EFA24 Panorama

Panorama: A Magazine of the European Forum Alpbach

August 2024

European Forum Alpbach 2024

Interviews with and articles by | Anya Schiffrin | Leena Srivastava | Ieva Česnulaitytė | Phoebe Tickell | Kirsten Dunlop | Monika Rosen | and others

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In the light of the decisive election year 2024, the purpose of the European Forum Alpbach is today more important than ever: We create a space for reflection and provide the place to spark action.

We encourage open and sincere dialogue by inviting different perspectives. And we bring together European key actors with the next generation. Why do we do this? To strengthen Europe as a responsible force for good.

In this Panorama issue you are going to find a compilation of topics that we look forward to discussing with you at this year’s EFA event in Alpbach. Let us seize this make-or-break moment in time – the Moment of Truth is now!

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DEMOCRACY and the rule of law 10 The 2024 Global Showdown by Anya Schiffrin 11 Better Worlds Are Possible by Theodora Danek 14 A Cute Pigeon to Save the Elections Forum Alpbach Network (FAN) Voice

security 35 2024 - Europe at a Crossroad by Arancha González 36 Under the Countryside Rainbow

by Florian Niederseer 38 I am a Migrant and so are You Forum Alpbach Network (FAN) Voice

CLIMATE 18 Getting Everyone on Board Interview with Leena Srivastava and Ieva Česnulaitytė 21 Reclaiming Imagination Expert Opinion by Phoebe Tickell 22 Buildings are grown and cities are mined: upside down in the construction industry Forum Alpbach Network (FAN) Voice 24 Empowering to Create Impact 26 Funding the Green Transition in the EU

by Kirsten Dunlop

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FINANCE AND ECONOMY 28 »No Man Would Hesitate« 29 The Need for a Proactive Strategy to Safeguard Europe’s Economic Security Interview with Antonella Mei-Pochtler and Tobias Gehrke 31 A Confluence of Knowledge, Skills and Expression

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Join Us in Shaping a Strong and Democratic Europe Our Partners: Key to EFA’s Success

Impressum Publisher European Forum Alpbach, Non-Profit Association Franz-Josefs-Kai 13/10, 1010 Vienna Tel.: +43 1 718 17 11, forum@alpbach.org Concept Jung von Matt, Das Studio Layout Lucy Giller, Little Gem Studio Print Production Lindenau Productions GmbH Editor EFA Team

Image Credits MarkusTordik (3), Elisabeth Mandl (3, 13, 29), Eileen Barroso (11), 360UPF (16), Moritz Kellner (16), Zsolt Marton (18), Gail's Bakery (21), Wiener Zeitung (28), European Council on Foreign Relations (29), Clément Gibon (35), Stefania Calderara (37), Cristian Noguera (39)

European Forum Alpbach Panorama

The Moment of Truth is Now Moment of Truth is the European Forum Finance and Economy Alpbach’s 2024 annual theme. It reflects Europe’s post-war success story the crucial decisions that are being made: has stalled, leading to declining competOver 70 countries with more than half of itiveness, economic imbalances and risthe world’s population vote in the biggest ing social inequality. We must address election year in history. It is a decisive our economic and security dependencies year that has the potential to shake up and pursue the ecological and digital international relations. transformation. Dynamic and integrated The elections are likely to reveal capital markets, along with focused pubgrowing political and social polarisation lic administrations and budgets, are cruin Europe, with truth being contested by cial for financing these changes. Policies different groups within our societies. At- that empower citizens to use financial tempts of disinformation and foreign in- products need to be ramped up. terference will accompany many elections , undermining trust in our Security democratic institutions. Tensions are Europe finds itself in a challenging exacerbated by ongoing wars, cost of liv- geopolitical situation characterised by ing crises and climate disasters. This the intensifying competition between the polycrisis will put Europe’s democracy United States and China, the erosion of and cohesion to the test. 2024 is the mo- multilateralism, and a trend towards ment of truth, with the future of the con- multipolarity. The Russian war of aggrestinent at stake. If Europe does not stand sion against Ukraine marked a turning united and act decisively, the threat of point for European security. It should disintegration looms large. serve as a wake-up call to finally take seEFA24’s thematic tracks focus on curity and defense more seriously and to four main challenges of our time. reduce dependencies in critical areas.

Climate Geopolitical realities are shifting.

Climate-fueled damages to the ecosystem and to our societies are increasing.

Environmental insecurities and threats to livelihoods grow. The global community must urgently increase its mitigation and adaptation and share the responsibility of combating the twin crises of climate and biodiversity. It must find common ground to accelerate the transition towards a just net-zero future through systemic change, transformative solutions and social and technological innovation.

Democracy and the Rule of Law After decades of expansion, democracy is in decline. We are witnessing polarisation and the rise of authoritarian politics. Disinformation and deep mistrust in governments and the media are crucial factors, just as inequality and the failure to deliver on social advancement. Democracies need to become more resilient and inclusive.

Global alliances of democratic states, civil society and experts need to find solutions suited to today’s information and technology context.

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European Forum Alpbach Panorama

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DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW

Truth is a contested concept – especially when political polarisation becomes rampant. Thus, efforts to rebuild democratic resilience have to face disinformation and the downsides of artificial intelligence.

Read EFA voices on current developments, a performative election campaign and a hands-on approach to youth democratic engagement

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The 2024 Global Showdown Elections, Artificial Intelligence and the Fight for Truth

propaganda from Russia and China on the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as disinformation spreaders making money from purveying false claims.

Anya Schiffrin The list is endless.

How is 2024 different from previous years? In the period after 2016, Oxford scholars such as Philip Howard and Samantha Bradshaw, among many othInformation, truth and the 2024 elections ers, focused on »computational propahave been widely discussed this year as ganda« which they defined as »the use politicians, journalists, analysts and of algorithms, automation and human scholars have focused on the potential for curation to purposefully distribute misdisinformation and deep fakes to influ- leading information over the internet.« ence voters and to affect outcomes. As First, experts are worried about the we keep being reminded, some 50% of the democratisation of mis-/disinformation. world’s population live in countries or re- Thanks to generative AI, »the networked gions that are/were having elections in 2024, including the 27 EU Member States and their Parliament’s election in June.

The shock of the popular support for »Thanks to generative AI, populists and authoritarians in 2016, the ›the networked nature of the vote for Brexit and the rise of Bolsonaro, Trump, Modi and Orbán have put much of internet ecosystem makes it the world on edge wondering what will possible for almost anyone happen this time around. Already there have been cases of false videos on TikTok: with access to a connected the faked phone call to voters in New computer to become an Hampshire that in fact was not from President Biden, deep fakes of the Pope, amateur propagandist.‹« and lies about immigrants in Slovakia’s parliamentary elections in the fall of 2023. Additionally, there are reports of

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nature of the internet ecosystem makes Second, there is the potential for it possible for almost anyone with access narrow targeting of individuals. »With to a connected computer to become an generative AI, technologists see a world short bio amateur propagandist«, says scholar where information is narrowly targeted Anya Schiffrin is a Senior LecSamuel Woolley in his recent book »Man- and delivered to individuals based on turer and the Director of the ufacturing Consensus«. Creating deep their preferences and consumption pat- Technology, Media and Communications Specialisation at fakes has become easy, quick and cheap terns.« The super-powered TikTok algo- Columbia University’s School and Woolley notes that there are now rithm is an example of what we can ex- of International and Public Affairs. ecosystems of government troll armies pect in the future as these tools become and bots that talk to each other as well more and more sophisticated. as to individuals. Because of generative Third, the takeover of Twitter (now AI, massive amounts of artificially gener- X) by Elon Musk has emboldened tech ated content are flooding the internet. companies to resist regulation .

