Summary "Re:think Austria 2015"

Re:think Austria 2015 Generationengerechtigkeit | Generational fairness June 11 - 13, 2015 | Haibach (Upper Austria)

About „Re:think Austria“ In 2013, together with Kovar & Partners and freims:contemporary consulting, the European Forum Alpbach began a series of innovation labs with the title “Re:think Austria”, in order to encourage a dialogue around political reform in Austria.

In a participative process, stakeholders from politics, business, academia, culture and civil society develop new ideas and reform projects on central political topics. Thematic input from speakers from German-speaking countries and the innovative communication concept play a central role.

As an incubator for political innovation, “Re:think Austria” seeks to improve Austria’s democracy.

The aim is to connect committed people from all political camps, to impart knowledge on structural problem and to spark new projects. In June 2015, the participants of the third edition of “Re:think Austria” worked on the topic “Generational fairness” on the basis of the arena analysis by Kovar and Partners. The following pawww.alpbach.org/rethink_en ges provide an insight into the innovation lab.

The Rules of the Game You invite a group of politically engaged minds from all areas of society to take two days’ time to delve into a topic with as few preconceptions as possible and to get to know opinions different to one’s own. During this social experiment, the participants agree not to quote anything said outside the lab, to address one another by their first names, and agree that the list of participants will only be published at the end.

Generational Justice in all its Dimensions With the topic “Generational justice�, the participants put a socio-political building site under the microscope: the discourse covered areas from the world of work to the right to vote, from the generational contract to climate policy.

Fuzzy Boundaries The “Schlögener Schlinge” – the loop in the Danube at Schlögen – in Upper Austria provided the inspiring backdrop for the third edition of “Re:think Austria”. In the safe space of the innovation lab, what seems unthinkable in political daily life can succeed: fractions lose their significance, when it’s time to cooperate to find answers to the big social challenges of today.

Speakers Stimulate the Debate How explosive is the current demographic transformation? What does the work of the future look like? How fragile is the generational contract? As one of eight speakers, Helga Weisz from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research illustrated the enormous need for action in climate policy, so that future generations also find a world worth living in.

The result: Ten ideas for projects with future potential

The goal of the Innovation Lab is to create ideas which will be further developed and implemented in projects and initiatives. Here, you can find a list of ideas that originated in Haibach: 1. An awareness campaign to raise the quality of life for pensioners 2. The project “Youth Decides” to involve school pupils in decision-making in the school 3. The initiative “Occupy Podium”, which aims to bring young people more strongly into public discussions 4. A school project with the aim of also integrating an old people’s home 5. The platform “Dream school” where young and old can discuss learning experiences together

6. The project “Don’t grumble, run”, or “Constructive Journalism”, in order to establish ties between critical and positive journalism 7. The initiative www.talenteoesterreich.at should be taken more intensively into the regions, in order to involve more high school pupils in political dialogue 8. The platform “Generation Fairness-Justice-Solidarity” hopes to make success stories more visible and to demonstrate possible courses of action with a kick-off in the Austrian Parliament 9. The public intervention “Remove Worries”, in which citizens can rid themselves of their worries through the medium of comedy and satire 10. 10. A “Storytelling Generational Justice” with the aim of implementing a new narrative in the world: from the culture of mistrust to a culture of trust between the generations.

Re:think Austria 2015 | Generational Fairness | June 11 - 13, 2015, Haibach (Upper Austria) www.alpbach.org/rethink_en

In partnership with

With the kind support of

We thank the speakers for their contributions:

Gerald Bast - Anna Halbig - Elisabeth Hauser - Bernd Marin - Christine Mayrhuber - Michael Rose - Leopold Stieger Luise Tremel - Helga Weisz

Concept:

Caspar Einem - Franz Fischler - Andreas Kovar - Philippe Narval - Milo Tesselaar

Moderation (freims):

Alexis Eremia - Hannah Lux - Moriz Piffl-Percevic - Martin Ruckensteiner - Anna Wohlesser

Organisation:

Ruth Heinisch (Europ채isches Forum Alpbach)

Imprint/Media owner: European Forum Alpbach, Franz-Josefs-Kai 13/10, 1010 Vienna T +43 (1) 718 17 11-0 F +43 (1) 718 17 01 | E forum@alpbach.org | www.alpbach.org Editing, Design: Bettina Fernsebner-Kokert (Kovar & Partners), Stefan Kranewitter (Europ채isches Forum Alpbach) Photos: Luiza Puiu This report provides an insight into the Innovation Lab and makes no claim to completeness.