Alexander Van der Bellen was sworn in as the Federal President of the Republic of Austria on January 26, 2017. The final election result was published on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 (including absentee ballots); Van der Bellen won the re-run of the second round with 53.79%.
Innovative inauguration of “Open Austria” in Silicon Valley
On Tuesday, October 4, over 130 guests including Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner, Consul General Ulrike Ritzinger and Trade Commissioner Rudolf Thaler joined co-directors Martin Rauchbauer and Georg Fürlinger for a celebratory opening of their new office with pastries by Austrian-born pastry chef Albert Kutternig. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, U.S. Ambassador to Austria Alexa Wesner, and the Vice President of the Austrian Chamber for the Economy (WKO), Jürgen Roth participated live from their respective offices in Vienna via a Google Hangout broadcast.
All participants were delighted by the opportunities that this new presence in the West Coast’s entrepreneurial hub presents to Austria. “Silicon Valley, with companies such as Apple or Uber and a third of the world’s venture capital is one of the most innovative regions in the world” said Foreign Minister Kurz. “With this new office, we want to build a bridge to better connect Austrian entrepreneurs with this region and grow their networks and potentials.”
Ambassador Waldner concurred, underlining the growing Austrian network in the U.S.: “I’m delighted to see our excellent network in the U.S. grow even further with this new office in San Francisco, making Open Austria the door opener to Silicon Valley for Austrian start-ups.”
Ambassador Wesner underlined the importance of California and the U.S. in general for the global IT sector: "The U.S. has a vital role in supporting and assisting entrepreneurship worldwide because of our experience, our diversity, and our entrepreneurial culture." Vice President Roth weighed in by stating that “this initiative presents a unique opportunity for Austrian businesses and adds to our existing network of opportunities”.
With the Open Austria initiative, Austria is sending a strong signal to the world’s most innovative and future-minded region. Its mission is to connect Austrian entrepreneurs, innovators, scientists and creative minds to the Valley and provide those who are already here with a home base. Another goal is to shed light on the vast creative and innovative potential of Austria. As a high-tech nation of “hidden champions” in the heart of Europe, Austria deserves to be recognized well beyond its world-famous artistic and cultural traditions.
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Innovation Minister Leichtfried Visits U.S.
MinisterJörg Leichtfried at the welcome reception of the Austria Connect North America 2016: Left to right: Jürgen Roth, Vice President WKO, Michael Friedl Advantage Austria NY, MinisterJörg Leichtfried. Photo: BMVIT / Johannes Zinner
Austrian Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology Jörg Leichtfried travelled to the United States in September.
Visit to Silicon Valley
Leichtfried visited the Bay Area with a focus on the future of mobility and Austria as an E-mobility hub. Besides inspecting the brand new Transportation Center of the “smart city” San José, Minister Leichtfried met with Professors from Stanford and UC Berkeley, start-ups, representatives of GoogleX, Tesla and BMW Technologies, as well as Austrian-born Vice President of Security & Privacy Engineering at Google, Gerhard Eschelbeck.
Austria Connect North America in Atlanta
Minister Leichtfried went on to attend the Austria Connect North America conference in Atlanta from 22nd to 24th of September 2016, organized by the Austrian Trade Representatives in the USA. This year, Austria Connect attracted an unprecedented number of more than 110 representatives of Austrian companies. Besides Leichtfried, who gave a keynote on “The Future of Innovation from an Austrian Perspective,” the wide range of speakers comprised renowned experts in the field of computer science, engineering and financial technology, who gave their insights into the future of innovation and manufacturing in the USA and in the world: Austria Connect thus positioned itself anew as a not-to-be-missed event for Austrian companies interested in doing business in North America.
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Federal Chancellor and Ministers at the 71st UNGA in New York
Chancellor Christian Kern, UN-SG Ban Ki Moon, and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz. Photo: Dragan Tatic
Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Kern, Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and Minister for Justice Wolfgang Brandstetter were in New York to attend meetings on the occasion of the so-called “leader’s week” of the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) end of September.
