Graz, May 15, 2023 – State Minister for Science Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, Christian Lagger as representative of the Graz-Seckau Diocese and “Geist & Gegenwart” coordinator Herwig Hösele presented the program for this year’s Whitsun Dialogue, which will take place on May 24th and 25th, in Graz today. May will take place for the eleventh time at Seggau Castle. The general theme this year is “The European Way of Life. Claims and Reality”.
“Europe stands for freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights. These values and our social achievements have brought us peace and prosperity. The war in Ukraine, high inflation and the energy turnaround, but also demographic developments are eroding Europe’s competitiveness. At this year’s Pentecost Dialogue, we will discuss whether and how we can continue to follow the ‘European Way of Life’ despite multiple crises and current challenges,” says State Councilor Barbara Eibinger-Miedl.
The extensive program begins on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. with the opening and ends on Thursday, May 25, 2023 with the literary and culinary evening, a traditional highlight of the Whitsun dialogues. In between there are numerous program items that illuminate the European way of life from different perspectives.
Around 80 top-class speakers
In particular, the question will be whether the European model of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in connection with a socially and ecologically responsible market economy and a rich culture of diversity can compete with the turbo-capitalist system of the American type or the authoritarian competitive enough for Asia’s totalitarian societies. In the face of multiple crises – Ukraine, energy, pandemic, climate, migration, the threat of stagflation and challenges posed by populism, fundamentalism and extremism – what steps must Europe take in order to be able to secure the “European way of life” for the future?
The various facets of the general theme will be highlighted in the context of keynotes, panels and insieme groups. The 80 speakers include the publicist Paul Lendvai, the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, the President of the Constitutional Court Christoph Grabenwarter, the longstanding High Representative for Bosnia Valentin Inzko, the EU judge Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, the economic researchers Gabriel Felbermayer and Monika Köppl- Turyina, Ulrike Ackermann from the John Stuart Mill Institute, the contemporary historians Peter Longerich, Barbara Stelzl-Marx, Helmut Konrad and Monika Sommer as well as the writers Julya Rabinowich and Paolo Rumiz.
A scholarship program will once again make it possible for highly qualified students and young academics to take part in the Whitsun Dialogue this year. The entire event will be over 
www.pfingstdialog-steiermark.at as well as the media partners ORF, Kleine Zeitung, Die Presse and Die Furche.
A tradition of the Whitsun Dialogues is the accompanying book publication in the “Geist & Gegenwart” edition by Wieser-Verlag. The eleventh volume of the publication series, which is again edited by Lojze Wieser, combines not only contributions from the speakers on 386 pages, but also beyond also by well-known personalities from science, politics, business, media, religion and culture, who reflect the general theme – the European way of life – in four chapters in different ways.
The “Spirit & Present” Whitsun Dialogues
The Whitsun Dialogues take place in cooperation with the State of Styria, represented by Science Minister Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, the Diocese of Graz-Seckau and Club Alpbach Styria. They are dedicated to controversial and fundamental questions of perspectives and developments in Europe and the resulting challenges for Austria and Styria. These included the European Green Deal (2022), the first lessons learned from the Corona pandemic (2021), the digital challenges (2019), relations between Europe and the United States (2017) or European values in the face of migration, but also globally strengthened fundamentalist and authoritarian tendencies (2015) General themes of the last editions.
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2023-05-15 14:56:11
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