Better Worlds Are Possible The EFA24 arts and culture programme invites participants to cast their vote Theodora Danek

There was a time, a decade or so, ago, when much of fiction was awash with dystopias. It seemed like all our imagined worlds were horrible. Zombies. Reproductive rights. Supersurveillance. Superflu. It was all there.

It was all somewhere in real life, too, of course, since the kernels of fiction are always based on something that already exists somewhere, in some form. But if the hold of dystopia on our cultural production has waned somewhat, now, as the climate (long-term weather, political, interpersonal) gets hotter and more toxic, we’re all exploring our fears in real life, every day. And if the present is scary, the future can be downright terrifying. Especially if you’re young. A 2021 survey of 16-25-year-olds in ten countries found that three quarters thought the future was frightening, and two thirds were very or extremely worried about climate change.

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»With generative AI, technologists see a world where information is narrowly targeted and delivered to individuals based on their preferences and consumption patterns.« Musk’s firing of content moderators and questions about how they are preparing his refusal to reply to EU regulators seek- for the elections have received no aning information has inspired other plat- swers at all from TikTok and X and only pro forms to reduce transparency. TikTok forma responses from Meta and Google. restricted its Creative Center tool, previRegulation, media literacy and inously used to analyse trend popularity creased content moderation (also using and hashtags. Facebook decided to close AI) can help address the problems of ondown CrowdTangle, which helped under- line mis-/disinformation and deep fakes stand engagement and patterns of spread – but that will be slow to come. In the of online content. In South Africa, press meantime, 2024 will be a decisive year freedom groups trying to get the major for the world, affecting global politics for social media platforms to reply to years to come.

No future?

Part of the fear lies in inevitability. More than a decade ago, Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi suggested that »the future no longer appears as a choice or a collective conscious action but is a kind of unavoidable catastrophe that we cannot oppose in any way«. We’re caught staring at a series of catastrophes, like Walter Benjamin’s Angel of History, but stuck in the endless present instead of turned towards the past – Peter Klee’s famous angel, now scrolling on a smartphone. No wonder, then, that we might succumb to a learned helplessness, where we seem to have lost the ability to imagine the future, nor are we able to picture ourselves as active participants in it.

What do we do with this? Despair is not an option, and the way to beat hopelessness is to band together with others and overcome the isolating loneliness of anxiety. The EFA24 arts and culture programme takes a step into the unknown: participants reflect on their agency and are reminded that imagination is a muscle that needs to be trained. In a collaborative project with the Vienna Design Week, seven designers and thinkers were invited to co-create an election campaign that puts utopian visions to the vote for all event participants.

The campaign is complemented by a series of artistic workshops and performances led by musicians, actors, dancers, designers, writers and thinkers.

»In a collaborative project with the Vienna Design Week, seven designers and thinkers were invited to co-create an election campaign that puts utopian visions to the vote for all event participants.«

European Forum Alpbach Panorama

Why utopia?

Utopia, in this context, is not to be thought of as a destination, a place or a goal; utopia is a method of thinking consciously about, and questioning what Ruth Levitas has called »the models we carry around in our heads of how the world does and/or should operate«. During the EFA24 event, participants of the arts and culture programme are encouraged to move, think, listen and feel themselves into a different tomorrow; to learn methods and tools from different artistic practices that might quite literally give them pause and enable them to imagine a better world.

Why an election?

Election campaigns are always performative. Every election campaign needs posters, slogans, election rallies, a beginning, a middle and an end. Even the results on election night, however, are only a part of an ongoing process. Much like the creation of utopias, elections, too, are speculative projects: They require imagination from all participants to picture what might happen after, and trust in a process with an uncertain outcome. As science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson writes, »there are no happy endings! Because there are no endings«.

In the much-discussed global election year 2024, this utopian election is explicitly staged as a performance, a ritual, a celebration – as art. Our election of utopias is not a simulation or a dry-run for something that might happen. It is an exercise in imagining and a reflection on the language and meaning of our democratic mechanisms. There are good arguments for performing something until it becomes real; there are also good arguments for performing something that might never become real, but that will broaden our understanding of what we want and how we might get there. Everyone is invited to speculate, to dream, to consciously give themselves over to utopia as a »third space«, as Gabriel Roland, director of the Vienna Design Week, calls it, where we briefly press pause on real life, with all its limitations and pragmatism, and focus on expanding what we believe is possible.

There is no conclusive answer to why we are so obsessed with the darkest timeline, whether it is imagined or a potential future. It is a deliberate alternative to the awful imaginary worlds we surround ourselves with. Dystopias remain an oddly attractive proposition. Maybe fiction, much like reality TV, is simply a neat way of exploring and confronting our deepest fears, whatever they may be: Your rights are being taken away by a totalitarian government; hell (New York) literally freezes over; you’re trapped on a so-called »Love Island« with twenty sex-crazed English lads and ladettes. Fiction, and art, is an emotional safe space for catapulting you into the unsafest space imaginable, where you can test your response to whatever joys and horror await.

Whether they are dystopian or utopian.

A place to embrace uncertainty and an open process

where there are no results.

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»Elections are speculative projects: They require imagination from all participants to picture what might happen after, and trust in a process with an uncertain outcome.«

short bio Theodora Danek manages the Arts & Culture programme at the European Forum Alpbach.

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FAN VOICES

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A Cute Pigeon to Save the Elections Thomas Garnier & Pol Villaverde

Is there a secret sauce for increasing campaigns in western democracies and youth turnout in elections? Many have take shape almost exclusively online. searched it – starting with the European Their main feature: »depolluting the episParliament with its #UseYourVote cam- temic environment« of elections by paign – but few have found an answer. bringing the conversation back to issues Even in 2019, the Parliament praised it- and policies – rather than candidate likeself for the highest youth turn out in dec- ability – appeals to millions. In some ades… at 42%. So when the winning team countries, up to 50% of voters use a VAA of last year’s Alpbach IDEAS decided to the days before voting. Some papers ar»help young first-time voters take centre gue that abstention decreases by a few stage at the 2024 EU Elections«, it quite percentage points thanks to them. Such sounded like yet another youth project apps, though, have mostly been designed with very limited real impact. The authors by researchers and their design and lanof this piece – who first met on their last guage could sometimes feel slightly dry bus ride from Reith to Alpbach at the to a younger non-academic audience far EFA23 annual event – did not forecast from the Brussels bubble. working on a pigeon called »Palumba« What if a VAA was designed as a for the following ten months either. cocktail of features inspired from dating apps and social media platforms that Re-inventing a wheel that already young people share? What if they transworks. Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) lated unappealing policies into plain lanhave existed for decades. They have not guage? What if they had a sarcastic selfalways been digital tools , as our aware branding strategy with a cute grand-parents kindly reminded us: news- pigeon as a figurehead? »If this cute pigeon can’t help you vote in June, nothing will.« The co-authors of this article are writing this from the eye of the storm. It’s May 6 – one »If this cute pigeon can’t help month before the elections – and in just a few days, a year’s worth of work for the you vote in June, nothing will.« association of former scholarship holders will be put to the test when the first pan-european non-partisan VAA designed specifically for young first-time voters papers used to provide a form in which goes live in all EU Member States and in voters could cross their views on a few 26 languages. The stakes are high: no VAA key statements and get an orientation for has ever had less than hundreds of thouwho to vote for days later in the mail. sands of users, but no VAA has ever been VAAs are now a staple of election crafted with viral features targeting

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»Voting is a social habit. The earlier people start voting, the more consistently they’ll vote in the long-run. Democracies thrive when more and most young people vote.«

the Commission called on the American artist to save the elections. We did everything to make Palumba burst the usual bubbles and go in the hands of as many millions of young Europeans as possible before sixth to ninth June 2024.

