed into a major platform for sports, culture, education, and social dialogue. What began as a volunteer initiative by people with refugee backgrounds is now a nationally recognized example of how integration can succeed through interaction, participation, and shared commitment.
Under this year’s theme, “Democracy, Participation, and Equality,” the festival brings together people with and without refugee or migration backgrounds. The goal is to strengthen democratic values, break down prejudices, promote social participation, and create spaces for respectful encounters.
More Than Just a Festival—365 Days of Commitment
The Integration Festival is the visible highlight of the year-round social work, sports education, and community-oriented efforts of the “NEUER START” association.
As a refugee community organization, the association has been working since 2010 to promote sustainable integration, social participation, and equal opportunity. Week after week, it offers educational, counseling, sports, and social programs for children, youth, women, men, and families.
In 2025 alone, thanks to the dedication of a team that is approximately 87 percent
composed of volunteers,
• over 10,000 people were reached through projects, events, and counseling services,
• more than 150 people regularly participate in the organization’s programs,
• an average of 27 young people visit the Youth*Cafe,
• an average of 17 men participate in the Men’s*Cafe,
• an average of 12 girls visit the Girls’*Cafe,
• more than 45 people regularly take part in sports programs,
• over 60 children attend native language classes each week,
• numerous family, youth, and parent counseling sessions were conducted, and
• international Erasmus+ projects were successfully implemented.
These figures highlight the significant social value that refugee community organizations bring to Vienna through their ongoing prevention, education, and integration efforts.
Volunteer work strengthens democracy and eases the burden on society
The association’s work relies primarily on volunteer efforts. This achieves far more than just providing recreational activities: it strengthens social participation, promotes integration, prevents exclusion, and helps prevent social conflicts.
Shokat Walizadeh, BA, Executive Director and Project Manager:
“The fact that we reach more than 10,000 people annually with a team that is 87 percent volunteer demonstrates impressively the potential that lies within refugee community organizations.
Our preventive social work strengthens social cohesion and helps avoid costly measures taken under coercion. Investments in prevention, integration, and participation relieve the long-term burden on social services, government agencies, and the justice system.”
The association views refugee community organizations as indispensable partners in a forward-looking integration policy. People with personal experience of flight and migration who now work as social workers, social educators, trainers, or counselors have unique access to the target groups and enjoy a high level of trust within the communities.
This professional expertise should be more fully incorporated into the development and implementation of integration and social policy measures. Long-term cooperation between policymakers, government agencies, and community organizations would not only improve the quality of preventive social work but also make more efficient use of public resources.
“NEUER START” does not see itself as a substitute for government structures, but rather as a competent partner organization to the public sector. Together, we can reach people earlier, build trust, and carry out sustainable prevention work
For inquiries:
Project Manager Shokat WALIZADEH, BA
“NEUER START” Sports and Cultural Association
Phone: +43 699 19 00 40 13
Email: office@neuerstart.at
For more information about the project: www.neuerstart.at/das-projekt-von-kabul-bis-wien/
