Villach (21.5.2015) – Federal president Heinz Fischer opens the European Tolerance Dialogues 2015 at a reception in Villach on Thursday. The Think.Tank.Fresach is the host of that three-day event, an independent association for tolerance and integration in Europe. Governor Peter Kaiser and the mayor of Villach Gerhard Altziebler welcome 20 thinkers, philosophers and scientists. The discussions will be under the patronage of the PEN-Club Austria and the Alpen-Adria-University and will start on Friday at the mountain village Fresach. http://www.fresach.org The new dialogue forum Think.Tank.Fresach is an initiative for Europe and for the Alpen-Adria-region. At the event with international speakers central topics of the current social and political crisis will be highlighted according to the motto “how far goes tolerance? Duties for state, economy and society.” Social scientists, as well as authors, theologians and economists will be speaking on that topics, among others the controversial German-Indian author Pravu Mazumdar, who will be speaking about the no-mans-land of cultures, or the Iranian-rooted Sama Maani, who simply pleads in the face of the increasing confusion and disorientation to refuse respect. 50 percent woman’s quota Especially women will be demonstrating their positions. A women’s quota of 50 percent was determined for the Tolerance Dialogues. The social anthropologist Christa Markon highlighted the daily racism from the middle, the social scientist Claudia Brunner questions the concept of tolerance as privilege of the powerful. The middle-east expert Karin Kneissl shows consequences of failed western politics and why we “harvest stom” in Europe now. The nun from Wemberg Maria-Andreas Weißbacher delivers recipes for a future cohabitation of different cultures and nations, she puts her confidence in the Christian concept of “living together” which is already discussed in the first epistle of Paul which postulates the “recognition of the other” as the basis for peace in the society. The civil rights campaigner Philo Ikonya from Kenia will be performing “love songs from prison” at the tolerance prayer house (22 May, at 8 pm), the Syrian Bouzouk lute player will be singing about his escape from civil war (9 pm). The Algerian linguistic scientist Zora Bouchentouf-Siagh will be holding a lecture about the position of a decolinial modernity in Africa, Danica Purg of the Blod School of Management will be explaining what politics and society can learn from creative management methods. And the great writer Alois Brandstätter will be posing the question: “Him who is open to everything cannot be entirely watertight.” Fresach’s declaration to tolerance Highlights of the discussions will be the passing of “Fresach’s declaration to tolerance 2015”. The declaration will be read by the president of the board of trustees, Hannes Swoboda, Friday night at 18 hrs. at the tolerance museum. Numerous organisations and institutions support the dialogues, among others the Club Carinthia in Vienna, the city Villach, the county Carinthia, the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Carinthian industry as well as Federal Chancellery and Austrian National Broadcast Company. Media contact: Dr. Wilfried Seywald, presse@fresach.org, Tel. 0699-18114006.
