ERSTE Foundation

Black and white portrait of Katia Denysova. Overlaid is the quote: »In Ukraine, culture functions not as a privilege or pastime, but as a means fo adapting and resisting.«

Text on gray background: »Ukrainian culture does not merely survive but continues as a living entity and an active force of resistance.«

Art historian Katia Denysova on keeping culture alive under pressure, & why Ukraine's struggle demands our continued attention. In a world of many crises and shifting headlines, Ukrainian culture refuses to stop.

Full interview: https://www.erstestiftung.org/en/three-questions-to-katia-denysova/

Her day is ordinary in all the ways that matter, extraordinary in all the ways no one should ever have to face. This video is a reminder that behind every headline, millions of lives continue — with courage, tenderness, and remarkable strength. ERSTE Foundation stands with the people of Ukraine. 🇺🇦

4 years ago today, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We all read the headlines. But for most of us, it is hard to imagine what daily life in Ukraine looks like right now. Anna Makhno from our Next Visionaries programme takes us along on one day in Kyiv.

Please note: The beginning of the podcast is in German, the talk with Nathalie Tocci starting from appr. 06:39 in English.

Nathalie Tocci: „Europa steht auf dem kolonialen Speiseplan” Nathalie Tocci im Gespräch über die trianguläre Bedrohung Europas durch Russland, Trumps Amerika und interne nationalistische Kräfte.

»Europe is on the colonial menu« – @nathalietocci.bsky.social on Russia, Trump's America, and rising nationalist forces in »East Side Stories« with Martyna Czarnowska & @thomasseifert.bsky.social

🎧 www.diepresse.com/20523255/nat...

On 18 January, the next edition of our Debating Europe series will examine the rise of the tech bros and Silicon Valley's influence on US politics and beyond. Our first panelist is @marietjeschaake.bsky.social.

🎫 Tickets & more info: buff.ly/Y3EsneY

🤝 BURG, @erstestiftung.org, @derstandard.at

Kyiv’s great re-shuffle Ukraine’s top power shift signals deep securitisation and a careful balancing of rivals as the war enters a volatile phase

#Ukraine background: My @europesfutures.bsky.social colleague Balazs Jarabik on recent changes in the power structures in #Kyiv
@erstestiftung.org @iwm.at

www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democ...

Demokratie braucht dich: Handeln statt sudern! - ERSTE Stiftung Vertrauensverlust in politische Institutionen, wachsende Polarisierung und der Rückzug vieler Menschen aus dem demokratischen Diskurs stellen die Demokratien in Europa vor große Herausforderungen. Ces...

Darauf freu ich mich sehr: Cesy Leonard @radikaletoechter.bsky.social, @maxoehl.bsky.social und ich haben Bücher geschrieben, die zum Handeln anregen. Darüber diskutieren wir am 21.1. auf Einladung der @erstestiftung.org, moderiert von @vedrandzihic.bsky.social: www.erstestiftung.org/de/events/de...

Marie-Helene Ametsreiter of Speedinvest shows graph with US companies founded in last 50 yrs with market capitalization of >10 billion. The little spots on the right side are respective companies in EU! We have no systematic mechanisms to grow them.
Time to Decide summit, Vienna, @erstestiftung.org

Time To Decide Europe Summit 2025 YouTube video by ERSTE Foundation

Join us as we explore critical questions shaping our shared future in the #TimeToDecide2025 livestream at www.youtube.com/live/GQcRySg...

“If people stop identifying with the system, stop believing that there is a better future with this system, we have a problem in democracies”, says Philipp Blom at event on Europe’s future organised by @erstestiftung.org and @stiftunggenshagen.bsky.social in Vienna tonight.

Time to Decide! On 2 December, leading thinkers, policymakers, and experts will gather in Vienna to explore Europe’s place in a shifting world order. Get ready for a day full of bold ideas from some of today's most influential voices!

👉 www.iwm.at/event/time-t...

🤝 @erstestiftung.org

📣 Together w/ @erstestiftung.org, we invite you to a conversation with renowned historian & author Philipp Blom: “EU(dys)topia – Imagining Europe’s Future(s)”, accompanied by contributions from young European artists & scholars.
🗓️ Vienna & online, 25 Nov, 6 pm
👉 bit.ly/event_25_nov...
#EUmeetsEurope

Krieg oder Frieden? Europas Verteidigungspolitik am Prüfstand Europa im Diskurs Krieg oder Frieden? Europas Verteidigungspolitik am Prüfstand 9. November 2025, 11:00 CET Burgtheater Wien Europas Sicherheit ist bedroht. Mannigfaltig. Durch Russlands Krieg in…

Vergangenen Sonntag diskutierte eine hochkarätige Runde bei Europa im Diskurs im Wiener Burgtheater über Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der europäischen Verteidigungspolitik.

📺 Die Aufzeichnung zum Nachsehen gibt es hier: www.youtube.com/watch?v=isrB...