Do we actually want more young people to vote? A recent Financial Times article reported that Gen Z is not one but two generations: »a new global gender divide is emerging.« We can explain the contraditions of the youth vote turnout when we acknowledge that overall young men tend to vote more conservative and young women along with other gender identities are likely to vote more progresshort bio sive. Is it not dangerous then, scaling up Thomas Garnier adyounger generations. This would have nev- a tool which could empower millions of vises sustainability solutions er been possible without the help of 120+ climate change deniers, conspiracy-be- on Media Ethics matters with a by-design approach to key volunteers from all across Europe and a lievers, and Trump/Putin supporters to global issues: impacts on network built from scratch of dozens of do their »Far-Right Coming Out« at a de- planetary boundaries, DEI, and data protection/right to partner organisations, institutions, youth cisive moment for democracy, security, privacy.

Co-President of Club councils, foundations, and think tanks. solidarity, and our response to the eco- Alpbach France and TEDx Curator, he’s the Secretary GenUsers »swipe« right for statements logical crisis? eral and R&D Coordinator of they agree with and left for the ones they Of course, it still makes sense, be- the Palumba EU association. dislike. For the sake of nuance and less cause this segment votes already. But for polarisation, they have options for mild- the others that have lost faith in a system er opinions and a neutral option. They get in which we vote once every five years context: why is the topic they’re swiping and who turned to volunteer work in on important? Why is it relevant for the NGOs or activism instead: with a VAA they elections? All statements are curated could focus on specific issues rather from suggestions of youth organisations, than the personality of candidates, and proofread by a pan-European Scientific realise that there are parties who support Council independent from candidates their ideas. It might make them consider and parties, and evaluated by an open- voting eventually. Voting is a social habit. source algorithm.

The earlier people start voting, the more Voters then get matched with the consistently they’ll vote in the long-run.

Parliament group that best supports their Democracies thrive when more and most priorities (connecting them to the Euro- young people vote. short bio pean level of the conversation first!), disPol Villaverde is a cover the most compatible local lists at Palumba started with Alpbach IDE- PPE graduate from Barcelona, pursuing a Dual Master’s their national level, while learning about AS and became one of the largest-scale Degree in Public Policy & Adtheir voter profile and themes they care abstention reduction projects in the EU ministration at SciencesPo and Columbia University as a most about. Each results screen is share- this year, »with the power to actually im- La Caixa Foundation Fellow. able in the form of social media »Sto- pact the elections« said Jaume Duch – He’s a social + digital entrepreneur and the President of ries«, echoing to the famous »Spotify Director of Communications and Spokes- the Palumba EU Association Wrap« format. person of the EU Parliament at our launch Ultimately, we hid plenty of soft event in Barcelona. You tell us: Did PalumTaylor Swift references in the app, after ba find some of that secret sauce?

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A sustainable future can only be reached through a green and just transition. Thus, humanity has to stay within planetary boundaries while at the same time pursuing climate action without borders.

EFA contributors explain participatory ways of climate governance and examples for local, community-driven environment policies.

CLIMATE

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Getting Everyone on Board

Participatory Policies for Successful Climate Action

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Since we are in a historic election year, it is a moment of truth for the future trajectory of climate policies. How do you see the European Union’s future role in global climate action?

LS (Leena Srivastava) From an Asian perspective, we look at the EU as one of the key drivers of climate action, more than even the United States. There is a higher degree of climate sensitisation in the EU as compared to other developed parts of the world. I also believe that the regulatory environment here is significantly stronger than elsewhere and is normally ahead of the curve.

I believe that industry, in general, and the private sector in particular, need to become part of the social contract which exists between governments and the people. And by that I mean that industries’ future license to operate should be determined by this extended contract. The EU is very well placed come up with out-of-the-box thinking along these lines and »There will obviously to to influence developments, in Europe but also in the rest of be winners and losers the world.

IC (Ieva Česnulaitytė) The EU is well-placed for collaborative in the transition to a decision-making involving citizens through advanced particizero-carbon path – we pation mechanisms like citizens’ assemblies. Over the past several years the EU has been building competencies and need to ensure a softframeworks for such decision-making. Many citizens’ assemlanding approach for blies on climate have happened in EU countries, and my hope is that these new forms of governance are going to pick up those who might lose much more and will start tackling more ambitious climate tarfrom this transition.« gets. Some EU countries have even embedded citizens’ assemblies in more permanent ways, including here in Austria in —LEENA SRIVASTAVA Vorarlberg, Paris, Brussels and other places.

LS There will obviously be winners and losers in the transition to a zero-carbon path – we need to ensure a soft-landing approach for those who might lose from this transition. I don’t think that conventional subsidies or incentives systems serve this purpose.

IC I do think that citizens’ assemblies are well suited for tackling climate matters. They can help breaking political deadlocks and making decisions that require long-term solutions that go beyond electoral cycles. When citizens are given a meaningful way of participating, they are often ahead of politicians. Assemblies also increase public understanding – and by extension acceptance of climate policies, they create legitimacy and consent for stricter measures, developed by citizens themselves.

The main challenge is to ensure that recommendations are implemented. This can happen by involving journalists and the media into the process for higher accountability, but also by making sure to secure commitment from politicians and policy-makers in advance of an assembly.

LS While we are addressing the EU in this conversation, climate impacts are not limited to geography. Large-scale projects that are taken up here or anywhere in the world, requiring public consultations, should be analysed from a perspective

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of global impacts and must involve world citizens – maybe climate assemblies from across different countries provide a mechanism.

IC It’s exactly what happened in 2021, when a global climate assembly preceded COP that has also demonstrated that it is possible to bring citizens from all over the world to deliver on climate solutions.

LS The distinction as I now see it is that climate assemblies address macro-level policies, but we need »Citizens’ assemblies a similar mechanism for large-scale projects. Climate assemblies in their current form may not be the right are quite well suited instrument for this. for tackling climate IC That’s a good point. One of the possible options would be to combine climate assemblies with partic- matters.« ipatory budgeting, deciding how money is spent and —IEVA ČESNULAITYTĖ what projects are prioritised. Assemblies aren’t a silver bullet, though, they need to be part of a broader participatory environment and other initiatives.

Assemblies help people feel connected allowing them to see past their differences and to find broad consensus. This sense of agency is crucial. Participants in assemblies, such as in the French citizens’ convention on climate change that took place in 2019/2020, brought together 150 French citizens.

Some changed their lives, became climate activists or ran for local office. They would really step into this sense of agency that I think is needed in democracy, because people don’t necshort bio essarily feel they have a voice in decision-making.

How can we succeed in prioritising what unites us over what divides us, especially given the short time frame and the existential catastrophe looming above us?

LS The pessimist in me says we will wait for extreme events – and we will not see enough action until then. The optimist notes our huge investments in new climate-friendly technologies and processes, albeit not yet at the needed level. The market development taking place today is conscious and concerted, with regulations leading to an emerging partnership between producers and consumers, between governments and industry – I think there’s large potential in that.

IC I think we should be able to change and to come together over adversities. I feel we’re in a state of frustration and being too technocratic. We should, as a society, make more room for jointly processing the different emotions that this current state of affairs brings us, such as grief, the sadness of what we’ve done to the planet. And then from the state of acceptance and awareness, we must move forward. We should expose ourselves enough so that it inspires us to act, owning our roles and understanding what we have done.

Leena Srivastava is currently a member of the UN Technical Advisory Group on SDG 7 (affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all) and Scientific Advisory Board Member of the European Forum Alpbach.

