Heinz Mayer<\/a> highlighted the strength of European science and, in particular, that of the Styrian research landscape.<\/p>\nKeynote: Freedom & Security<\/h2>\n
In his keynote speech, the renowned political scientist Carlo Masala<\/strong> addressed the topic of \u201cWhat Europe could be\u201d and examined the relationship between freedom and security. \u201cOnly when one is secure does one have the freedom to make decisions for independent development.\u201d Europe\u2019s freedom is under massive threat from both outside and within. Europe\u2019s very existence is at stake. Masala sees a military threat from Russia, an economic challenge from China and a threat from the USA. It is precisely the transformation of the USA that is bringing about a new world order. Masala sees Europe\u2019s internal enemies in the rise of right-wing populist and far-right forces. He concluded his well-founded remarks with the following statement: \u201cSecurity is the foundation for free social development. But it comes at a political and economic cost. For governments, this means making clear decisions. Political leadership is therefore needed to reach out to our own societies and to protect Europe in this way.\u201d<\/p>\nFocus on the challenges<\/h2>\n
Leading experts such as Johannes Benigni<\/strong> from JBC Vienna, the renowned economists Gabriel Felbermayr<\/strong> and Monika K\u00f6ppl-Turyna<\/strong>, Anette Klinger<\/strong> from the IFN-Internorm Group and the President of the Styrian Industrial Association, Kurt Maier<\/strong>, discussed the various challenges and, ultimately, the options for a necessary economic recovery in Europe on the evening of the first day. The stimulating theological address by the Archbishop of Belgrade, Cardinal Laszlo Nemet<\/strong>, and the literary contribution by the publisher and publicist Lojze Wieser<\/strong> provided an impressive conclusion to the first day.<\/p>\nSpace research<\/h2>\n
The debates on the second day began with a brief welcome to the guests of honour by \u201cGeist & Gegenwart\u201d coordinator Herwig H\u00f6sele<\/strong>. The morning forum featured a panel discussion \u2013 in cooperation with STYRIA Ethics \u2013 on the topic of \u201cThe Future of Space\u201d. Space research in Europe, Austria and Styria is currently receiving a new boost, not least to ensure it does not fall behind in global competition. Particularly in satellite communications, vehicle and aircraft navigation, and remote sensing (monitoring the Earth\u2019s surface from above), there are areas where findings from basic research are being transferred to application-oriented research, as JR Managing Director Heinz Mayer<\/strong> explains. New security requirements in Europe are fuelling research for the defence sector and leading to increased budgets in this area. Satellite data is also increasingly required for the optimisation of hydropower in Austria, as well as in agricultural support and underground railway construction. Austria\u2019s strengths in space research lie in reliability achieved through good, organised networking. Austria\u2019s community is well positioned in this regard. Klaus G. Strassmeier<\/strong> from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam says: \u201cARIANE is the most important pillar of European research \u2013 this project is essential.\u201d At the same time, he calls for more basic research at Austrian universities.<\/p>\nInsiemegruppen<\/h2>\n
Die \u00fcber Mittag tagenden Insiemegruppen dienten der vertiefenden Behandlung von ausgew\u00e4hlten Fragestellungen wie \u201eFreiheit als europ\u00e4ische Identit\u00e4t\u201c, \u201eKreativit\u00e4t in Bildung, Forschung und Technologieentwicklung\u201c, \u201eUniversit\u00e4ten und liberale Demokratie\u201c, \u201eKlimaschutz, Marktwirtschaft und sozialer Zusammenhalt\u201c und etwa auch \u201eInnovationsregion Alpe Adria\u201c. In diesen Insiemegruppen wurden erste Vorschl\u00e4ge erarbeitet, die in den n\u00e4chsten Tagen auf der Website des Pfingstdialogs ver\u00f6ffentlicht werden.<\/p>\n
Religi\u00f6se Unterschiede – gemeinsame Werte?<\/h2>\n
Ein H\u00f6hepunkt am Donnerstag war ohne Zweifel die Keynote des israelisch-deutschen Psychologen und Autors Ahmad Mansour<\/strong> und das thematisch richtigerweise daran folgende Forum \u201eFreiheit und Religionsvielfalt\u201c mit dem Ethiker Matthias Beck<\/strong> von der Universit\u00e4t Wien, dem Schweizer Publizisten Roger de Weck<\/strong>, mit Barbara Krenn<\/strong> vom ORF und mit der Publizistin Danielle Spera<\/strong>. Im Zentrum dieser Diskussion stand nicht zuletzt die Frage, ob religi\u00f6se Unterschiede in einer Gesellschaft ausgehalten und letztlich gemeinsame Werte gefunden werden k\u00f6nnen, um Demokratie, Offenheit und Freiheit in Europa zu bewahren.<\/p>\nForum Generale: Strategie Europa<\/h2>\n
Das abschlie\u00dfende Forum Generale zum Thema \u201eStrategie Europa\u201c startete mit der Keynote des renommierten Politologen von der Humbold Universit\u00e4t zu Berlin, Herfried M\u00fcnkler<\/strong>, und gab Ein- und Ausblicke in m\u00f6gliche strategische Szenarien f\u00fcr eine Neupositionierung Europas im politischen Machtspiel der globalen Player. Die Diskussionsteilnehmer*innen waren u. a. Wirtschafts- und Wissenschaftslandesrat Willibald Ehrenh\u00f6fer<\/strong>, Politologe Herfried M\u00fcnkler<\/strong>, Othmar Karas<\/strong>, Pr\u00e4sident des European Forum Alpbach, die \u00d6konomin Monika K\u00f6ppl-Turyna<\/strong> und die Demokratieforscherin an der Universit\u00e4t Graz, Katrin Praprotnik<\/strong>.<\/p>\nWeitere Informationen, Fotos und die Nachschau finden Sie hier<\/a><\/p>\n
\n„Geist und Gegenwart“ ist eine Veranstaltungsreihe von Club Alpbach Steiermark, JOANNEUM RESEARCH und Land Steiermark in Kooperation mit der Di\u00f6zese Graz-Seckau.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pfingstdialog 2026: In seiner Er\u00f6ffnungsrede betonte Wirtschafts- und Wissenschaftslandesrat Willibald Ehrenh\u00f6fer die Notwendigkeit f\u00fcr ein neues Selbstverst\u00e4ndnis Europas und ein neues europ\u00e4isches Selbstbewusstsein, um den alten Kontinent zu st\u00e4rken: \u201eEuropa steht f\u00fcr Freiheit, Rechtsstaatlichkeit, liberale Demokratie, Meinungsfreiheit, wirtschaftliche St\u00e4rke und hohe Innovationskraft. Es braucht ein neues Vertrauen in die eigene Gestaltungskraft. Die Steiermark ist dabei […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":111049,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4863],"class_list":["post-111048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-allgemein","tag-pfingstdialog-2026","institutes-allgemein"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111048"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111070,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111048\/revisions\/111070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joanneum.at\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}