VEREIN GENERATIONEN UND GESELLSCHAFT

description of organisation

“Verein Generationen und Gesellschaft” / NGO “association for generations and society” (also called “InfoEck”) is a non-profit organisation established in 1976, which is active in the information and service sector with focus on social and international topics. Within the InfoEck, we have two main departments:

*The InfoEck info department which holds the official information centres of Tyrol and aims to provide free-of-charge services of information to all generations and different groups in society (youth information, family information and elderly people information), on topics like information on family support, pregnancy, childcare, youth protection, first work experience, discounts for seniors, volunteering and tips for healthy ageing etc.

*The InfoEck EU-department consists of the EU project management unit and the "InfoEck – Regionalstelle Tirol für EU-Jugendprogramme”/ “InfoEck – Regional office Tyrol for EU youth programmes". While the project management unit is the acting body in all matters of the European Solidarity Corps (EuSC) Volunteering Projects as the supporting sending organisation (SO) and supporting lead organisation (LO) role, conducting Erasmus+ and EuSC projects and cooperating with regional, national and international partners, the Regionalstelle acts as official counselling and information office for the EU youth programmes Erasmus+ and EuSC and aims to help young people, youth workers, and organisations to develop their projects, to find partners and to apply for Erasmus+/EuSC funding – in short: provide counselling and support. We act as intermediary and try to bring together young people and organisations and support them to implement their ideas, projects and activities.

End of 2021 there are 13 people employed at InfoEck (4 at the EU department and 11 at the info department) and its sites are located in different geographical areas of Tyrol: There is the head office of the NGO and the EU-department in Tyrols’ capital Innsbruck. Further there is the "InfoEck der Generationen" in Innsbruck, which acts as an info centre for youth, families and elderly people in one concept. Furthermore, there is one youth information centre in Wörgl (conducted by a partner organisation) and one in Imst. In addition, there are InfoCheckPoints for youth situated in Landeck, Kufstein and Kitzbühel and an information project in Reutte.

Both departments aim to provide a comprehensive and user friendly information service adequate to the personal, social and vocational needs of all target groups and multipliers (themes ranging from work, education, going abroad and international mobility, Erasmus+ and EuSC, to general topics such as social issues, health, politics and law/administration, leisure time, etc.). Additionally, we are a regional Eurodesk office and a member of Eryica, the international association of youth information centres. Further, we carry out different long-term projects as the "Computerias Tirol" (region wide participative projects to develop media competences on elderly people) or the "InfoEck Mobil Tirol" (mobile project providing information for all generations). In addition, we adapt to the trends and needs of society and continuously work on developing other long- or short-term projects to cover the demand and needs of society. InfoEck collaborates with local, national and international organisations and institutions, schools, other multipliers, and attachment figures and together with the eight other regional youth information centres of Austria InfoEck often works on different national youth-related projects. With our presence in public space and in different target group-related organisations, we try to reach as many people as possible and benefit from a circle of former and active EuSC volunteers (hosting & sending) who we involve in peer-to-peer projects.

The EU-department cooperates tightly with all other sectors of the NGO. In particular there is a special link to the youth information centres which are present in five different communities in Tyrol for young people mainly between 13 and 30 years of age, whis is congruent with the age of the EU departments’ main target group. Of course, this further includes multipliers, attachment figures and parents of youngsters, interested organisations and individuals. A core issue in our work is European/International Mobility of young people and youth workers. Amongst others, the EU project management unit
*sends participants to youth exchanges, mobility projects for youth workers, and EuSC volunteering projects;
*organises and coordinates youth exchanges, mobility projects for youth workers, and EuSC volunteering projects.

Volunteering project