(She is the former Deputy Director General for Science at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and former Vice Chancellor of the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi.)

short bio Ieva Česnulaitytė is a Europe’s Futures Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and the Founding Head of Research and Learning at DemocracyNext.

Previously, she was a Policy Analyst at the OECD, researching innovative citizen participation and open government.

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Reclaiming Imagination True Change will Only Come from Social Creativity Phoebe Tickell

short bio Phoebe Tickell, is a renegade scientist and social entrepreneur with a radical proposition: that the problems of the world are imagination problems – not resource problems. She is the founder of Moral Imaginations, an organisation that trains others in imagination to solve complex problems.

by the end of this century, and many young people are unable to see a future with them living in it. A mental health epidemic continues to grow, as polarisation is on the rise, and continues to weaken the social fabric of our democracy.

Things have gone wrong – and we need to put them right.

But how do we do that when policies, responsibility, vision and action seem to be stuck in a gridlock? It is natural that in a crisis, the natural way to turn is to fixate on the problems. But Imagination is a superpower. Every single change arguably this will only ever get you reactive, in society started in somebody’s imagination – or piecemeal change. How can we solve some of in a small group’s collective imagination – from these deep-rooted problems? If we use the same women getting the right to vote, to the civil rights approaches, we will get the same answers we movement or better services for healthcare. have always got.

Some say this is the quality that makes us most The challenges we face are incredibly comuniquely human – especially our ability to collec- plex and cannot be solved by any one individual tively imagine the new. or solution alone. Just like bees search many difBut imagination is not recognised for what ferent locations for the perfect place for their it is – the star stuff of truly radical innovation that hive before committing to one of them, so, too, builds a new world into being. It is often dis- the mind needs to wander and explore the differmissed as something associated with day-dream- ent possibilities before choosing a way forward. ing, fantasy and fiction. If a job candidate put Our imaginations can be incredibly helpful to »imagination« on their CV, it would certainly paint different scenarios in our head and test raise eyebrows. As early as school, we are told them out through simulations. off for daydreaming, reinforcing from the start The famous systems thinker Donella Meadthat this is a pointless or indulgent activity. What ows pointed out that the biggest leverage point if this carries on throughout life with our organi- to change entire systems is to work at the level sational and civic systems, constantly narrowing of visioning, changing the mindsets, beliefs and out imagination rather than recognising its true values that are causing the problem. What if, importance?

It’s natural that in a period of austerity, imagination falls to the bottom of priorities. As we face scarcity and insurmountable challenges, people focus on efficiency, on practical deliverables and on getting things done. Imagination is seen as a distraction, something wooly and perhaps relevant for an away day, but not core to the building of new policy and systems.

Imagine if we were wrong: As temperatures hit record level across Europe year by year and month by month, there is a growing sense that we have lost our way. Climate scientists predict that we will reach a heating of 3.3 degrees

»If a job candidate put ›imagination‹ on their CV, it would certainly raise eyebrows.«

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»It is not just what about the services we deliver, but how we deliver them. If we want to deliver relational services, we need the time and space to nourish imagination, hope, care and even love.«

by flexing our imagination muscles, we are able to challenge deep-seated assumptions, and help people expand their horizons and worldviews?

Imagination and day-dreaming may seem like a waste of time, but what if developing that part of our brain is one of the ways we can better use our resources more effectively? Think about the new futures that are not necessarily bound up with what we are currently doing. We may chance upon such alternative futures, but why aren’t we supporting frontline workers and leaders to build their muscle in doing such imagining – a core skill for facing the inherent uncertainty of the future. have been coming to realise, it is not just about It’s a social justice issue that only some the services we deliver, but how we deliver them. people, usually those who have more time, space If we want to deliver relational services, we need and resources, are able to exercise imagination the time and space to nourish imagination, hope, in their working lives. At Moral Imaginations, we care and even love. call this ‘Imagination Justice’, and we strive to Unfortunately, the result is that imaginacreate an equalising force, to encourage people tion becomes allowed for some people in society from all walks of life to invest the time and ener- – usually people in tech and Silicon Valley – but gy into growing their imaginations. not for everyone. This needs to change. ImaginaIn the charity sector and local government, tion is a human right and a source of great joy and it can feel like the tasks at hand are so important innovation – and connection to confidence, dithat space for ‘imagining’ and being creative rection and vision. would be taking away crucial time and attention Maybe it’s time to start daydreaming from the task at hand. However, as many of us again.

Buildings are Grown and Cities are Mined: Upside Down in the Construction Industry It has become clear to most of us that our industries need to change: the production and use of both energy and materials will have to transform at a revolutionary scale in order to ensure the well-being of life on our planet. As our most physical industry, construction perhaps faces the biggest challenge. Consuming over 60% of the worlds materials1, setting it on a sustainable path demands the utmost of our ingenuity. So what are directions forward?

1 Metabolic. Assessing all materials consumed for building in the Netherlands. https://www.metabolic. nl/ projects/assessing-materials-consumed-for-building-in-the-netherlands/

There are several characteristics in the construction industry that make it particularly challenging for adopting circular economy principles and bio-based materials: • F ragmented supply chains and multistakeholder collaborations • Sheer amount of material demand • Locality and design specificity of construction There is a fundamental tension in the construction industry: any project is complex and involves many different factors and actors. You cannot change the industry without changing the dynamic between all the stakeholders in-

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volved and incorporating the whole supply chain.

Then there is the obvious problem that construction is indeed a physical industry in the sense that it revolves around arranging materials in the physical world. There is a large investment gap between material demand and the supply of renewable biomaterials, limiting their economic viability (for now).

What is perhaps most characteristic of the industry is its locality; all building projects are realised for specific locations with unique demands and contexts. With little standardisation and fifty-year lifespans, there is no perspective for the end of use of the building elements.

Add to this one of the most important recent developments in the industry: rising prices for materials. Projecting this towards the future, we might find ourselves in a situation where the sourcing of materials becomes insecure, too expensive, or even weaponised.

Where does this leave us?

Let us imagine a different future; one in which building materials are our way to sequester carbon, and they are harvested from cities as readymade building elements. What do we need to make this happen?

I think there are several perspective changes that will benefit our thinking: for one; we have been so successful at building cities that they have the potential to become an important source of materials. Urban mining is the pioneer- What if we present them with an alternative, beting practice of finding, assessing, extracting, and ter business model? reusing materials and building elements for new We can if we dare to move towards renewconstruction. able and bio-based building materials. Instead of This is easy in theory but hard in practice. growing food, farms grow buildings! This is comBecause of the locality and uniqueness of exist- pletely in line with a vision for largely plant-based ing construction, there is a much greater burden diets that do not need vast amounts of land for of knowledge for repurposing than there is for the feeding of livestock. And, if we do it the right new production. And architects need to know way, we are working on nature restoration at the that it is available and what they can do with it. same time.

We can only make this happen with rapid and radical digitisation.

Obviously, these visions have complex practical Second, let us hit two birds with one stone implications. It is only through getting our hands (poor birds, we should change this expression to dirty that we get to shape the way we shape our become animal friendly in the future). One of the cities. We need abstract and forward looking short bio great sources of social unrest in the Netherlands thinkers with a »pick up the shovel« leadership Arne Steemers conis the treatment of farmers. They are forced to style. Those who think big and make solutions siders himself a 'philosopher comply with yet another set of rules, making it concrete. But not literally, let’s use wood, bam- who acts', someone who prefers trying to put grand ideas even harder for them to sustain a viable business. boo, and yesteryear’s brick facade. into practice rather than ex-

»Let us imagine a different future: one in which building materials are our way to sequester carbon, and they are harvested from cities!«

panding them in writing. He is a firm believer in the power of creativity and design to solve some of our most pressing problems. He currently works on the Energy Transition in the Built Environment, helping the most vulnerable people get on board with energy savings.

