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Believe it or not,

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Austria is a land of immigrants!
There are 1.7 million people

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living here, who were born abroad
and that's every 5th person.

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And if we look at Vienna,

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nearly half of the city's population has
migration background,

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meaning some people born abroad
and some are foreign citizens.

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But what does this mean when
it comes to their voting rights?

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But before we start,
let me show you some data.

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Austria is into top 3 countries
in Europe with the most foreign-born

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population at 19.3 %
according to OECD data.

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Only Luxembourg with 47.3 %
and Switzerland with

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29.7 % have a higher
share of international citizens.

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Even diverse societies like Germany,

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France, Spain and Italy
have fewer than Austria.

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Due to the influx of refugees
from Syria and Afghanistan in 2015,

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Eastern enlargement of the EU in 2004,
as well as the addition of Bulgaria

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and Romania in 2007,
the number of people with migration

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background in Austria increased
by 35 % in the last decade.

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However, only about 0.8%

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of foreign residents managed
to obtain Austrian citizenship annually,

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leaving the rest excluded
from political decisions.

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I am 16 and I still can't vote.

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That would be very important for me
if I could have a right to vote.
And I would feel more secure

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because a lot of people are being
deported to Afghanistan, who have

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the same residence permit as I do.
And I don't see myself

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living in Afghanistan, because I have

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been making my whole life here
and I want to make my future here.

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I see my friends and people

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at my age, who go to vote
and already make decisions.

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Although I am born here

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I can't join in a conversation or vote

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or decide what

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with this city and in general

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what in Austria happens.

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I can't imagine my future anywhere

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else but in Austria.

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I wasn't born here,

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but I grew up here.

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I learned the language, I go to school,
I work along the way, I attend courses...

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and I am contributing to Austria,

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when I think about it.
And I want to have a right

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to move things in the country
and to contribute to society.

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That is why I wish to get
Austrian citizenship.

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There are 1.6 million citizens of voting
age in Vienna, but only 1.1 million

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Viennese can vote
on a municipal and district level.

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But politically, the most important
elections are at the national level.

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And there the exclusion applies
to all non-Austrians. In this case,

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30 % of the Viennese
are unable to vote.

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But how can we solve this?

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Some solutions include easing

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the naturalization process,
broadening voting rights, or developing a concept

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of urban citizenship,
detached from residency status.

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And Deputy Mayor and City Council
for Integration Christoph Wiederkehr wants

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to discuss these topics
with his team of experts.

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This month, he presented Wiener Integrationsrat,
a body consisting of 10

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experts from the fields
of integration and migration.

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Together they will regularly discuss

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central issues concerning the city's
integration and diversity policy.

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In this way, Vienna is taking steps

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to make sure that everyone is included and
gets a say in how their country is run.