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European Forum Alpbach 2022

We are taking part at this year’s conference with a special program of heated discussions over cooled drinks

ARTTEC – the art program of AIT invited us with our new Café Exchange to host two evenings asking What does the future look like? What do we want it to look like?

About the conference

With Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, Europe has changed overnight. We have woken up in a new Europe. And the big challenges of our time have become even more urgent: Under the general theme The New Europe, this year's event will take place from 21 August to 2 September 2022 to tackle these topics and take Europe to the next level.

Image by © FIlm still, Mother Arkah, Andreas Palfinger

The 2022 event is designed around four thematic tracks:

Securing Europe’s Future in a Globalised World

  • The increasingly complex geopolitical situation in which Europe has to position itself requires the development of a European response that can effectively address current challenges and anticipate future threats while preserving its inherent values and principles. We will look at challenges for Europe’s security situation, examine the answers presented by key actors and create a framework for the development of innovative ideas.

The Climate Opportunity

  • At the core of the climate crisis stands a set of opportunities that will allow for systemic change, transformative solutions and innovation. We will reflect on how to accelerate the transition towards carbon neutrality through new economic thinking, leadership transformation, the empowerment and engagement of everyone as well as strategic climate finance. Considering currently fast-shifting geopolitical realities in Europe, the interplay of the climate crisis and geopolitics becomes apparent.

The Financing of Europe’s Future

  • Europe’s impressive post-world-war success story has come to a halt during the last 20 years. The reasons for that are manyfold. The Track addresses some of the major economic and financial consequences of this unfortunate development. However, in the activist spirit of Alpbach, we will also examine opportunities to revive the European story within the digital economy of the 21st century and discuss opportunities with key stakeholders on how to further develop Europe into a vibrant capital market.

The Future of Democracy and the Rule of Law in Europe

  • It is about the rise of populism and authoritarian politics, the failure to deliver on the promise of social advancement, the citizens’ loss of trust in representative democracy and – reinforced by the corona pandemic – a deep distrust in established media, institutional science and information channels. On the agenda: discussions on open society, better governance, participation and (dis-)information.

See our program here, featuring two of our alumni.