Trainer
Consultant
Project Manager
Ein herzliches Hallo!
Ich bin Verena Ulrich.
Trainerin, Beraterin und Projektbegleiterin
in Community-Building- und Diversitätsprojekten
" Diversity is a fact.
Let's do something with it."
My Motivation & Vision
My passion for anti-discrimination and a more prejudic-free coexistence between people from different backgrounds arose when I was 15. As a 15-year-old Austrian student I decided to go to Turkey for an exchange year. Realising how much misinformation and prejudices my friends' parents had about Turks, in most cases without having ever had lengthy conversations with Turkish people, concerned me a lot. Since 2010, this experience has given me the drive to engage more deeply with people, ways of lives and ways of thinking from the Middle East; and above all to deal intensively with the question of why prejudices arise and what it takes to positively shape coexistence in diversity.
In my work I see myself as an incubator, as a booster. I want to meet people at eye-level, give them space for open exchange and reflection and demonstrate them their scope for action on how they can deal with diversity in a meaningful way in their (professional) everyday life.
Education
2014 - 2017
International Studies | Middle East | Inclusion
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Field of Focus: Middle East, Selected Language: Arabic
An interdisciplinary bachelor's programme with the main disciplince of culture, econonmy, politics and history taught both in an international context and in the context of the Middle East.
Bachelor Thesis: „The Integration Process of Immigrants from the Middle East in Austria: Legal, Political and Socio-Cultural Aspects"
Award: Golden Stork Award for the Best Thesis 2017
2015 - 2017
Expertise in Practice: Consulting for Societal Problems
Honours College, Leiden University
Among other tasks:
Student consulting on the labor market integration of refugees for the municipality of The Hague, Netherlands
2018 - 2019
Governance of Migration and Diversity |
Public Administration
Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Focus: Encounter Projects & Public Management
An interdisciplinary programme which teaches migration and diversity from the perspective of the main disciplines sociology, urban design, history, politics, development studies, public administration and legal studies. Cooperation between the Erasmus University Rotterdam, Technical University Delft and Leiden University
Master Thesis: „Governing Diversity: The Relationship between Funding, Design and Social Contact in the Context of Encounter Initiatives in Vienna“
2020 - 2021
Intercultural Competence Building
ISOP, Graz, Austria
The Programme serves as a training in consulting and supporting migrants and refugees and people who work with them. It teaches theories, case studies, strategies for action as well as psychosocial and pedagogical methods.
Final Paper: „Language Café Graz: Theoretical Background and Conceptual Framework of an Encounter Initiative“
Work Experience
Counsellor and Workshop Trainer for international exchange students at AFS - Exchanges programmes for intercultural learning, Graz, Austria 2011 - 2014
Diversity Project Assistant at the Association for teh Promotion of Youth, Sport and Culture JUKUS
Graz, Nov. 2013 - July 2014
German and English Teacher for Refugees at Weichenstellenwerk & Reach and Teach
Graz, Austria & The Hague, Netherlands, Aug. 2016 & Feb. - June 2017
Consultancy Intern for Social Entrepreneurs in Arabic-speaking countries, at Ashoka Arab World
Cairo, Egypt, Sept. - Dec. 2016
Student Consultant on Labour Market Integration of Refugees for the Municipality of The Hague & Xynteo, The Netherlands, Feb. - May 2017
Project Manager for Diversity Projects in Schools at the Association Youth Against Violence and Racism (ARGE Jugend gegen Gewalt und Rassismus)
Graz, Feb. 2020 - Apr. 2022
Project Professional for Migration, Plurilingualism & Empowerment
Migration, Diversity & Primary Language Education: Centre for Linguistic Education in the Context of Migration and Plurilingualism (BIMM), University for Teachers Styria, Since Dec. 2017
Erasmus Projects on Community-Building, Empowerment & Human Rights: at Gain and Sustain, Since Sept. 2022
Workshop Leader for Diversity, Antidiscrimination, Civil Courage and Empowerment, at Migrabilis & ARGE Jugend gegen Gewalt und Rassismus, Since Feb. 2022
Organisation and Business Consultant (Diversity Management & Project Management), Since May 2023
Co-Gründerin & Geschäftsführerin der DieWIRcity - Ganzheitliche Diversitätsberatung - OG
DieWIRcity OG, Seit Nov. 2023