Atlanta is an economic hotspot, home of 18 Fortune 500 firms such as The Home Depot and Coca-Cola. Needless to say that the EU Trade counselors had a tight schedule visiting the Southern metropolis from December 11-13, 2018.

“Oh Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah” – when the Austrian band “Die Wandervoegel” chimed in, people began to cheer, clap and sing along as dignitaries lit the candles at the joint annual Hanukkah celebration of the Austrian Embassy, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and Access DC (AJC’s local young professional program) on Tuesday, December 4, 2018.

Sometimes, all it takes to solve a crime is a footprint or a tiny piece of DNA. In the National Law Enforcement Museum, which has opened only recently, visitors get a first-hand experience in how police operates. It was this very museum that Herbert Kickl, the Austrian Federal Minister for the Interior, visited at the outset of his stay in Washington, DC.

The internet is a tremendously powerful tool. But this is also what makes it potentially dangerous. In the past, terrorists have used it to direct and inspire attacks. During the “EU-U.S. Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial Meeting”, the United States and the European Union recognized the need to enhance their efforts against terrorists’ use of the World Wide Web while preserving and respecting individual rights such as the freedom of speech.

Vienna was one of the places Josef Moser, the Austrian Federal Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Reforms, Deregulation and Justice, visited during his stay in Washington, DC. The Virginian city was named after the Austrian capital and is the home of the FBI Terrorist Screening Center that Moser came to inspect.

It was a Christmas miracle. In December of 1914, instead of fighting, French, German and Scottish soldiers exchanged seasonal greetings along the Western Front of World War I. Until this very day, these unofficial ceasefires are known as the Christmas truce, inspiring composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell to write the multilingual opera “Silent Night”.

Air doesn’t belong to anybody. At least this is what one would assume. Quite the opposite is the case, though. In fact, transatlantic air travel as we know it today is only possible thanks to a number of international agreements.

Austria’s largest conference center, the Austria Center Vienna, is the only conference venue in the world located in the immediate vicinity of one of the four United Nations headquarters. It is currently undergoing modernization in order to remain a top player on the international conference and meeting circuit.

What does Austria look and sound like? And how does it taste? 21 fifth-grade students from Ross Elementary School in downtown DC and their teacher Ms. Emily Mulford visited the Embassy of Austria on November 29, 2018, to learn more about their “adopted” country.

Sometimes, what employers need does not correspond with what job seekers are offering. The so-called skills gap is an ever growing problem on the job market. In his address to the participants of the conference, Ambassador Waldner highlighted the importance of bringing experts from Austria and the U.S. together to solve this issue.

Hannah Lessing, Secretary General of the Austrian National Fund for the Victims of National Socialism visited New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC from October 24 to November 1, 2018. While on the East Coast, she met with a number of Jewish Organizations, religious leaders, academics and Holocaust survivors. #AskWhy #NeverForget

From 22-25 October 2018, the two Chairmen of the Executive Board of the Austrian Financial Market Authority, Helmut Ettl and Klaus Kumpfmüller visited Washington, DC for four days of meetings with representatives of regulatory authorities, the U.S. Treasury as well as the International Monetary Fund.

Challenges to the world order like the current row over international agreements, the policies towards Iran and Russia, trade tensions, or migration - only a few examples of the issues the EU and the U.S. are currently facing. But do they indicate a transatlantic disconnect? On October 31, 2018, the Embassy of Austria hosted a discussion titled “The State of Transatlantic Relations and the European Union – Past, Present and Future.”

From October 14-16, 2018, Ambassador Waldner joined several of his colleagues on an official visit to Charleston, SC. The trip, organized by the U.S. Department of State’s Chief of Protocol for heads of mission, aimed to further interest in Charleston and to encourage international business and trade.

On October 25, 2018, Ambassador Wolfgang Waldner and his wife Gudrun Faudon-Waldner welcomed more than 500 guests at the Embassy on the occasion of Austria’s National Day. The music program, the cultural highlight of the reception, was performed by Chicago-born opera singer Nicole Butler and the Karklina Trio from Graz in the Austrian state of Styria.

Painful lessons from the darkest period of Austrian history and the challenges for the Austrian National Fund for the Victims of National Socialism were the main topics of a lecture at the Austrian Embassy on October 29, 2018. #AskWhy #NeverForget

The Austrian Consulate General on the West Coast celebrated this year’s Austrian National Day on October 25, 2018. About 300 invited guests, among them former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, followed the invitation by Consul General Andreas Launer and his wife Eva at a festive event in the garden of the Austrian Residence in Los Angeles’ Westside. #AustriansAbroad

On October 16, 2018, a conference hosted by U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. brought together over 80 chiefs of defense from around the world at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland to discuss countering violent extremist organizations. Austria was represented by Chief of Defense, General Robert Brieger.

After meeting with SAP, WeWork and the Austrian flagship company Swarovski in New York, Austrian Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck traveled to Washington, DC, where she held high-level talks from October 1-2, 2018.

From October 6-11, 2018, Austrian State Secretary of Finance Hubert Fuchs visited Washington, DC to consult about the changes in U.S. tax and fiscal policy under the current administration.