Elevate Festival 2018 - Opening Event

The 14th edition of the Elevate Festival deals with two basic concepts of modernity - risk and courage. Both stand for personal responsibility, progress and commitment. Both are the engine of social change. While we often face major risks in technological and economic developments, global crises - authoritarian tendencies in politics, social inequality and climate change - often lack courageous projects with a broad impact. The guests of this year's festival show that there is still reason to believe in the power of civil society movements, especially in turbulent times.

As part of the Elevate opening, some of the international speakers of the festival talk about their activities and offer a taste of the events of the coming days. For example, the cartoonist Gerhard Haderer, who recently launched his "School of Disobedience", which is a platform that aims to encourage people to participate in socially relevant topics. Also speaking at the festival opening are Renata Avila and Sarah Harrison. They introduce their new book "Women Whistleblowing Wikileaks". Josef Zotter, who is known for sweet chocolate and social commitment, will talk about risk and courage too. The Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen will send a video message to the Festival.

As a highlight of the evening, Julian Assange will talk about his activities from inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Just recently, Wikileaks has repeatedly hit the headlines; a supposed proximity to Russia, to right-wing groups and Trump intensifies the controversy surrounding the controversial publicist. At the same time, his publications have sharpened the awareness of abuse of power in the past decade. As part of the opening, he will also be available for an Q&A.

In addition, there will be musical contributions during the two-hour show: the composer and turntable virtuoso Jorge Sánchez-Chiong will play the drums together with Lukas Koenig. Following the show there are concerts and a DJ Lineup at the same venue.