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Empowering to Create Impact The Climate Track in the Seminars Days at EFA24

Exchange between generations, disciplines and nationalities is a vital pillar of the Forum. Europe can only be strengthened through mutual understanding, and the Alpbach Seminars ensure this diversity of voices at the annual EFA event. »Young people from different backYoung people from different backgrounds and locations are summoned grounds and locations are summoned for scientific, skills-based and artistic five-day seminars. Thus, the next gener- for scientific, skills-based and artistic ation is provided with the opportunity five-day seminars.« to create strong bonds, takes home food for thought and is encouraged to create substantial impact for a truly European future.

How to best tackle the climate crisis turned out to be the focus of several seminars during EFA24, for example the relation between climate action and democAnother seminar by Iain Kerr and racy across Europe: The respective Jason Frasca (Emergent Futures Lab) seminar, led by Felix Creutzig (MCC Berlin), deploys creativity: »Disruptive Innovaaddresses critical challenges and oppor- tion and Green Changemaking« aims for tunities, using participatory design in or- social entrepreneurship with the idea of der to enhance participants’ engagement having broad effects on ecological in the climate movement. The seminar change. proposed methods to directly involve citThe Alpbach Seminars prioritise izens in policy-making processes. interactivity and hands-on learning.

Practical experiences and simulations allow for the power of education, dialogue and collaboration to unfold. Cultivating critical thinking, combined with tangible skills, makes each seminar a unique and life-changing experience for its participants.

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At the European business conference, current and future decision-makers from all 46 European countries engage with the most innovative minds from business, politics, academia and civil society and discuss current and relevant topics.

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Funding the Green Transition in the EU

In 2009, when it introduced the idea of strategic risk and subsequently systemic risk – and with it prudential and governance requirements for financial institutions considered systemically important (SIFIs) and therefore »too big to fail« (TBTF reforms) – banks and insurers were forced to act. If the FSB were to introduce conditionality for systemically important global value chains (e. g. food, water and energy systems) considered ›too critical not to transform‹, governments and financial institutions would receive the directional signal to move capital more decisively.

More broadly, we need to reforge an alliance between science and arts as an absolute priority. Cultural practices and creative stimulus of imagination need to be reintegrated into policy making, civic institutions and industry, to achieve a transformation in our hearts, minds and habits – including a paradigm shift in economics. We need to generate new narratives and new norms In terms of financing the green transition – what that are aspirational, inspirational and relevant has to happen at EU level during the next two to each context. years, so that the 2030 goals goals remain within reach?

To reach the EU 2040 climate goals, we will have KD We cannot continue to think of »green fi- to finance socio-economic transformations on a nance« as a sub-sector of core finance. The EU large scale. How does the EU need to transform must mainstream the idea of financial systems for this? working towards a sustainable, sufficien- KD Climate and nature solutions require syscy-based economy by applying consistency, temic and dynamic approaches, and effective ambition and courage. action needs standards, processes and incenFirstly, the EU must stay steady on the tives that are aligned. To unlock large-scale sopath set by the EU Green Deal and the Fit for 55 cio-economic transformation, the EU needs to package. We cannot reshape the economy, if join its own dots, focusing on systemic implethe EU gives mixed signals to financial institu- mentation of policies to allow for greater agilitions and businesses. It must remain persistent ty and flexibility in the use of resources and and address inconsistencies and fragmentation capabilities. Not only does the EU have some of in policies. the most advanced policies and climate laws in Secondly, we need to go further and fast- the world, but it also possesses many of the er via financial innovation. One of the most need- solutions needed to implement them. The chaled innovations is place-based portfolio financing lenge, however, is that these policies are fragto support multiple solutions in a specific con- mented and sometimes contradict one another. text, such as cities, regions or value chains. By If the EU were to apply systems thinking, Eurofunding efforts to understand interdependencies, pean farmers, for example, could benefit from combinations and coordinated effects, we can regenerative agriculture, environmental protecboost system transformations instead of default- tion and climate finance rather than losing out ing to incremental change. because disconnected measures result in a Finally, the EU must find the courage to in- concentration of benefits amongst large industroduce the true cost of products and services and try actors. address perversities in the market. It must remove subsidies from high-emission products and services, such as oil and gas, and achieve greater conditionality and differential pricing to deliberately shape the economy towards regenerative solutions and business models.

In the Panorama interview, Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of EIT Climate-KIC, unveils critical strategies to propel the EU’s green transition, focusing on innovative financing and comprehensive systemic reforms.

short bio Kirsten Dunlop heads the organisation leading the pilot implementation of the EU’s Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities (Net-Zero Cities) as CEO at EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s foremost climate innovation initiative.

Learn more Scan the QR code to read the full length interview.

Which creative tools or unlikely alliances that are available but underused would you like to see more?

KD I would argue that the Financial Stability Board (FSB) has a key, yet untapped, role to play.

»We need to reforge an alliance between science and arts.«

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FINANCE

AND ECONOMY

For future European prosperity, a fully integrated capital market and strong mitigation efforts for economic and social inequalities are overdue. Experts from the EFA community elaborate on how to finance the green transition, on female leadership in finance and on the strategy needed for de-risking from supply chain dependencies.

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»No Man Would Hesitate« Monika Rosen Encourages Women to Overcome Self-Doubts and Accept Professional Challenges.

Encouraged by her husband over a reflective weekend, Rosen decided to accept the leadership position. She returned to her office with renewed conMonika Rosen, former Head of Research fidence and informed her boss of her at Bank Austria and now Vice President decision. »Sir, I have reconsidered, I will of the Austro-American Society, is a pow- take you up on your offer and become erful voice advocating for women in lead- Head of Research«, she declared. The ership. Her career in finance exemplifies supportive response of her boss »I exthe importance of overcoming doubts pected as much, I have already preand embracing challenges, a message pared everything you need to get startshe passionately shares with the next e d « m a r k e d t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a short bio generation of women leaders. successful and transformative twoMonika Rosen, Vice In 1999, a significant merger oc- decade tenure at the helm of the re- President of the Austro-Amercurred between Bank Austria and Cred- search department. ican Society, formerly Head of Research at Bank Austria itanstalt, Rosen’s former institution.

Now retired, Rosen continues to (retired in 2022) This event set the stage for a pivotal contribute to the finance community by moment in her career. The merging of moderating sessions at the Forum Alpthe asset management divisions bach in the finance track, sharing her prompted a need for new leadership. extensive knowledge and experience.

Despite her qualifications, Rosen initial- She remains actively involved in supportly declined the role of Head of Research ing the EFA initiative »World of Women«, due to concerns about integrating an urging women to step up and seize leadall-male team with significant egos, ership opportunities. »Accepting the particularly given the sensitivities of challenge was the right thing for me to coming from the acquired bank. »I was do, and ladies, may I tell you, it will be not afraid of leading the team or not for you as well«, she encourages. Her having enough expertise. What scared advice to women is straightforward yet me was the idea of having to integrate powerful: »When asked, say ›yes‹.« She an all-male team with quite a few rath- firmly believes that no man would hesier large egos«, Rosen recounts. tate in similar circumstances, and neiHer story often serves as an inspi- ther should any woman. ration during her talks at women’s networks, where she shares insights into the challenges of stepping out of one’s »Accepting the challenge was comfort zone. »This is the part that I the right thing for me to do, and always tell when I am invited to talk to women’s networks«, she explains, emladies, may I tell you, it will be phasising her empathy with women for you as well!« who hesitate to accept professional offers that push their boundaries.

