Forum Sustainable Austria (FORUM)
FORUM Nachhaltiges Österreich
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FORUM Nachhaltiges Österreich (FORUM) |
Establishment and Mission
Council Members and Staff Members
Current and Future Activities
Present and Future Priority Fields
- Energy efficiency and alternative energies;
- Demographic Chance and Sustainable Development;
- International Development.
Future Priority Fields
- Continue the dialogue with decision-makers on non-sustainable trends;
- The ‘Art’ of Sustainable Development;
- Communication of Sustainable Development;
- Commenting the working documents (implementation plans, evaluation, etc.) of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy;
- Commenting Austrian policy on current topics.
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Background and Mission
Establishment
The FORUM was set up by the Austrian Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water in 2002 on the occasion of the drafting of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy.
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Mission
The FORUM guides the implementation and development process of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy (NStrat) as a critical vis-a-vis of the authorities’ stakeholder.
Within all measures the FORUM takes a complex, multidimensional view of sustainable development and tries to give input from different points of view. The FORUM wants to enforce proactive agenda setting by identifying important topics that need public discussion and social debate. It develops and implements own measures and it is a driving force in creation of ideas for the concretisation of sustainable development.
Important focus of the FORUM's work is the Austrian responsibility and active role within Europe and the global community, that is also highlighted in the NStrat. This covers both the Austrian position in European and international negotiations and treaties and the implementation of international regulations and guidelines that are focused on sustainable development within Austria.
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Council Members
The multi-stakeholder FORUM has 43 Council Members, who are appointed on personal basis by the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (“Life Minister”). Appointment of Council Members is not subjected to a fixed term and it ends up when the person leaves her/his position.
| Chairman Prof. Dr. Hubert Dürrstein |
University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Science in Vienna |
| Chairman Dr. Franz Küberl |
Caritas Austria |
| Steering Group Prof. Dr. Jens Dangschat |
TU Vienna, Institute of Sociology for Land Planning and Architecture (ISRA) |
| Dr. Petra C. Gruber | Baubezirksleitung Hartberg |
| Prof. Dr. Helmut Haberl | Institute for Environment and Peace Development |
| Dr. Beate Littig | Institute for Higher Studies |
| Klemens Riegler | Ecosocial FORUM Europa |
| Gerhild Schutti | AUSTRIA perspective / Institute of Austrian Economics |
| Prof. Dr. Gerlind Weber | University of Natural Resources, Institute for Land Planning and Rural Re-organization (IRUB) |
| Members Dr. Karl-Michael Brunner |
Institute for Sociology and Economic Sociology WU Vienna |
| Judith Cerwenka | Woman Foundation Steyr |
| Gerhard Franz Fallent | COO of Photovoltaic Austria |
| Sepp Fiedler | Member of the Regional Office Site Management of Styria |
| Prof. Dr. Markus Hofreither | Institute for Economics, Politics and Law, University of Natural Resources |
| Dr. Christine Jasch | Institute for Ecology and Economic Research |
| Karl Kienzl | Federal Office for Environmental Protection |
| Prof. Dr. Walter Kofler | Institute for Hygiene and Social Medicine. University of Innsbruck |
| Werner Lampert | Werner Lampert Beratungs GmbH |
| Prof. Dr. Volkmar Lauber | University of Salzburg, Institute for Political Science |
| Prof. Dr. Gerhard Loibl | Institute for International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna. Diplomatic Academy |
| Dr. Paul Luif | Austrian Institute for International Politics |
| Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Lutz | IIASA, Institute for Applied Analysis of Systems |
| Dr. Gerald Mader | Austrian Study Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution |
| Franz Maier | Environmental Federation |
| Nicola Oberzaucher | European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research |
| Prof. Dr.August Österle | WU Vienna, VWL 8 / Department of Social Politics. Institute for National Economy Theory and Politics |
| Dr. Georg Pammer | LTE Logistic- and Transport-GmbH |
| Prof. Dr. Walter J. Pfeil | University of Salzburg, Institute Labour and Social Law |
| Johannes Pflegerl | Austrian Institute for Family Research |
| Markus Piringer | ÖKOBÜRO |
| Prof. Dr. Franz Radits | Pedagogic Academy Baden |
| Elfriede Schachner | AGEZ |
| Ulrike Schelander | CARE Austria |
| Dr. Andrea Schnattinger | Wiener Environmental Bar |
| Prof. Dr. Hans Schnitzer | Joanneum Research |
| Prof. Dr. Wilfried Schönbäck | TU Vienna, Institute for Financial Science and Infrastructure Policy |
| Dr. Walter Spielmann | Robert Jungk- Library for Future Research |
| Prof. Dr. Gunther Tichy | ÖAW, Institute for Technology Assessment |
| Dr. Bettina Urbanek | VCÖ |
| Stefan Wallner-Ewald | Caritas Austria |
| Prof. Dr. Josef Weidenholzer | Johannes Kepler University Linz, Institute for Society and Social Policy |
| Prof. Dr Paul M. Zulehner | University of Vienna, Institute for Pastoral Theology |
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Staff Members
The FORUM has a secretariat with around two staff. Dr. Christian Baumgartner is the coordinator.
