Tuesdays and Wednesdays are hearing days – a series in which we will develop the rules for the festival of the future together. Who takes decisions? Where does project funding come from and where does it go? Who is invited and who isn’t – and why? Who is the producer, who is the audience? Boycotts – yes or no? And: how does a globally active festival agree with sustainability? Experts, artists and activists provide an insight into their practices and examine potential alternatives. Over the duration of five weeks, the Council of the Republic will attend and discuss the hearings and design the Festwochen’s own constitution, which will be presented to the audience at the end of the festival as the Vienna Declaration.
28 / 29 May, 4 / 5 / 11 / 12 / 18 / 19 June, 6 pm
Will the Free Republic of Vienna introduce an invitation policy that is guided by the principles of climate justice in future? If an institution considers it important to invite artists from across the world to Vienna, what sustainability parameters must it set for itself to make sure its ecological handprint is greater than its footprint? In fact, should its political handprint be the benchmark? How can we take the lead as a positive role model? Transporting stage sets without the use of combustion engines and even obliging the audience to travel to the venue without a car? Should Festwochen initiate real processes of change using the means of art?
Council Member Chair Juan Son & Lucia Steinwender
DAY 1 – TUESDAY, 18 JUNE
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT V. POLITICAL HANDPRINT
Before ever more human lives are endangered by the pollution of water and air, increasing droughts, forest fires and flood catastrophes, we need to restructure our economy and our society in a way that is socially just. We need to expand public transport with a nation-wide reach and frequent intervals – also in the countryside –, affordable and good regional food as well as the public provision of a basic requirement of clean energy for all households. Instead of continuing to fund oil production and air traffic, we should finance reduced working hours or re-training for people who work in those fields.
The climate crisis cannot be stopped by individuals but only by the entire society together. However, the oil, gas, car and agriculture industries are profiting from ecological destruction. As long as those agents’ profits are more important than the vast majority of humanity, the fair restructuring of our economy will continue to be blocked. Hence, what is more important than the ecological footprint of individuals, institutions or events is their political handprint: their contribution to facilitating political and social change.
DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY, 19 JUNE
CLIMATE JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION STRUCTURES
Humans across the globe have very different shares in the causes of ecological crises (climate crisis, environmental pollution, species extinction, etc.) and they are moreover affected to very different degrees by these crises. Western Europe and North America, for example, have historically contributed more to the ecological crises than wide parts, among others, of Latin America, Asia, Africa and South Eastern Europe. Even within those regions, however, the wealthier use up far more resources than the poorer parts of society. The world’s wealthiest per cent causes more than double the emissions of the entire poorer half of the global population. Just and effective sustainable policies factor in the main causes of the crisis and start there.
Juan Son
Juan Son is the meme king of Floridsdorf and has made a significant contribution to the cultural development of the district over the past five years. As a “real” 1210er, he loves and criticises one of Vienna’s largest peripheral districts and creates memes and events on critical, satirical and hilarious topics relating to Floridsdorf, Vienna and politics. He went viral with events such as “das letzte mal Döner in der U6 essen”, where donations went to MUT and “AMS-Kurs: Schweigen mit Sebastian Kurz”, where donations went to refugee projects. Profits from any previous earnings were donated to social projects, in particular the NGO Bbanga, which is involved in social projects in Uganda. He is also the admin of the Vienna Vegan Facebook group, which focuses on sustainability and the efficient use of resources in urban areas.
Lucia Steinwender
Lucia Steinwender has been active in various climate movement struggles in Vienna in recent years: in alliances with public transport workers, the construction site occupation against the Lobau motorway and in the climate justice group System Change not Climate Change. She also works as a freelance journalist on environmental and climate conflicts, among other things. PUBLICATION DETAILS Owner, Editor and Publisher Wiener Festwochen GesmbH, Lehárgasse 11/1/6, 1060 Wien P + 43 1 589 22 0, festwochen@festwochen.at | www.festwochen.at General Management Milo Rau, Artemis Vakianis Artistic Direction (responsible for content) Milo Rau (Artistic Director) Text credits Contribution by the committee chairmanship Juan Son and Lucia Steinwender Picture Credit Cover © Alevtina Kakhidze Produced by Print Alliance HAV Produktions GmbH (Bad Vöslau)
The cover illustration was designed by the multidisciplinary Ukrainian artist Alevtina Kakhidze, whose work critically examines socio-political changes and topics such as consumer behaviour, ecology, feminism and life in conflict zones.
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