The VIDC has a long tradition in the field of development cooperation in Austria and was founded in 1962. The organisation was founded by Bruno Kreisky and other prominent politicians from the so called “Third World” as a think-tank for development cooperation and development policy, making it the oldest Austrian organisation in development policy and cooperation.

The VIDC is divided into three departments. The department “dialogue and policies” which focuses on international politics and development, the department “moving cultures” which engages in cultural exchanges between European, African, Asian and Latin-American countries, and the department “fairplay”, working for diversity and against discrimination in and through the field of sport.

Fairplay at the VIDC started in the European Year Against Racism 1997. Over the two decades, the fields of activities were continuingly broadened into three main areas of action: anti-discrimination, sport, human rights and development, sport and social inclusion and fan work.

Fairplay, the initiative for diversity and anti-discrimination carries out regular awareness-raising activities. In 1999 fairplay organised the founding conference of the Football against Racism in Europe (FARE) network, until 2010 fairplay coordinated the UEFA funded FARE network.

fairplay carries out a range of national and international projects such as the joint project Football Zajedno - Promoting Equality and Non-Discrimination through Football project which is carried out in cooperation with the football associations of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The project is is co-funded through UEFA’s HatTrick programme and the Austrian Development Agency.

In the fame work of the Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN), fairplay is also leading the Erasmus+ project “Sport Welcomes Refugees“. On national level VIDC coordinates of the National Working Group on Sport and Human Rights at the Austrian Ministry of Sports.