Who’s playing whom?

„Who against whom?“: Inequality is not a matter of chance, but is politically engineered and deliberate. People in areas such as work, education, housing and care are often pitted against one another in a perpetual discourse of competition. But who benefits from this narrative of „us versus them“? Together with various experts, Sara Hassan analyses who benefits from social inequality, how power structures work and what opportunities exist to create greater solidarity and justice.
To answer the question „Who against whom?“ together – or at least to get a little closer to an answer – the evening provides a space for in-depth perspectives and open discussion.The editors, Sara Hassan and Josefa Niedermaier, will be in conversation with urban sociologist Mara Verlič, democracy researcher Tamara Ehs, IG24 activist Flavia Matei and speech therapist Ali Dönmez, taking their thoughts beyond the book and opening them up for discussion. The event will be moderated by Noura Maan. In a subsequent interactive discussion, there will be an opportunity to share questions, experiences and personal perspectives, and to reflect together on ways to achieve greater solidarity and justice.

Sara Hassan, An author and former policy officer at the European Parliament, her work explores how power is used – but also abused – within institutions.
Josefa Niedermaier, Freelance editor, working on non-fiction book and text projects relating to society, inclusion and sustainability. Find out more at is-that-true.at. 
Ali Dönmez, a speech and language therapist and teacher of German as a foreign and second language (DaF/DaZ), leads workshops on multilingualism and anti-racist education.
Tamara Ehs, a political scientist and democracy adviser, is an Associate Fellow at the Academy of International Affairs in Bonn and advises, amongst others, the European Commission’s Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy and the European Association for Local Democracy in Brussels.
Flavia Matei, a lecturer and researcher at the University of Art and Design Linz, is currently working on the #ConnectingMinds project on socio-ecologically sustainable architecture. In her spare time, she is an activist campaigning for the rights of migrant care workers in Austria.
Mara Verlič, an officer in the Local Government Policy Department of the Vienna Chamber of Labour, specialising in urban migration and housing policy.

Moderation
Noura Maan Noura Maan works as managing editor and foreign affairs editor at *Der STANDARD*. Her journalistic work focuses, amongst other things, on the Middle East, US politics and gender equality issues, and she regularly comments on current international developments. In 2023, she co-edited the anthology *Geradegerückt – Vorverurteilt, skandalisiert, verleumdet: Wie die Biografien prominenter Frauen verzerrt werden* (Set Straight – Pre-judged, Scandalised, Slandered: How the Biographies of Prominent Women Are Distorted) with Beate Hausbichler, published by Kremayr & Scheriau.