Sabine Kroissenbrunner, new Secretary General: Open doors and "dare more democracy!"
| Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends of the Bruno Kreisky Forum!
As the new Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue (since 1 August 2024), I would like to introduce myself to you. Before I joined the Federal Chancellery in the mid-1990s after completing my studies, I was able to work in the still young Kreisky Forum with the first Secretary General Margit Schmidt. After 25 years in the Foreign Ministry and working as a diplomat in Berlin, Ankara, Belgrade and Cairo, I see my new role at Armbrustergasse 15 as a „continuation of diplomacy by other means“. My previous experience as a diplomat and my focus in the areas of migration, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, among others, have led me to conclude with regard to Austria as well as the global situation: despite all the committed citizens, we still have too little dialogue and a still inadequate „culture of dialogue“. There is a lack of places and formats for encounters from which solidarity and sustainable co-operation can emerge. Bruno Kreisky is a role model for us across all parties and ideologies: breaking down barriers in thinking and pragmatically building bridges. There are plenty of challenges, as well as problem analyses and proposed solutions. „Daring democracy“ still applies today and even more so! But are we aware of the „resources of democracies“? Those human, social, economic, cultural, religious and spiritual resources that we need to call upon, strengthen and also develop anew in order to counter authoritarian challenges, promote social cohesion and preserve a democratic constitutional state? The conflict in the Middle East, which is just as historically linked to Europe and the West as many other global challenges and regional disasters, makes it easy to recognise that „fortress thinking“ is just short-sighted populism and not a solution. Nor is it a solution to climate change and labour migration, human rights violations and flight, violence and fundamentalist-identitarian political fantasies or terrorism. The foundation walls of the „Kreisky Villa“ probably date back to the 15th century and its residents have seen and lived through a lot. In the spirit of the last tenant and its namesake, the Bruno Kreisky Forum is a house with open doors. It is a centre for encounters, learning and exchange, both on an Austrian and international level. It is a centre for political and social mediation, a platform for diversity, a forum for controversial intellectual discourse and a laboratory for proposed solutions and successful cooperation. Bruno Kreisky's living room and garden are also a salon: politics is society is art is culture. Always open to controversy and differences of opinion, never closed, never a fortress. Fortress is the opposite of freedom. Fortress is the opposite of the rule of law. „Freedom wears out if you don't use it!“ sings Reinhard Mey - and that's how it is with democracy and the right to vote, diplomacy and dialogue, resources from education and culture - worldwide. All of this can only succeed if you and you remain loyal to us: as visitors and participants, as providers of ideas and co-organisers - across all borders. I look forward to our exchange and our cooperation, to the part of the journey that we are taking together! With best regards,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen! As the new Secretary General of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue (since 1 August 2024), I would like to introduce myself to you. Before joining the Federal Chancellery in the mid-1990s and right after having graduated from university, I had the honour and pleasure to join the still young Kreisky Forum and to work with its first Secretary General, Ms Margit Schmidt. After 25 years in the Austrian Foreign Ministry and having served as a diplomat in Berlin, Ankara, Belgrade and Cairo, I consider my new post at Armbrustergasse 15 as a „continuation of diplomacy by other means“. The previous experience as a diplomat and my focus on areas such as migration, inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue have brought me to the following conclusion when looking at Austria and the state of the world: despite all the many committed citizens, we still do not have enough dialogue and have still generated an insufficient „culture of dialogue“. There is a lack of space and formats for encounters from which solidarity and sustainable cooperation can emerge. Bruno Kreisky is a role model for us across all parties and ideologies: crossing boundaries in thoughts and perceptions and fostering a pragmatic approach when building bridges. There are plenty of challenges, problem analyses and proposed solutions. „Daring to be democratic!“ still applies today and even more so! But are we aware of the ‘resources of democracies’? Those human, social, economic, cultural, religious and spiritual resources that we need to call upon, strengthen and also develop anew in order to counter authoritarian challenges, promote social cohesion and preserve democracy and the rule of law? The conflict in the Middle East, that is as historically linked to Europe and the West as many other global challenges and regional disasters, makes it easy to recognise that ‘fortress thinking’ is just short-sighted populism and not a solution. This way of thinking will not generate any solutions to climate change and labour migration, neither to human rights violations or the refugee crisis, nor to violence and fundamentalist-identitarian political utopias or terrorism. The foundation walls of the ‘Kreisky Villa’ probably date back to the 15th century and its residents have seen and lived through a lot. In the spirit of the last tenant and its eponym, the Bruno Kreisky Forum has been a house with open doors. It has been a centre for encounters, learning and exchange, both on an Austrian and international level. It has been a centre for political and social mediation, a platform for diversity, a forum for controversial intellectual discourse and a laboratory for solutions and successful cooperation. Bruno Kreisky's living room and garden have also functioned as a „salon“: politics is society is art is culture. Always open to controversial exchanges and dissent, never closed, never a fortress. A fortress is the opposite of freedom. Any fortress is the opposite of the rule of law. ‘Freedom wears out if you don't use it!’ sings Reinhard Mey - and that also holds true for democracy and the right to vote, for diplomacy and dialogue, for our resources in education and culture - globally. We can only be successfull in our endeavours if you remain loyal to us: as visitors and participants, as providers of ideas and co-creators - across all bounderies. I am looking forward to our dialogue and our cooperation, to the journey, we are taking together! With best regards, |