SOCIETY 372 /2017

DIPLOMATIE
WELCOME TO AUSTRIA
20 Years of Welcome
to Austria
Welcome to Austria, the dynamic association for spouses
of diplomats and their families, and international
civil servants accredited to Austria, is celebrating its
20 th Anniversary.
WELCOME
TO AUSTRIA
THE BOARD OF
“WELCOME TO AUSTRIA”
• Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner
– Founding President
• Foreign Minister
Sebastian Kurz – President,
Austrian Federal
Minister for European and
International Affairs
• Gabrielle Schallenberg –
Honorary President
• Ambassador (ret.)
Dr. Angelika Saupe-Berchtold
– 1 st Vice President
• Aglaë Hagg-Thun – 2 nd Vice
President
• Robert Thum – Treasurer,
“Kassier”
• Mag. Gertrud
Tauchhammer – Public
Affairs, “Schriftführerin”
• Dr. Elisabeth Wolff – Music
• Mag. Adelaida Calligaris -
Liaison Offier
• Anne Thun-Hohenstein -
History & Art
• Stefanie Winkelbauer -
Applied Arts
• Martha Hanreich -
Exhibitions
• Veronique Dorda - Cuisine
• Clarissa Mayer-Heinisch -
Associated
•
The then-Secretary of State Dr. Benita
Ferrero-Waldner of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs teamed up with Gabrielle
Schallenberg (herself a cosmopolitan
spouse of an Austrian diplomat).
They established Welcome to
Austria to offer a broad panorama of activities and
programmes aimed to further cement the understanding
of Austrian culture, history and customs
past and present. (pictures 1 & 2) Lectures and
guided visits in and outside of Vienna (picture 3)
aim to include less-well known aspects, such as collections
both public and private, touring areas of
churches, museums, gardens, many of which are
usually not open to the public.
•
Activities have included German conversation
classes, bridge, Viennese waltz-courses, gymnastics,
walking tours in various parts of the city, floral and
culinary arts. Music has always played an important
role in the calendar of events, which is issued quarterly,
including visits to rehearsals of the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra, the opera or international
music competitions. Presentations on a variety of
topics from art, literature, history and politics provide
a venue for an animated exchange of ideas,
as do the coffee invitations extended by Austrian
members (picture 4). Indeed, food is an integral
part of many programmes, giving members opportunities
to get together; there are also monthly
lunch meetings at Café Landtmann which enable
professionally active members to meet informally.
•
Welcome to Austria is eager to include families
in its events, and features a number of weekend activities
for all ages. (picture 5).
•
A strong core of volunteer local members is on
hand to assist foreign members with learning the
ropes if they need practical information and advice.
All the programmes are held in English (pictures
6 & 7).
•
The President has always been the current Minister
of Foreign Affairs; at present this office is held
by Sebastian Kurz (8, 9, 10 & 11).
OFFICE HOURS
Mon - Wed.: 2 - 5 p.m.
Thu - Fri.: 9 - 12 a.m.
Elisabeth Dóczy:
office@welcome-to-austria.org
Hofburg, Stallburg,
Reitschulgasse 2,
1010 Vienna
Phone: +43-(0)1-535 88 36
Fax: +43-(0)1-535 88 37
www.welcome-to-austria.org
1) Farewell lunch in the French
Ambassy, in honor of the board of
Welcome to Austria, given by the
wife of the former French Ambassador,
Mrs Teixeira da Silva
104 | SOCIETY 2_2017