European Forum Alpbach Panorama

The Need for a Proactive Strategy to Safeguard Europe’s Economic Security

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In the middle of global crises and geopolitical tensions, Europe’s weaknesses have become clear. Antonella MeiPochtler and Tobias Gehrke discuss the biggest economic security risks for the continent. They stress the need for a proactive and balanced strategy to face these challenges.

The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shown Europe’s dependencies in critical areas. What are the biggest risks to Europe’s economic security, Ms. Mei-Pochtler?

AMP We focus on dependencies and supply chains, but protectionism is also growing. Europe must balance these risks.

China’s dual circulation strategy focuses on both the domestic market and international trade. Europe lacks a similar strategy; we go from one extreme to the other.

Mr. Gehrke, the European Commission issued a strategy and five initiatives to strengthen Europe’s economic security. How do you assess these measures?

TG Economic security has become a leitmotif, which is positive. But the strategy is defensive. We react to existing risks.

We need a mindset shift. We need to think about the kind of global economy we want, our position in it, and the resources needed to get there. If you only mitigate risks, you lack a vision for the future.

AMP Absolutely. We need a proactive strategy in at least five areas: security, technology, health, finance, and climate. These are interconnected. Without a Capital Markets Union, we can’t have technology sovereignty. Without technology sovereignty, we can’t have security sovereignty. The foundation is our ability to finance it.

short bio Antonella MeiPochtler is Vice President of the European Forum Alpbach association, international consultant, member of various supervisory boards and successful investor

short bio Tobias Gehrke is a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, based in the Berlin office. He covers geoeconomics, focusing on economic security, European economic strategy, and great power competition in the global economy.

What should be the EU’s role in the global economy?

TG We must remain a technology power and maintain industrial assets. We need specific partners for that. We can’t produce everything in Europe, so we need partners with the necessary resources and skilled workforce. We must be strategic in choosing these partners.

AMP I agree. We shouldn’t only do business with those who share identical values. There are multiple views on managing society. We are sometimes trapped in value colonialism.

The EU has failed to conclude trade agreements with Mercosur and Australia. How realistic are the prospects for such agreements, Mr. Gehrke?

European Forum Alpbach Panorama

TG These trade agreements are unrealistic in the short term, often stuck on issues like cows and cars. However, there are other options. With Australia, the EU is concluding an agreement on raw materials. Instead of large agreements, we should find specific solutions for certain segments.

AMP I agree. We need a pragmatic approach and should embrace »minilateralism« – agreements in specific areas with a limited number of countries based on mutual interests.

China is the elephant in the room regarding economic security. How will the relationship between Europe and China evolve?

TG It will worsen due to structural problems. The relationship was mutually supportive, with Europe innovating and China producing. That’s changing. China is moving up the value chain, substituting European innovations with its own. The geopolitical side is more complex. The technology and trade war will continue, putting Europe in a difficult spot.

AMP We mustn’t emulate the US position. Our foreign policy should be interest-based. There will be areas of common interest and divergence. Pursuing our interests shouldn’t be seen as anti-US. We have our own interests, which diverge within Europe due to different industrial bases.

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»We can’t produce everything in Europe, so we need partners with the necessary resources and skilled workforce.« —TOBIAS GEHRKE

A Confluence of Knowledge, Skills and Expression The Finance and Economy Track in the Seminars Days at EFA24

Over five consecutive days, the renowned Alpbach Seminars serve to inspire its participants and equip them for the challenges of the 21st century. Mornings and afternoons cover a comprehensive range of topics that need to be addressed for a strong and democratic European future. The EFA24 seminar programme is directed towards young people to become active citizens. It contains 26 seminars – with contents ranging from scientific exploration to skill

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Should Europe prepare for a potential return of Donald Trump by »de-risking« from the US? TG The United States’ power and leverage are extraordinary.

De-risking from America isn’t feasible. Europe’s position is different than during the first Trump administration because of the war and dependence on US security guarantees. European sovereignty ideas failed under the first Trump administration and will fail now. We need to increase our capabilities, particularly in defense, but pressure will rise to align with the US on China policy.

AMP Trump was a wake-up call for Europe to become more sovereign. European sovereignty is crucial. In terms of security, we can achieve it. Together, we spend more than Russia. Sovereignty will better position us to manage relations with China.

»We need a proactive strategy in at least five areas: security, technology, health, finance, and climate. These are interconnected.« —ANTONELLA MEI-POCHTLER

»The Alpbach Seminars provide eye-level discourse, cutting-edge knowledge and participatory, interactive methods.«

development and artistic expression. The Alpbach Seminars anchor around the four thematic tracks of the European Forum Alpbach, one of them being »Finance and Economy«. This track’s content is skillsbased and empirical: »Finance unleashed – Innovate, Invest, Inspire« by Daniel Bayer (Fingu) is an engaging financial simulation game, development trends. Research frontier treating wealth management in re- methods take into consideration climate al-time decision-making scenarios. change, growing automation and geopoLeading financial experts help partici- litical tensions worldwide. pants navigate the financial world with Conventional learning aside, the confidence.

Alpbach Seminars provide eye-level disWith »The Past, Present and Future course, cutting-edge knowledge and parof Economic Development and Global ticipatory, interactive methods. CommuInequalities«, Jesus Crespo Cuaresma nication and problem-solving are (WU Vienna) confronts participants with practiced, bridging intellect and empanovel data sources and assesses the em- thy – the crucial takeaways for a better pirical evidence of global economic tomorrow.

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Der Haltung gewidmet.

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SECURITY Since war has returned on European soil, the question of geopolitical sovereignty has been dominating the defence discourse.

Read how Europe needs to further integrate in terms of its single market and EU enlargement. Equally important, minorities’ and migrants’ identity struggles are being addressed by two EFA community contributions.

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2024 - Europe at a Crossroad Energy, Defence and Capital Markets: The need for More European Integration Arancha González

The return of war on European soil has In June 2024, European citizens went to the polls.

This was not just another election. 30 years ago, brought to the fore the need for a common secuthe world looked like the EU: the economy as the rity and defense policy. In the past this seemed a driving force, respect for international law and the taboo, but today citizens have understood that convergence of countries around the world. Three Europe needs to be prepared to defend its peace decades later, the world has changed: Security has project against aggressions that are becoming the upper hand and is often invoked to justify vi- less and less unlikely. According to the December olations of the law; and competition has replaced 2023 Eurobarometer, 80% of Europeans believe the goal of global convergence. The world has greater cooperation in defense is needed – and changed and it has put Europe at a crossroad. If almost 70% are favourable to increasing military it wants to be able to continue shaping interna- capabilities in the EU. A more turbulent neighbourhood means tional affairs, then it must adapt to a bigger, more hostile world – and this means integrating further. Europe needs to invest political capital in the enlargement of the EU, not only because of the EuStanding still would lead to irrelevance. short bio Responding to the most recent crises that ropean convictions of these countries, but also the EU has faced – from the 2008 financial crisis, because it has now become a security imperative Arancha Gonzalez, Dean of the Paris School of to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine for the Union.

Most worrying is the lack of integration of International Affairs, Scienc– was only possible through greater integration es Po and former Foreign Minand solidarity. As governments saw the risks European capital markets. Europe has capital but ister of Spain, Member of stemming from purely national responses to the it doesn’t have scale. European savings fly to oth- the European Forum Alpbach pandemic, they mustered the political courage er jurisdictions – notably the US – which can offer International Advisory Board to build the Next Generation EU, pooling fiscal depth, liquidity and returns. The EU cannot put capacity to invest commonly in strengthening its financing in the hands of others – otherwise it the internal market and protecting jobs. More will not have autonomy to finance its green and Europe translated into more protection for European citizens and businesses.