Chancellor Kern attended the Leader’s Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis hosted by President Obama on Tuesday, September 20. He also met UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon together with Foreign Minister Kurz. Both had represented Austria the day before at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants and held a joint press conference for Austrian and international media. Chancellor Kern also attended a reception on the invitation of Ronald Lauder at the Neue Gallerie and held bilateral meetings with H.M. the King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein, the President of Egyt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
Foreign Minister Kurz delivered the official Austrian statement at the 71st UNGA on September 21.
Apart from his meetings together with Chancellor Kern, Foreign Minister Kurz met with human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Nadia Murad Basee Taha, had a working lunch with the Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkan countries, attended the EU Foreign Minister’s Transatlantic Dinner with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Libya, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Minister Kurz also met with the UN Special Envoys for Syria and Libya as well as representatives of Jewish Organizations (AJC, ADL, and B'nai B'rith), opened an Austrian design exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York and also attended the “Austrian-American Day” reception at the Austrian Consulate-General.
Austrian Minister for Justice Wolfgang Brandstetter attended a side event hosted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on equal access to an independent justice worldwide. He also discussed the Agenda 2030 with high-level government representatives, including the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Pavlo Petrenko.
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"10 Years of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK featuring the City" at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York
Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz with Lilli Hollein and ACFNY director Christine Moser. Photo: David Plakke/ACFNY
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York (ACFNY) opened its fall exhibition on September 21st - a ten year retrospective of Vienna’s largest and most influential design event, VIENNA DESIGN WEEK - in the presence of Sebastian Kurz, Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs.
Curated by Lilli Hollein, the exhibition 10 Years of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK featuring the City explores the history, structure, and impact of the non-profit event, which has brought renowned international designers to the city and provided a platform for the vanguard of Austria’s young designers. The focus of the retrospective lies on a showcase of works created over the past ten years in novel collaborations between contemporary designers and celebrated Viennese manufacturers such as J. & L. Lobmeyr, Wiener Silber Manufactur, and A.E. Köchert Juweliere.
From its inception in 2007, VIENNA DESIGN WEEK’s modus operandi has been “A City Full of Design,” a slogan that manifests the festival’s desire to view design as a means of activating the urban environment. With this exhibition, ACFNY director Christine Moser and VIENNA DESIGN WEEK founder Lili Hollein decided to bring this major Austrian design event to New York audiences. 10 Years of VIENNA DESIGN WEEK featuring the City is on view until January 16, 2017, open daily, and admission is free.
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Photos: David Plakke/ACFNY
Interior Minister Sobotka Meets Attorney General
From left to right: U.S. Ambassador to Austria, Alexa Wesner, Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner. Photo: Attorney General's Office
The Austrian Minister for the Interior, Wolfgang Sobotka, made his first visit to the U.S. from September 18-20, 2016, meeting the top echelon of the U.S. political security establishment including Attorney General Loretta Lynch. During his trip, the Minister also familiarized himself with several dedicated processing centers of U.S. security institutions.
Strengthening the Country-Wide Consular Network
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On September 15th and 16th, 2016, the Embassy hosted a consular conference for Austrian Honorary Consuls as well as the Heads of diplomatic offices and departments in the U.S. Over 40 participants heeded the Ambassador’s invitation to receive briefings on the latest news on Austro-American bilateral issues, actual consular matters, as well as to share experiences on their daily consular work. Besides providing the most up-to-date information on its ongoing economic, scientific and cultural efforts in the U.S., one of the Embassy’s main objectives in this two-day get together was to strengthen the country-wide consular network.
The conference, which is held every three years, also covered updates by the head of the Americas of the Austrian foreign ministry, Robert Zischg, as well as from the U.S. Office of Foreign Missions and the Department of Homeland Security. Additionally, the Honorary Consuls were familiarized with the activities of the Austrian National Tourist Office, the Vienna Business Agency and Advantage Austria, the network of Austrian trade representatives.
