February 2015 Dispatch

Visit-Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in D.C.

Visit-Austrian Federal Minister of Justice in D.C.

From February 2-8, 2015, Austrian Federal Minister of Justice, Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter, visited Washington, D.C. and New York City to engage with various members of Congress including Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa, the new Chair of the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives as well as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He also participated in the annual National Prayer Breakfast. His visit included a lecture on "Hate Speech Legislation in Austria and the European Union," which the Minister gave at the American Catholic University.

UNO Celebrates Grand Opening of New International Center

On January 20, 2015, Austrian Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Hans Peter Manz, and Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Vice President, Dr. Anton Fink, participated in the grand opening of the University of New Orleans' (UNO) brand new International Center, which will house all of UNO's international programs and services, including study abroad and international exchanges, as well as the World Affairs Council of New Orleans. The new International Center will also be home to Center Austria - The Austrian Marshall Plan Center for European Studies. The UNO-Innsbruck International Summer School is one of the most enduring examples of UNO's commitment to international education. Since 1976, more than 10,000 students have participated in this collaborative program between UNO and the University of Innsbruck. For more information visit: www.centeraustria.org

Palo Alto Start-up and Innovation Scene 2015: Recap

Palo Alto Start-up and Innovation Scene 2015: Recap

Inspired by the backdrop of Stanford University, the Office of Science and Technology Austria together with ABA-Invest in Austria invited members of the Bay Area's entrepreneur scene to find out more about the Austrian Start-up and Innovation Scene, and its attractive incentive systems for R&D activities.

The event comes at a time in which Austria has been recently been placed by the World Economic Forum in the top tier category when it comes to overall global competitiveness, Austria coming in 21st out of 144 nations. In addition, recent statistical analysis by Eurostat has shown that Austria boasted the fourth highest share of organization and/or marketing innovations in Europe between 2010 and 2012. Moreover, the recent 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Index published by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI Institute) has underlined Austria's "innovation-driven" entrepreneurial landscape.

Student Visits to the Embassy

From January 29 to February 7, a group of nineteen students from the WIKU high school in Salzburg set out to explore the American Way of Life on a study trip to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Their trip included visits to the World Bank, a lecture on the U.S. lobbying system and a presentation at the Austrian Embassy, where Consul General Walter Neumayer welcomed them personally. After five days in D.C., the group went up to New York City, where their American adventure continued.

On February 4, another group of fifteen students from the International School of the Americas in San Antonio, Texas, visited the Austrian Embassy to hear about arts funding in Austria. The Director of the Embassy's Cultural Forum, Andreas Pawlitschek, gave the students an overview of Austria's national and international cultural policies and agendas and participated in an extensive Q&A with the students.

The Taste of Vienna in Washington, D.C.

With his new bakery-coffeehouse Bakers & Baristas located in Penn Quarter, owner Aaron Gordon brings a piece of Vienna to DC. The idea stems from a trip in his 20s when Gordon spent a year traveling through Europe and ended up crashing in Salzburg for a month. There, he spent a lot of time in coffeehouses and fell in love with the concept of Austrian bakeries. A return trip to Vienna about a year and a half ago brought back memories and the idea for Bakers & Baristas was born. Gordon describes the Viennese bakery and coffeehouse as elegant and fancy "but not frou-frou." Beside a great selection of desserts, from Sachertorte to Vanilla-Kipferl, the guests can enjoy typical Austrian coffee varieties, such as the Viennese Mélange.

Find out more at http://bakersandbaristas.com