But much remains to be done. Europe is vulnerable in the areas where the integration is more deficient or unfinished, where there is no single market: energy, telecoms, defence and capital markets. This is the geopolitical dimension of the single market and the heart of Europe’s strategic autonomy. The fragmentation of the European energy and digital markets severely impact economic competitiveness. While Europe is less unequal and more sustainable than the USA – emitting 1.8 times less carbon per GDP technological transitions; and it will not be able unit generated – it lags behind in terms of growth. to build defence capabilities if it doesn’t integrate Fragmentation of energy markets translates into its capital markets. higher costs for businesses. Lack of scale trans2024 is also the electoral year in the Unitlates into lower uptake by European small and ed States. In November, the US citizens will go to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of transversal the polls in a country where both Republicans and technologies in areas such as technologies in the Democrats are turning inwards, returning to a cloud, artificial intelligence, quantum computing more isolationist international posture. Even unor automation. der a continued President Biden, US engagement

»The EU cannot simply hope for the best. It must start preparing now to assume greater responsibility for its defence.«

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sponsibility for its defence and to take bold steps to strengthen the competitiveness of its economy. Europe will also have to work on defending its democracy which is under stress both from outside forces, but also from within, from political forces which promote the violation of the rule of law, the erosion of democratic values and the weakening of institutions. A return of Donald Trump would make arresting the democratic backslide more difficult, in that it would show no interest in pursuing such a transatlantic agenda in Europe is likely to decline. The return of Pres- but also in that the weakening of US democratic ident Trump to the White House will nevertheless institutions is likely to deepen. pose particular challenges for the EU with volaThere is urgency and the to-do list is clear. tility, retribution, transactional politics and poli- With the European elections now behind us, the cies, and even outright hostility to be expected. priority is to implement the reforms. It is a matter It only takes to look at some of the proposals of political economy: organising the trade-offs being outlined for the Trump 2.0 Presidency: ban- between issues, building coalitions, finding first ning of abortion across the country, extension of movers and ensuring a debate with European citdeath penalty, imposition of tariffs across all im- izens since, at the end of the day, a further wave ports into the US, winding down of climate poli- of European integration will need to be democratcies and revamping of fossil fuels or disengage- ically sustained. ment from NATO. One thing is clear, the future of Europe is in The EU cannot simply hope for the best. It the hands of Europeans. Let’s act now to make sure must start preparing now to assume greater re- we don’t put it in the hands of American voters.

»The future of Europe is in the hands of Europeans. Let’s act now to make sure we don’t put it in the hands of American voters.«

Under the Countryside Rainbow Welcoming and Raising Queer Children in a Small Village

Florian Niederseer

Growing up in a small Austrian mountain village akin to Alpbach has shown me how important it is to have a trusting and loving community around you. While it takes a village to raise a child, losing such a strong bond with one’s home community can be detrimental. After my coming out in my early teenage years, I have felt how this connection and feeling of belonging to my hometown was severed, through the words and acts of various people within that community.

It took me nearly a decade not only to return, but also to reclaim my presence by becoming an active part of my village’s community. Through activism, I’ve been able to revive old bonds, forge new

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»It took me nearly a decade not only to return, but also to reclaim my presence by becoming an active part of my village’s community.« short bio

ones and help others by showing them that they are not alone. I have seen how me being present and creating opportunities for discourse changed the way the community of my village perceived and interacted with LGBTQIA+ topics and queer people.

Florian Niederseer is the founder of Heublumen, an NGO that builds support structures for queer people in the Austrian countryside.

Do we still need pride parades?

The way how pride parades interact with soci»Visibility, understanding and ety has changed a lot, and a lot still depends naturally on where they take place. The Stone- a feeling of belonging for queer wall Riots in 1969 and last year’s NYC’s pride parade people in rural areas, are the are as different as day and night. While the first pride parades focused on empowering legislative reasons I returned to my home change, I think that today the core aspect of visibility, which has always been present, has taken cen- and became an activist.« tre stage, as we look at how the perception of queer people has changed over time.

Interest groups, which utilise homophobic stigmatisation for their (often political) gain, thrive on pushing minorities to the fringes of society. It be- awareness of queer rights on the Austrian countryside. comes a lot easier to alienate a group of people We have organised the Unken Pride Parade in my through endangering rhetoric, when most people home village at the countryside of Salzburg for the think that they’ve never interacted with anyone from third time this year.

It is why we organise discussion events called that specific community. And we are seeing a rise of significant security concerns, stemming from the »QueerTalk«, where we give queer people a voice and rhetoric of such interest groups, which provokes everyone a safe setting to ask questions and inform harmful behaviour of certain individuals. Just con- themselves about LGBTQIA+ topics. With this initiative, sider the random murder of two men outside a gay we create regular meetups in restaurants in small bar in Bratislava in 2022 or the 2023 bomb threat at villages, where we provide the space to connect with Vienna Pride, Austria’s biggest pride parade, to see one another without having to travel to a big city.

Prejudices, fears and uncertainties about queer how charged the circumstances are becoming. people are still present in 2024, and to overcome How can we create a more open society? those, we still need platforms and opportunities for This need for visibility, understanding and a feel- people to get informed, to connect with others and ing of belonging for queer people in rural areas, are to show them support. An open-minded society, in the reasons I returned to my home and became an which everyone can be who they are, without fearing activist. It is why I have founded my NGO, the Heublu- discrimination or social exclusion, is a village that men LGBTQIA+ Initiative, which stands up for can raise its children to create a better tomorrow.

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I am a migrant and so are you

Marina Vanni

»Somos una especie en viaje. No tenemos pertenencias, sino equipaje« »We are a species in transit. We don’t have belongings, but luggage« –»MOVIMIENTO«, JORGE DREXLER (URUGUAYAN SONGWRITER)

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»Identity ceases to be geographical coordinates and becomes a compass, a spectrum of past and present lives.«

You meet someone new. They smile, they ask what your name is. You choose to share the sequence of letters or characters your family gave you, or the one you inherited from generations centuries ago, or the nickname you carefully gave yourself. You might adapt your name to foreign ears, eliminating syllables or simplifying sounds unique to your mother tongue. Or you might try to teach them how to pronounce it correctly, two or three attempts perhaps, to bring your cultures closer.

But this is not the trickiest part of the inFor some, a shifting identity poses a threat. troduction. The trickiest part comes next.

They think in terms of compartments, limits, en»Where are you from?« The question seems simple. In most cases, mity, feuds, frontiers. In their speeches, they tell the first instinct would be to mention a clearly a one-sided story. A story wrapped in barbed wire, delimited, easily identifiable piece of land usually as simplified as it is desperate; an attempt to direcognised as a state, one in many territories in vide and conquer.

Those who fear migrants do not fear people. an official list.

They fear change.

The real answer is more complex.

They speak as if we were numbers, costs, There is only so far back that you can trace your roots. There is somewhere you feel a greater inconveniences, static definitions in the dictionary, sense of belonging. There is a reason why no one cardboard figures on a board game. As if we were not all in perpetual transformation, flowing, itinspeaks quite like you.

Suddenly, the places that shaped you, the erating, being carried like droplets of water.

They speak of migration as if it was the expermanent and temporary homes, the cross-continental journeys, the routes between local sta- ception, instead of the rule. As if their great-grandtions, the little red pins on the map, the stamps in parents did not seek new destinations in search the passport, the village where your relatives live, of greener grass; as if their grandparent’s recipes the cities you walked and made your own, the flats and verses had not been passed on from mouth you reluctantly or lovingly shared, the landscapes to mouth, from town to town; as if their parents did not see the borders of countries being redrawn you admired, they all form the bigger picture.