„Silicon Alley – Pitching Days NYC”
Austrian Startups go down well with New York investors
From 5th to 9th September 2016, the Austrian Pitching days were held in New York and Boston for the first time. Out of 60 applicants, 11 Austrian startup teams looking for entry into the international market and second-round financing were selected to present their product and business ideas to US investors which represented health and environmental technology, software as well as on lifestyle industries on the east coast.
The startups presented their business ideas in the office space of the Samsung Accelerator. Representatives from Citi Bank, Flatiron Investors, Saratoga Equity, Rubicon Venture Capital and Brookly Bridge Ventures attended the pitch. The presentations were followed by a networking event with Austrian food and wine.
Supporting program for Austrian startups
The Austrian startups also visited the headquarters of the co-working space “WeWork”, the highest valued startup in New York with almost 10 billion USD. The program included presentations at the accelerators “Techstars” and “Entrepreneurs Round Table (ERT)”, where the young companies were able to test their pitches and get feedback from their U.S. peers. Additionally, they visited a boot camp with experts of the law firm McCarter & English, getting information on important issues including visas, financing agreements as well as property rights and ownership. The Austrians also met other European startups successful in the “Big Apple”.
From the “Big Apple” to Boston
The trip also took the startups to Boston, where they got to know other accelerators like the “Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC)” and “MassChallenge”. Talks with innovators from arguably the world’s leading technical university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), were the jewels in the crown of the program in Boston. Apart from the well-known Silicon Valley, New York has become a hot spot for young entrepreneurs in the last few years as the world’s leading financial center provides a dynamic market environment thanks to its numerous venture capital investors and its high purchasing power. Additionally, New York is equipped with a rich offer on incubators, accelerators, mentors and universities, thus presenting an ideal habitat for startups.
The Austrian Pitching Days are part of the campaign “go-international” by the Austrian Chamber of the Economy and were organized by the Austrian Trade Commission in New York.
Descriptions and contact details of the 11 Austrian startup teams are available at www.pitchingdays.nyc.
OSTA Hosts #AustriaIs Networking Event in Austin
As part of 'Austria to Austin', the Office of Science and Technology Austria hosted and connected Austrian entrepreneurs with local Austin innovators at a networking event on Thursday, July 14th, aimed at kickstarting the startup efforts of the young globally minded Austrian cohort. The Capital Factory, Austin's prime co-working set the stage for OSTA's #AustriaIs event!
In December, 3 Day Startup was awarded a generous grant from the U.S. Embassy in Vienna to lead the Austria to Austin Student Startup Exchange. Over 700 applications later, the Austin based organization, together with a myriad of stakeholders chose 18 students who would end up traveling to Austin. Two energetic weeks later, the students have started early stage companies and become innovation bridges between the U.S. and Austria.
To facilitate this process the OSTA brought in local experts such as Ben Thoma, founder of Creative Mornings Austin, Ben Dyer, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Maja Kermath, Co-Founder of KOR 180 and Johannes Larcher, an Austrian partner at the Capital Factory, to only name a few.
In an elevator pitch setting, the resident experts elaborated on their own successes, pitfalls, and motivations on becoming immersed in an innovative ecosystem. Over delicious Austrian food and drink (courtesy of Austin’s local Austrian chef Florian Prelog) the Austria to Austin participants actively networked with the experts, making connections that matter!
Find out more about the participants here.
Ambassador Waldner Meets Gov. McAuliffe in Richmond
Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner and his wife travelled to Richmond, VA on Friday, July 1 to meet Governor Terry McAuliffe and to visit the Austrian community in the region.