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Work Style
Tasks of the Council
The FORUM sees itself as a ‘critical, but constructive’ guidance of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy. The measures of the FORUM are set on different political levels:
- Providing expertise and knowledge to authorities and social partners;
- Providing expertise and knowledge to media, multipliers and the public;
- Request the political stakeholders to (public) dialogue and to implementation of sustainable development;
- Identification or relevant topics, analyses and preparation for social debate;
- Direct and indirect (by the named means) contribution to the development and implementation of the Austrian Sustainability Strategy.
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Substructure and Working Groups
The FORUM is composed of:;
- The Office is set up by the Ministry in charge of coordinating the NStrat and cooperates closely with the NStrat Steering Group. The focus of the Office is on implementation; it takes care of administrative, coordinating and contextual tasks for -- and in agreement with -- the Chairperson in representing the FORUM vis-à-vis third parties (e.g. Committee, Stakeholder Network, EEAC). It is also responsible for coordinating the production of position papers, statements, etc. and for implementing the work programme.
- The Chairperson convenes and presides over meetings of the FORUM. He/she represents the FORUM vis-à-vis third parties. Drawing on his/her own know-how and on the know-how and contacts of FORUM members, the Chairperson makes every effort to buttress the FORUM’s positioning and activities.
- The Steering Group is composed of 8 FORUM members, the Chairperson and the Office staff. Upon the proposal of FORUM members it is elected for a two-year term. Its decisions are taken by qualified majority voting. The focus of the Steering Group is on strategy; it debates the annual work programme, follows its substantive implementation and decides on public statements required at short notice.
- The Experts Pool is formed by all the FORUM members. They actively promote the aims of the FORUM and become selectively or continuously involved in dealing with the FORUM’s subject areas, serving on working groups or interacting with the Office. They are expected – as the occasion arises – to enhance awareness of the FORUM by drawing attention to their FORUM membership and their involvement in its work.
- The Working Groups: The member of the FORUM work mainly in virtual topic based working groups. Often mixed with members of the Austrian Committee for Sustainable Development (this is the second advisory board to the Austrian Sustainability Strategy, consisting of representatives of the Federal Ministries, the states and the social partners). At present there are 4-5 operational Working Groups.
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Council Meetings
The FORUM meets at least
twice a year (May/June and November/December) to discuss pertinent issues and to generate basic approaches for
the further development of
At least once a year, the FORUM gets together with the Committee to discuss the political feasibility and the implementation of its own substantive positions. The NStrat Steering Group also takes part in the FORUM meetings. The FORUM drafts statements on the work programmes, progress reports and other NStrat documents. These statements represent input to the Committee meetings and to political discourse. The FORUM is involved in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the NStrat and is invited to serve on joint Committee working groups.
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Type of Advice
Each FORUM member can take the initiative; non-members can be involved in the dialogue, if required. The resulting documents as well as the above-mentioned statements are submitted to all the FORUM members for comments on substance. Positions are adopted by majority vote; dissenting votes can be recorded in the annex to any given position paper.
The FORUM`s products are geared to providing decision-making aids for policy-makers, to PR work and to knowledge management:
- Response lines: issue-related media work on current topics; clarifications. Target groups: media, the public. Coordinated by the Office with the support of specialist FORUM members, in agreement with the Chairperson and the Steering Group;
- Thought lines ('Thoughts on the time we live in’): Short papers broaching new (sustainability) topics and triggering discussions. Target groups: specialist circles, policy makers. Coordinated by the Office staff with pertinent expert know-how and/or (small) working groups in agreement with the Chairperson and the Steering Group.
- Reflection space: Basic position papers or theme-related events. Target groups: specialist circles, media, policy-makers. Coordinated jointly by the Office and the Steering Group and possibly by working groups in agreement with the FORUM.
- Transfer space: Hosting discussions on sustainability issues where people are invited to ‘think outside the box’, to indulge in ‘visioning’ or simply to discuss matters factually. Transfer space may entail top-level talks with a responsible minister or initiatives taken by members of the Committee. Coordinated jointly by the Office and the Steering Group and possibly by working groups in agreement with the FORUM.
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Activities in the EEAC Network
The FORUM joined EEAC in 2006. It is an active member of the Working Group Sustainable Development.
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List of Selected Publications
You can search for the full list of policy advice in our Search Engine which also includes the titles in English of publications available in original language only.
- Ongoing Educational Planning and Integration Sustainable Motivation for Lifelong Learning (December 2007)
- Energy efficiency and Poverty (October 07)
- Sustainability Strategies in the European Union and Options for Underpinning them in the National Parliaments (December 2006);
- Trend reversal for sustainable development - now! (June 2006);
- Unsustainable Trends in Austria (May 2006).
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Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils, Den
Haag. All Rights Reserved.
Last updated: 23 September 2008