Suddenly, the languages you are fluent in and rewritten hundreds of times.

They fail to understand that what remains and those you struggle with, your noticeable accent, your distinct dialect, your slang, your pauses, still, dies.

Migration is what brought us here. It was the melody in your voice, your cadence and breath, not the goal, but the journey. they all take on new meaning.

In his song, Drexler says: Identity ceases to be geographical coordinates and becomes a compass, a spectrum of past and present lives. »Yo no soy de aquí Pero tú tampoco My constellation is as intricate as yours. I De ningún lado del todo am Spanish on my mother’s side, Italian on my De todos lados un poco« father’s, yet deeply Latin American, born in the southern tip of the world: Argentina; a child of the »I am not from here short bio But neither are you metropolitan suburbs, agnostic but raised CathoMarina Vanni: ArgenNot entirely from nowhere lic, becoming more German every day as I spend tine-Spanish writer, editor, and communications specialAnd a bit from everywhere« my time living in Berlin; that girl who fell in love ist with more than 8 years of with Anglophone authors and now can only write experience, including work in You meet someone new. You smile, you ask journalism for international songs in English.

My eyes are brown – chances are high that what their name is. It’s so different from yours; it media outlets such as CNN Latin Counsel. Member yours are too – and with these eyes I try to see and sounds beautiful. You both had a long trip, but you and of the FAN Committee (FANC). understand the world, a view filtered and altered finally made it to the Alps. You are not from Alp- Three-time EFA scholarship holder, session's moderator, by every person I have met, every word I read, and bach, but in a way, you both are.

EFA Challenges 1st prize winevery ground I set foot on. ner (Team »Solarity«) and After all, we are travellers. We don’t have Speaker's Night speech conIdentity is movement. It is the horizon that belongings, but luggage. test winner. guides us, although we can never grasp it.

The magazine for a strong Europe.

Discover now: europeanvoices.eu

European Forum Alpbach Panorama

»My participation in Alpbach in Motion made me a true believer in the impact of the European Forum Alpbach (EFA) as an inspirational place to win minds and souls in order to shape a positive future for Europe in our dayto-day lives.« —GEORG KOPETZ, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AT TTTECH, AIM ALUMNUS AND FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ALPBACH CIRCLE

»Alpbach's Talent Development programme is a rare but much-needed opportunity for young, climate-aware voices to shape the discussion on the future of Europe's place in the world.« —SIMON ILSE, HEAD OF GLOBAL UNIT FOR HUMAN SECURITY, HEINRICH BÖLL STIFTUNG

»Supporting the Talent Development Programme through scholarships not only allows us to contribute to the development of future leaders but also enriches our company with fresh perspectives and innovative ideas.« —EVELIN POLAT, CO-CEO, REMUS

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Join Us in Shaping a Strong and Democratic Europe!

The European Forum Alpbach connects decision-makers with youth, bringing together thinkers from various fields. The EFA community sparks ideas for a strong European future. Would you like to be part of this inspiring cause?

Support our Talent Development Programme!

The Talent Development Programme at the European Forum Alpbach allows over 500 students, young professionals, and changemakers to attend a unique programme that shapes their lives and Europe's future.

As a partner, you may help select candidates and specify the profiles of beneficiaries you would like to support, creating an invaluable talent pool. Partners will find various ways to engage with the scholarship holders. At the EFA Talent Forum, companies can position themselves as attractive employers, while scholarship holders explore their potential in an ever-changing job market.

Join the Alpbach Circle!

The Alpbach Circle unites committed friends and supporters of EFA’s purpose who want to empower young individuals and strengthen EFA’s independence.

We would love to hear from you! Please send your inquiry to Dagmar Hengl, Senior Stakeholder Manager Private and Corporate Donors: dagmar.hengl@alpbach.org.

Donations of €3,000 or more from individuals and €12,000 or more from companies are welcome. All donations are tax-deductible and voluntary.

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European Forum Alpbach Panorama

Our Partners: Key to EFA’s Success The European Forum Alpbach brings to- individuals and institutions make ingether young people, innovative minds, formed, forward-thinking decisions. By policymakers, business leaders, and civ- supporting these exchanges, they il society actors from around the world, shape Europe’s learning and decifostering new perspectives and ideas for sion-making processes. a strong and democratic Europe. These Faced with ongoing crises such as achievements are possible thanks to our wars, cost of living issues, climate disgenerous partners, who are the key to our asters and growing political and social success. polarisation in Europe, our partners’ Our work is supported by private backing fortifies Europe’s resilience and and corporate donors, grantmaking unity. Their support is crucial in allowfoundations, corporate sponsors and ing us to address the challenges of our public institutions. Partnering with the time. The success of the European European Forum Alpbach enhances Forum Alpbach is a testament to their your organisation’s purpose and builds dedication and collaboration, allowing a valuable network. us to continue making significant conOur partners enable us to host tributions to Europe’s future. We deepcritical discussions, helping influential ly appreciate their support.

»We would like to use the European Forum Alpbach to discuss feasible paths to a climateneutral future together with politicians, businesses and, above all, bright young minds.

Only by pulling together we can give the planet and our children a chance.« —CLEMENS HASELSTEINER, CEO OF STRABAG AG

Strong Partners for Europe's Moment of Truth

Partners as of 15 July 2024

Main Partners

Premium Partners

Partners

Supporters Arthur D. Little Austrian Startups AVL List BERGERecotrail Börsianer Finders & Company Frauenthal Holding AG Gebrüder Weiss Humanocare I.E.C.T. Hermann Hauser Krieglstein & Company Lenzing Papier GmbH Mayr-Melnhof Karton Miba mtms Accreditation

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MyAbility Porr Privatquelle Gruber Oesterreichische Kontrollbank Aktiengesellschaft (OeKB) Schachinger Logistik Schindler Attorneys Schoeller Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment Sheconomy Speedinvest Sprenger Gerstbauer Consulting GmbH TGW Logistics Group GmbH UNIQA Insurance Group AG

Ashoka Berndorf Privatstiftung Camera di Commercio di Trento Central European University Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano/Bozen Club Alpbach Steiermark Dark Matter Labs Dr. Éva Kahán Foundation European Capital of Democracy European Cultutral Foundation European Region Tyrol South Tyrol Trentino Founders Pledge Friends of Europe Gemeinde Alpbach Global Parliament of Mayors

Granat King Baudouin Foundation Klima Biennale Wien Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation Polisphere Political Capital Politics for Tomorrow Schwarzman Scholars Sigma Squared Society the female factor Treehouse Giving (Alessandra Bravi & Sebastian Heinzel) Vienna Design Week VIENNA SHORTS – International Short Film Festival

Wirtschaftskammer Tirol Dr. Strohmayer Foundation Peter Bartos Claudia Garuti Martin Grüll Guntard Gutman Fredrich Jergitsch Georg Kopetz Peter Kunz Ewald Nowotny Franz Rauch Alois Steinbichler

#believe ineurope In 2024, we are facing the moment of truth. A series of parliamentary elections across member states, alongside the European elections themselves, will chart the course for the Union’s future. But that’s not all: the US presidential elections are casting their shadows ahead.

At this critical juncture, we must stand up for democracy, freedom, justice and a united Europe.

As the Main Partner of the European Forum Alpbach, we are dedicated to exploring this moment of truth and discussing its potential impacts.

Join us in shaping the #MOMENTOFTRUTH. See you in Alpbach.