Start of the Lab Days at the European Forum Alpbach 2024


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22 Aug, 2024

On 23 and 24 August, leading experts work on solutions for pressing issues – from the transformation of the pension system to the future of the Balkans.

The successful module "Lab Days" of the European Forum Alpbach is being continued this year. High-level experts come together in two full days of working sessions to collaborate on specific questions. This results in practical and immediately applicable recommendations for key actors.

EFA President Andreas Treichl: ,,Bringing people with diverse backgrounds together to work on concrete and relevant questions for two intense days is one of the biggest strengths of the European Forum Alpbach. These Labs are not without results – they have a problem-solving approach and develop solutions for politics and civil society.

The Labs cover the four EFA24 thematic tracks topics: democracy, finance and economy, security and climate. The “10 x 100 Cities” Lab for example elaborates strategies to better use the potential of urban bioregions. Representatives from Mannheim, Zurich and Linz work on partnership-based policies that democratise big social projects.

Another Lab focuses on the transformation of our pension system. In collaboration with ERSTE Foundation, experts analyse proven models and the role of capital markets in safeguarding the Austrian pension system. The resulting recommendations will then be presented to decision-makers on site.

In the face of increasingly spreading disinformation – especially in relation to the Russian war against Ukraine – one Lab analyses the Russian strategies of misinformation, with the goal to establish applicable policy recommendations to counteract this threat.

In a total of 10 labs, 20 to 30 experts from politics, economy, science and other fields gather to co-create solutions for the pressing issues worldwide. The interdisciplinary exchange in the Labs produces impulses that have an effect far beyond the Forum.