Heinrich Schellhorn Welcomes YCIs to Province of Salzburg

Search

Loading...

News

Latest News

Oct 18, 2017
by Oscar Tollast
Heinrich Schellhorn Welcomes YCIs to Province of Salzburg

Minister for Social and Cultural Affairs visits as YCIs reflect on resilience in the face of adversity Heinrich Schellhorn, Minister for Social and Cultural Affairs in the Province of Salzburg, speaking at the fourth Salzburg Global Young Cultural Innovators Forum.

At different stages in our career, and in life, we can feel as if we’re running on empty – operating on little energy or with scarce resources.

During this time, the need to remain resilient takes on an even greater significance when a big decision goes against us.

Participants of the fourth Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators reflected on this thought and how to respond to setbacks during an official welcome by Heinrich Schellhorn, Minister for Social and Cultural Affairs in the Province of Salzburg.

Salzburg Global Vice President and Chief Program Officer Clare Shine asked Schellhorn where he found strength and resilience in light of the Green party’s performance in Austria’s general election this past Sunday.

While Schellhorn described the result as a “bleak day,” he felt the Greens would rise again, reflecting on the “ups and downs” he had experienced in his career.

At this week’s election, the Greens gained just over three percent of the vote. Schellhorn said the party had failed to provide the right answers to the questions voters were asking.

He indicated society was changing very fast, coming to terms with globalization, immigration, and digitalization.

Schellhorn suggested “simple answers” would not solve any of the concerns but that these types of messages appealed to voters. He told participants there was a need to remain optimistic and support the values of international cooperation and an open society.

One participant asked Schellhorn for his thoughts on where progressive change would come from, suggesting the message needed to come from the bottom up.

Schellhorn agreed and said the first thing required was for politicians to listen to the people. He then told participants that a “leadership of ideas” was needed. According to Schellhorn, democracy does not always mean the voters are right; it also means leaders being able to convince voters of their ideas.

The People’s Party, headed by Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, won enough seats in the election to give the party control of parliament in a coalition.

To what extent did the election result reflect a generational way of thinking?

Schellhorn said the young generation was “very divided.” In light of a declining birth rate in Austria and an aging society, Schellhorn predicted voters aged 50 and above, however, would play the most active part in civic society in the future.

Speaking after Schellhorn, Peter Jenkinson, YCI Forum facilitator, said this year’s cohort represented a “creative army that’s deeply human” that will be part of the growth going forward. Jenkinson said, “We have to believe there is a better way and there are no barriers that can’t be overcome.”


The Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators IV is part of a ten-year multi-year series. This year's program is supported by the Albanian-American Development Foundation, American Express, Arts Council Malta, Cambodian Living Arts, Canada Council for the Arts, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Fulbright Greece, Japan Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, The McKnight Foundation, Adena and David Testa, and the U.S. Embassy Valetta, Malta. More information on the session can be found here. More information on the series can be found here. You can follow all the discussions on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #SGSyci.

Related Content

Young Cultural Innovator Participates in Leadership Exchange in Cape Town

Mar 23, 2020

Salzburg Global Fellow Animates Campaign Against New Hydropower Development in Albania

Oct 08, 2018

Kristina Borg – “I’m Always Interested in Encouraging the People I Work with to Become Co-Creators, Not Just Participants”

Nov 02, 2017

Gerhard Feldbacher Returns to Salzburg Global with Mobile Tea House

Nov 28, 2017

Connecting Local Innovators with Global Resources

Mar 28, 2018

Young Cultural Innovators to Host Celebration of Afropunk

Sep 11, 2018

YCIs Reflect on the Best Practices for Anchor Institutions

Oct 18, 2017

Luciana Chait - We’re Losing Great Art by Turning Our Backs on People Who Lack Access to Opportunities

Oct 18, 2017

Facilitators Guide YCIs in Lessons on Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Design and Sharing Their Vision

Oct 23, 2017

YCI Forum Highlights Benefits of Collaboration and Exchange

Oct 23, 2017

Jung-Suk Ryu – The Desire to Create Better Societies and Communities Transcends Across Different Sectors

Oct 23, 2017

Salzburg Global Forum for Young Cultural Innovators IV

Oct 14, 2017

Developing Models for Projects, Movements and Causes to Thrive

Oct 16, 2017

Julius Owino - "Who's Going to Change Things If It's Not Us?"

Oct 16, 2017

Young Cultural Innovators to Convene in Salzburg for Fourth YCI Forum

Oct 10, 2017