Denk.Raum.Fresach to organize European tolerance talks in May 2015.

Representatives of politics, business and culture presented the newly founded Denk.Raum.Fresach in Klagenfurt on Thursday, an association for tolerance and integration in Europe. The platform is going to organize European tolerance talks in the small mountain village Fresach on 22/23rd May 2015, and European Parliament President Martin Schulz has already agreed to come. The President of the Board, Hannes Swoboda, at the launch said: “Due to its geographical location and history Fresach is an excellent background for dealing with the diversity of our European societies. Fresach has the unique opportunity in the exciting region of Carinthia, Slovenia and Friuli, to connect local and regional peculiarities with the idea of the European unification. ”

At the presentation of Denk.Raum.Fresach (DRF) the president of the Carinthian parliament, Reinhart Rohr, Industry Carinthia’s Managing Director Claudia Mischensky, University Rector Oliver Vitouch, PEN Austria-President Helmuth A. Niederle and the evang. Superintendent Manfred Sauer were present. Rohr pointed out the great opportunity for Fresach, to become a center of dialogue and far beyond the country’s borders to become an European focal point. Superintendent Sauer added, especially in view of the recent terrible experiences with religiously motivated terrorism all parties are challenged to investigate the causes and to develop possible new models of coexistence. ”

The first European tolerance talks in May will be dedicated to the topic “How far does tolerance go? Duties of state, economy and society”. The city of Villach has already committed financial support. University Rector Vitouch stressed the tolerance talks could make a very concrete and tangible contribution to an open, pluralistic and anxiety-free future. The interdisciplinary approach of Fresach with participants from art, culture, science and politics could lead to new and successful food for thought in terms of dialogue and integration in Carinthia, and become a regional flagship project with national appeal: “Carinthian courage to openness as a model for Austria and Europe.”

Lessons for the future

For the organizers the tiny Carinthian village Fresach is an ideal place for the European dialogue about tolerance, inclusion and human rights. Here the local population struggled for centuries to religious freedom and self-determination, shown by a house of prayer from 1784 and the new Protestant Museum. In the future, we want to develop a dialogue-oriented approach to overcome conflicts here, said the managing director of the museum, Hilde Schaumberger. And the Executive Director of the Association of Industrialists in Carinthia, Claudia Mischensky, added in the wake of recent events in Paris: “There could be no better time to start Denk.Raum.Fresach.”

Fresach can point to a good tradition: From 1972 to 1993 until the fall of the Iron Curtain, a small community of international writers met here to discuss ways out of the East-West conflict. The Denk.Raum.Fresach continues this tradition and links the back of urgency East-West dialogue (Russia and China) with the urgent becoming North-South dialogue (Africa, Islam). The European tolerance talks in 2015 will be predominantly financed by private memberships and corporate partnerships, public support as from the mayor of Villach Helmut Manzenreiter is still being negotiated. Admission tickets cost 50 euros, for residents and students 25 euros. Registrations, memberships and sponsorships can be applied on the website http://www.fresach.org.

Press contact: Dr. Wilfried Seywald, presse@fresach.org, Tel. +43 (0) 699-18114006.
Photos of the event on www.fotodienst.at