The Viennese Institute for Questions of Development was created after the Conference for Economic Collaboration and Partnership in July of 1962. Bruno Kreisky founded the institute together with other prominent politicians of the so- called Third World. Tom Mboya from Kenya and Ahmed Ben Salah from Tunisia were among the founding members. They created the organization to create a better understanding of the problems faced by developing countries. They also hoped to start initiatives to improve international collaboration. It is the oldest civil society political development organization in Austria. The original aims of the organization came out of recognizing the necessity for dialogue.
The international North-South dialogue problem in the 1980s changed their method of operating. As a result the Institute was recreated under a completely new concept on the first of January 1987. From this point onwards the organization went by the name Funded Viennese Institute for Questions of Development and Collaboration. With the reestablishment of the institute, the content was also slightly altered. These changes led to a focus on depoliticization, as well as a stronger basis in civil society. Thanks to a collaborative effort with the Federal Minister for foreign affairs, these changes were realized.
This important new area of the VIDC was called Development Policy Research after the reorganization of the institute. They devoted their efforts to coordinating interdisciplinary networks. They also created basic operating procedures for their programs and projects, which focused on Austrian development collaboration. A lot of energy was focused on poverty, democratization, governance, and gender policies.
This core area of the VIDC, which was renamed "Development Policy Research" DPR in 2005 after a reorganization process, is primarily dedicated to the coordination of interdisciplinary knowledge networks and the creation of a basis for operational program and project development in the priority areas of Austrian development cooperation, in particular in the areas of poverty reduction, democratization, governance and gender policy.
The VIDC has consultative status with ECOSOC, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
The VIDC works as an advising body for the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, also known as the ECOSOC. In the nineties, the Viennese Institute for International Dialogue and Collaboration successfully created a department called culture in movement. One of their initiatives was called Fair play: Many Colors, One Game and stood against racism in sports such as soccer.
More information:
http://www.vidc.org/index