Austrian Study Group Visits the Embassy

Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner welcomes students and faculty from Danube University Krems. Photo: Embassy of Austria

A study group from Danube University in Krems, Austria under direction of Austrian political scientist Peter Filzmaier visited the Embassy for briefings regarding the U.S. Presidential election on November 6 and 8, 2016.  The group, graduate students in political communication, spent two weeks in Washington, D.C. as part of their curriculum.

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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Ambassador Waldner at the Annual Meeting of the German Studies Association

Ambassador Waldner at the Annual Meeting of the German Studies Association

Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner attended the 40th Annual Meeting of the German Studies Association (GSA), which was held in San Diego, CA, from September 29 – October 2, 2016. The GSA is the premier- multi- and interdisciplinary assocoation of scholars focused on German, Austrian, and Swiss history, literature, cultural studies, political science and economics. The 2016 conference brought together over 1,000 scholars.

Ambassador Waldner participated in a roundtable entitled "Austria and Migration: The Current Refugee Crisis in Historical Context," chaired by Professor Günter Bischof (The University of New Orleans) with fellow discussants Professor Dirk Rupnow (University of Innsbruck) and Dr. Christiane Hintermann (University of Vienna). 

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

Carl Christian Thier Named Honorary Vice-Consul in Orlando

The Austrian Embassy welcomes a new addition to its network of Honorary Consuls in the United States. Carl Christian Thier was appointed Honorary Vice-Consul in Orlando.

Carl-Christian Thier is founding shareholder and President of Urban Thier & Federer P.A., an international law firm with offices in Orlando (FL), New York (NY), Houston (TX), Los Angeles (CA) and Atlanta (GA) as well as Munich, Germany and London (UK), focusing on international law, in particular in the areas of international business, estate, and family law as well as immigration law.

Mr. Thier was formerly an attorney with the Esser & Partner law firm in Aachen, Germany and an Of Counsel attorney with the law firm of Hendry, Stoner, Sawicki & Brown P.A. in Orlando, Florida.

He was Vorstand (Director) of the publicly traded German Medical Device Manufacturer "WORLD OF MEDICINE AG" (Berlin, Ludwigsstadt) and Executive Vice President and General Counsel for its US distribution arm "WORLD OF MEDICINE USA" (Orlando, FL) and President of a land development company named Jupiter USA .

He is a consulting attorney, concentrating his practice in German and international commercial and civil matters, with a particular focus on cross border legal matters between Germany and the United States.

Mr. Thier is a member of the German Bar and the New York Bar. He serves as President and Chairman of the Central Florida Chapter of the German American Business Chamber of Florida.

EDUCATION

University of Miami

School of Law; Coral Gables, Florida Master of Comparative Laws (LL.M.} Conferred May 1997

Landgericht Koln, Germany Second German State Exam Conferred August 1995

University of Trier, Germany School of Law,
First German State Exam Conferred May 1993

University of Maastricht, School of Law
Studies of International Law October 1991 to April 1992

13 Austrian Companies Participate in „SelectUSA 2016 Investment Summit“ in Washington, D.C.

2000 participants coming from 70 countries met in Washington, D.C. from June 20-21.

SelectUSA was founded by President Barack Obama in 2011 and serves as focal point for foreign businesses investing in the U.S. The event also gives companies the opportunity to gather information on the diverse investment-opportunities in the 50 U.S. States and to connect with important contacts within the U.S. The United States are among the leading drivers of innovation and one of the most attractive investment locations worldwide.

The Austrian Embassy and AdvantageAustria organized a presentation on the upcoming U.S. presidential election for the Austrian participants of SelectUSA.

Ambassador Waldner Supports Team Austria

Ambassador Waldner and the entire Embassy staff can't wait for the kick-off of today's EURO 2016 game against Hungary. The ambassador is convinced that Austria will play a significant role in this tournament:

Having competed numerous times in the FIFA world cup, it may come as a surprise that Austria has qualified for a EURO tournament for the first time ever! And what a resounding qualification it has been: With a commanding series of nine wins and one draw, Austria qualified without a single defeat in a very strong group. Furthermore, Austrian players were also hugely successful with their respective clubs: David Alaba won his fourth German Bundesliga title in a row with Bayern Munich, our team captain Christian Fuchs rose to fame with the unexpected English Premier League champion Leicester City, and Marc Janko and Aleksandar Dragovic won their leagues with Swiss FC Basel and Ukrainian Dynamo Kiev. These successes make Austria proud and prove how far we have come in recent years: From the modest FIFA ranking number 94 in 2007, Austria has risen like a Phoenix to the eleventh best team in the world today! Besides, not less than six players in Austria’s starting eleven have an immigrant background: With family roots in Angola, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Serbia or Turkey, all our players grew up and flourished in Austria, serving as a perfect illustration of modern Austria: A multitude of religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds forming one pluralistic society. And this summer, we will grow even closer together with our shared goal: Winning the EURO 2016!

Read what other European ambassadors had to say about their respective teams

Members of European Parliament visit San Francisco

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A group of European MEPs, including Austrians Paul Rübig and Claudia Schmidt, visited San Francisco on May 18 and 19, 2016. Besides their official program, they met with European expats at the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco and with the Austrian community at a „Stammtisch,“ which welcomed the Austrian MEPs and the Austrian Consul General in Los Angeles, Ulrike Ritzinger, in a convivial ambience. 

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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