Governor McAuliffe and Ambassador Waldner discussed trade relations between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Austria and the mutual wish to intensify these relations through visits and personal contacts. With imports amounting to over 600 Million US-Dollars annually, Austria is among the largest ten import partners of the Commonwealth. At the same time, Virginia has so far received over 30 Million US-Dollars in FDI from Austria, resulting in a place among the 20 most important economic partner countries. Around 15 Austrian businesses currently operate subsidiaries in the Commonwealth, f.i. GFM, Dibit, Schiebel, IBS, Kapsch, Neuman Aluminium, Anton Paar, Bohler-Uddeholm, Plasser, Franz Haas and ILF.
Ambassador Waldner met with representatives of the Styrian company Anton Paar in Ashland, VA , enjoyed a tour of the company’s facilities and addressed the assembled employees.
During his visit to Richmond, Ambassador Waldner also visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum and with its representatives including Mr. Anvesh Nookala who currently serves as Austrian Gedenkdiener in the framework of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service.
The trip was concluded by a reception for members of the Austrian community and Friends of Austria at the residence of Austrian Honorary Consul Bernhard Barta who had organized the Ambassador’s visit.
Open Austria Initiative as "Door Opener" to Silicon Valley
Photo: Dragan Tatic
The Foreign Ministry and the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) open a joint office in California to pave the way for success for Austrian businesses in Silicon Valley.
Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and the Vice President of the WKO, Jürgen Roth, officially set up the "Open Austria Initiative". The goal of "Open Austria" is to support Austrian science and business communities, established companies and start-ups alike, and smoothen their way to Silicon Valley. Martin Rauchbauer form the Foreign Ministry and Georg Fürlinger, from the WKO's Advantage Austria will work to connect Austria to the innovation hub Silicon Valley from the joint base in San Francisco.
Family Fun at the Austrian Embassy
During a sunny break in a rainy week, we welcomed over 3,000 guests at the Embassy for the 10th annual EU Open House Day on Saturday, May 14. Our visitors learned about Austrian culture and cuisine and enjoyed a relaxed party atmosphere with the Red Bull Wheels party truck and Austrian beer and bratwurst.
While Embassy staff and the Austrian Tourism Board gave an overview of Austrian destinations, ample culinary experiences were also provided. The team from At Kaiser’s provided Eggenberg Pils, Stiegl Radler and Bratwürste for hungry and thirsty guests, Austrian chef Sabeena gave a Kaiserschmarrn presentation, while sommelier Klaus Wittauer hosted three wine seminars.
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Austrian Movie Shown at the EU Film Festival “Starring Europe”
Job Opening - ACFNY
The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is seeking a Head of Visual Arts and Architecture
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Walter Kohn: 1923 - 2016
Photo: Wikimedia/Markus Pössel
The Embassy of Austria and the Office of Science and Technology Austria (OSTA) are deeply saddened by the death of Professor Walter Kohn, who passed away on April 20, 2016.
Professor Walter Kohn’s arguably biggest achievement was the awarding of the 1998 chemistry Nobel prize to him and his colleague John Pople for developing the density functional theory. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences acknowledged that Prof. Kohn made lengthy calculations obsolete, revolutionizing computer-based calculations. The pair effectively developing “…the entire quantum-chemical methodology now used in various branches of chemistry.”
His alma mater University of California, Santa Barbara echoed the sentiment of the Academy remembering Kohn as a:
"…condensed matter theorist who made seminal contributions to the understanding of the electronic structure of materials, he revolutionized scientists’ approach to the electronic structure of atoms, molecules, and solid materials in physics, chemistry, and materials science."
Prof. Walter Kohn toasting the Austrian winning team of the 2013 Solar Decathlon | Photo: OSTA Washington
The OSTA remembers Prof. Walter Kohn especially as an honorary guest and curious mind at Austrian Research and Innovation Talk 2013. At the annual conference, Prof. Kohn was able to meet and congratulate the winning Austrian team of the Solar Decathlon 2013.
