Rethink Europe 3+4

The following sessions includes a keynote as well as a conversation with the audience. Everybody is invited to share experiences, solutions or objections. A team of moderators uses „dynamic facilitation“ to promote the process, to bring the different topics together and to put them in context:

Session 3 - Venue: FORUM STADTPARK, ground floor:

Democracy Inside Fortress Europe

To protect its internal borders, the EU´s external borders are closed. Instead of reaching the praised place of security, freedom and law, refugees die at sea: human sacrifices on the altar of the common market. Fortress building is an anti-european project, resulting from decades of missed democratization rather than from current national egoisms. Because where "market-compliant democracy" is demanded, Europe is deprived of its social dimension.

Speaker: Tamara Ehs (AT)
Moderation: Brigitte Kratzwald (AT)


Session 4 - Venue: FORUM STADTPARK, first floor

Conflicts in the Hothouse
European Climate Politics and Civil Society Interventions

Eventually last December´s Paris climate summit provided an international basis for ambitious climate policy. Even though governments only agreed on voluntary emission reduction targets. So it´s time for Europe to take a stronger leadership role and take decisive action. Due to its early industrialization the old continent is one of the historically strongest emitters of greenhouse gases and has to contribute to the global climate protection efforts appropriately, according to the concept of Climate Justice.

If we really want to limit global warming to 2 or even 1,5 degrees, which is crucial for certain world regions such as the pacific islands, we´re running out of time. But European climate policy doesn´t live up to the challenge. Economic interests still trump ecological necessities.

Nevertheless more and more people realize that our growth and profit driven economic system is the root cause of the climate crisis. And they stand up for change. Be it thousands in Germany, who engage in civil disobedience against lignite mining, or hundreds in Austria, who currently fight the construction of a third runway at Vienna airport.

Manuel Grebenjak and Hannah Knust speak about the latest developments of European and Austrian climate policy and about citizens´ efforts to bring about positive change.

Speakers: Manuel Grebenjak (AT), Hannah Knust (DE)
Moderation: Josef Obermoser (AT)