Community Calls

• A Conversation on Crisis Leadership

Community Call on 5 December:

The three crises of health, conflict, and climate change are putting immense pressure on decision makers and individuals from all walks of life. In this community call, young leaders from the Alpbach community will share their personal thoughts on how to effectively lead through crisis situations. Join us for a chat with

- Alexander Gstrein, Major, Maria Theresian Military Academy; EFA22 Seminar Chair of “4Cs4U”

- Walter Hajek, Head of Operations and International Cooperation, Austrian Red Cross; Alpbach in Motion Alumni

- Caroline Paulick-Thiel, Executive Director, Politics for Tomorrow; Alpbach in Motion Mentor, Alpbach IDEAS Host and Alpbach Seminar Chair

• COP27 in Focus: Briefing with the Network

Community Call on Monday, 7 November:

On the occasion of the start of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, our upcoming Community Call on 7 November, 6–7 pm, is all about the climate conference. Together with Shrey Goyal, Founder & Director, Sustainable Growth Initiative and Valeriya Izhyk, Ukraine Reconstruction Campaigner, CEE Bankwatch Network, we will give you an overview of the most important topics and expected outcomes: What role will emerging markets and the Alliance of Small Island States play in shaping global climate action? What opportunities to finance the effects of climate change lie ahead? Join us for the debate and register!

• How Disinformation Threatens Democracy

Community Call on Monday, 25 July:

The scale of disinformation is unprecedented and threatens democracies across the globe. What can we learn from past and present challenges in this field? How can democracies fight these challenges, prepare for future ones, and what conditions are needed to protect our democratic processes?

These are some of the topics to be covered in the upcoming Community Call entitled How Disinformation Threatens Democracy. Our first Speaker Péter Krekó is an expert in the field of disinformation and political tribalism, he leads the Political Capital research institute, that has published in-depth studies on this subject, many with a focus on the V4 countries. Our second Speaker Hanna Gleiß works as Project Lead at Das NETTZ, a network initiative against online hate speech. She is also one of the Seminar Chairs at the European Forum Alpbach 2022. Ms. Gleiß will discuss their work in countering hate speech and empowering this network community. The discussion will be held by Péter Krekó, Director of Political Capital Institute, Hanna Gleiß, Project Lead at Das NETTZ and Péter Hunya, Content Manager "The Future of Democracy and Rule of Law" at the European Forum Alpbach.

• Strategic Foresight

Community Call on Monday, 27 June:
Foresight is a structured and systematic way of using ideas about the future to anticipate and better prepare for change. In this community call, we will talk about the concept of foresight and apply it to outline structured scenarios and actionable recommendations for the future of Europe.

• EU Citizens and Their Financial Health: The Important Role of Financial Literacy

Community Call on Monday, 13 June 2022:
Now more than ever, we need to ensure that European citizens have fair access to financial instruments and find support when it comes to increasing their financial literacy and independence. We will discuss these issues with Matthias Reisinger of the Stiftung Wirtschaftsbildung and Elke Lerch, Content Manager of The Financing of Europe's Future Track at the EFA.

• The Path to Digital Transformation: A Chance to Address Digital Inequality and Digital Power Concentration?

Community Call on Monday, 9 May 2022:

While it has prided itself with being a regional innovation leader, Slovenia is still lagging behind Western Europe. In this talk, Club Alpbach Senza Confini is interested to find out how governments in Central and Eastern Europe are trying to enhance the general level of digitalisation while tackling the digital inequality and digital power concentration with Mark Boris Andrijanič, Minister for Digital Transformation of the Republic of Slovenia and former Club Alpbach Senza Confini scholarship holder (2008).

• Social Entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans

Community Call on Monday, 4 April, 2022:

How can aspiring entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans be supported to realise their full potential and contribute to the vitalisation of their regions? Initiative Group Sarajevo will present a few of its social entrepreneurship projects and engage in a conversation with Vesna Agić from the Mozaik Foundation, which is leading the development of a new generation of entrepreneurial and innovative youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dušanka Ilić, CEO of the start-up Beyond42, will also join the conversation from Belgrade.

• Tackling Climate Change through AI

Community Call on Monday, 14 March, 2022:

How can the transformative potential of artificial intelligence be used in the climate transition? In this call, we will explore possible solutions proposed by members of the Forum Alpbach Network. The automation of microplastics measurement is at the heart of the start-up Purency’s mission, co-founded by FAN-Board member Valerie Hengl. Together with her and Marina Vanni from the EFA Challenges Winning team Solarity, we will discuss current ventures that tackle climate change through technology-based innovation.

• Special Edition: United with Ukraine

Community Call on Monday, 28 February 2022:

Several members of our Forum Alpbach Network from Ukraine gave personal statements on their situations: Oleksandr Ivanov and Maria Kurinna shared deeply emotional accounts from the warzone. In addition, Olena Drost and Sofiia Shevchuk gave important insights into the situation for Ukrainians abroad and how they are supporting the country and their friends and families in need. While informing the general public about the war and debunking conspiracy theories are important activities, organising protests and participating in demonstrations constitute further important measures for support.

EFA Vice-President Katarzyna Pisarska reported from the Polish border to Ukraine and shared her despaired still hopeful thoughts in a motivational speech that addressed both Ukrainians and people abroad. Consequently, she clearly stated that the civil society is at the very heart of this war. This is what Putin is trying to destroy, but he will not succeed.

• Democracy in the Making: Why Civic Education Matters

Community Call on Monday, 31 January 2022:

In our January edition of the Community Call, we have partnered up with The CIVICS to explore the topic of civic education in Europe. In the spotlight will be initiatives with a focus on strengthening democratic competences. Join us for a discussion with Stefan Niederhauser and Lisa Wulf from voty.ch and aula, two organisations that form a cross-national partnership in Switzerland and Germany which aims to make participation more tangible for teenagers. We will also welcome Botond Feledy, Tipping Point Consulting director, who brings extensive expertise on civic education in Hungary. In our conversation, we will look at regional disparities and explore solution-oriented approaches to strengthening civic education in Europe.

The call will be moderated by Louisa Slavkova, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The CIVICS.

Voty.ch and aula are one of six projects that have been selected by ANSTOSS Demokratie for further implementation. More information on ANSTOSS Demokratie can be found here.

• Debates in Polarising Times – Initiatives from Civil Society

Community Call on Thursday, 16 December 2021:

To kick off the series, we will focus on the topic Debates in Polarising Times – Initiatives from Civil Society on 16 December. With Daniel Privitera from streitgut, a platform which develops innovative formats for democratic debates in social media, and Aleksandra Mirkowicz, member of the winning team “A New Reality – Exploring Our Common Ground” at the Alpbach Challenges, we will discuss how debating culture – in the online and offline world – can be strengthened.

Streitgut is one of six projects that have been selected by ANSTOSS Demokratie for further implementation. More information on ANSTOSS Demokratie can be found here.