The Austrian Academy of Sciences recalls the extraordinary biography of Walter Kohn who helped understand the pain inflicted by the Third Reich. Kohn was born in Vienna, Austria in 1923 to Jewish parents. He managed to escape the country thanks to the Kindertransport operation in the 1930s, following Austria’s annexation by Third Reich. Consequently, drawing lessons from the expulsion of Jewish scientists remains crucial, as Anton Zeillinger, President of the Academy of Sciences stresses. Heinz Fischer, the President of Austria underlined that Kohn's life was marked by "...scientific excellence and clear ethical principles..."
Austria Achieves Third Highest R&D Quota in EU
Photo: Johann Steininger
Austria’s R&D spending in 2016 will increase to € 10.74 billion – an increase of 2.9 percent according to Statistik Austria. The R&D quota will once more be over three percent, thus distinctly higher than the EU-average of two percent.
“Austria has the third-highest R&D quota of all EU countries. We have overtaken Germany and Denmark and are on the right track,” said Reinhold Mitterlehner, Austrian Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy. “Innovation is our foresight for the future and secures jobs. Therefore, the Austrian R&D sector must be one of the best in the EU,” Mitterlehner stressed in regard to the prognosis by Statistik Austria.
Approximately 48% of R&D spending is done by Austrian businesses. This sum has increased by 4.6% to approximately € 5.2 billion. About 36% will be financed by the public sector. The federal government is one of the largest sources of financing, providing € 3.24 billion. The ratio between private and public R&D spending has further improved (64 vs 36%). This development aligns with the goal, set by the FTI strategy, of achieving at least a 66-33% ratio.
Translated from a press release by the Ministry of Science, Research and Economy.
21st Austria hosts 4th Investor and Business Conference in New York
On April 13, 2016, Austrian Minister of Finance Hans Jörg Schelling, Governor of the Austrian National Bank Ewald Nowotny, Deputy Speaker of the Austrian National Council Karlheinz Kopf, and Vice president of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Jürgen Roth attended the 4th Investor and Business Conference in New York.
Hosted by 21st Austria in collaboration with Advantage Austria, this year’s conference was titled “Europe 2018: The Framework for the Future - And How to Benefit” and addressed challenges as well as opportunities for U.S. investors interested in the European market. While recent above average growth rates seem promising, there are also a number of challenges that need to be considered with regard to monetary policy, integration and immigration, among others.
Together with Austrian Ambassador to the U.S. Wolfgang Waldner, the group of Austrian officials engaged in lively discussions with other high-level European and American economic policy makers and business leaders to foster existing business relationships and to further promote Austrian-American cooperation.
For more information visit 21st Austria: Events&Webinars
©Tobias Everke, 21st Austria
©Tobias Everke, 21st Austria
©Tobias Everke, 21st Austria
©Tobias Everke, 21st Austria
High-Level Visit at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings
Finance Minister Schelling with World Bank President Kim. Photo: BMF/Loebell
The Austrian Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Austrian National Bank attended the IMF/World Bank Group spring meetings which were being held from April 14-17 in Washington, DC.
Governor Nowotny and Minister Schelling in front of the White House. Photo: BMF/Loebell
On the sidelines, they held bilateral meetings with World Bank president Jim Yong Kim and senior officials of both the IMF and The World Bank to discuss the current economic situation in Austria, Europe and the World. At a reception at Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner’s residence on Thursday night, they also had chance to talk to the Austrian staff members of the International Financial Institutions in Washington, D.C. In his welcoming remarks, Ambassador Waldner emphasized the strong economic ties between Austria and the U.S. and thanked all attendees for their dedicated work.
Minister Schelling. Photo: BMF/Loebell
Besides attending the IMFC meetings on Friday and Saturday, Minister Schelling and Governor Nowotny held high-level bilateral consultations at the U.S. Federal Reserve. They also briefed Austrian and International Press representatives at a media luncheon and gave an interview to the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation on Friday morning.
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All photos: BMF/Loebell