🤝 BURG, @erstestiftung.org, @derstandard.at

Am 9. November geht Europa im Diskurs in die nächste Runde! Es diskutieren Petra Erler, Markus Reisner und Ursula Plassnik über Verteidigungspolitik in EU & Ö, moderiert von @pestui.bsky.social.

In Kooperation mit der BURG, @erstestiftung.org und @derstandard.at.

🎫 www.iwm.at/event/krieg-...

📣 We are proud to welcome a new cohort of Europe's Futures fellows!

As the liberal order faces unprecedented challenges, they will explore how #liberalism might be rethought and renewed.

w/ @frankfukuyama.bsky.social @leaypi.bsky.social

👉 www.iwm.at/news/2025-20...

🤝 @erstestiftung.org

Happy 80th, European Forum Alpbach! YouTube video by ERSTE Foundation

80 years of Alpbach: more than a conference. A place where curiosity sparks dialogue, ideas turn into action, and perspectives meet. Our colleagues share why it’s special.

Happy 80th, #EuropeanForumAlpbach!

Join us: www.erstestiftung.org/en/events/re...

European Forum Alpbach 2025 YouTube video by ERSTE Foundation

This August in Alpbach: connect, reflect, recharge. Under the theme #RechargeEurope, #EFA25 unites young voices with leaders from politics, business, culture & science to shape a democratic future.

Join ERSTE Foundation’s activities.

More: www.erstestiftung.org/en/events/re...

VIEWS with Gábor Lajos YouTube video by ERSTE Foundation

If nonprofits ran as efficiently as big corporations, their impact would grow, says Gábor Lajos Nagy, Co-Founder of SIMPACT & partner of the Marc Impact Programme.

Want to grow your impact with your social business in 🇦🇹🇭🇺🇷🇴🇷🇸🇨🇿 ? Apply by 29 September: marc-impactprogramme.net/application/

The full program of this year's Vienna Humanities Festival, themed ON EDGE / UNBEHAGEN, is now available online:
www.humanitiesfestival.at/programm-2025

A project by IWM and Time to talk; in cooperation with @erstestiftung.org, @wien.gv.at, Ö1 Intro, @akbild.bsky.social, Wien Museum & Volkstheater.

VIEWS with Florian Bauer YouTube video by ERSTE Foundation

The lack of affordable housing is one of the most pressing issues in CEE.

Florian Bauer, Executive Director Social Finance and Impact Investment at ERSTE Foundation, explains why solving the crisis is key to building a resilient society.

🎥 www.youtube.com/shorts/e7AKr...

Each year, the event invites the speaker to deliver a narrative which shines a different light on the Europe we live in, and would like to live in.

A joint event by Wiener Festwochen, ERSTE Foundation and @iwm.at. In cooperation with the Jewish Museum Vienna.

Initiated by ERSTE Foundation for Europe day, the series began in 2019 with a lecture by the acclaimed historian
@timothysnyder.bsky.social.

The timing & setting are not a coincidence. Judenplatz, steeped in layers of European history, serves as a powerful stage for ideas that shape the continent.

Her speech explores what it means to be a migrant in a divided world — at once open and alienated, seen and erased. Standing in front of Vienna’s Holocaust Memorial, @leaypi.bsky.social reminds us that the cost of exclusion is not abstract, it is written in stone.

In Vienna’s Judenplatz, »A Speech to Europe« offers an annual moment of reflection on Europe’s past, present, and future. This year, renowned philosopher and political scientist @leaypi.bsky.social took the stage to reflect on migration and identity.

A Speech To Europe 2025: »A world in which nobody is forced to leave their home« by @leaypi.bsky.social

What does Europe mean today — and how can we hear its voice in a city’s heart?

The full speech:
www.erstestiftung.org/en/a-speech-...

Festwochen-Rednerin Lea Ypi: „Nicht die Migration, der Kapitalismus ist schuld“ Die albanisch-britische Philosophin gilt als eine der wichtigsten Denkerinnen Europas. Heuer hält sie die “Rede an Europa“ am Judenplatz – und nimmt im Falter-Interview die Schwächen des Westens ins V...

On 15 May 18h at Judenplatz @leaypi.bsky.social reflects on migration and democracy. In this @falter.at interview, she touches on some themes of her Speech to Europe 2025.
Event by IWM, @erstestiftung.org & Wiener Festwochen in cooperation with Jewish Museum Vienna
www.falter.at/zeitung/2025...

This year’s edition continues the tradition of public dialogue, raising urgent questions about democracy and Europe’s future.

📅 15.05.25
🕕 18:00
📍 Judenplatz, Vienna
🗣 EN | Free | Outdoors | Livestream available

Organised by Wiener Festwochen, @iwm.at, ERSTE Foundation & Jewish Museum Vienna.

This year, @leaypi.bsky.social, an Albanian-British political scientist and philosopher, will deliver the Speech to Europe.

Launched in 2019, it brings critical voices to Vienna’s Judenplatz — a historic site that invites reflection on Europe’s past & present.

www.erstestiftung.org/en/events/a-...

📚“We never lose our inner freedom; the freedom to do what is right.” – Free by @leaypi.bsky.social

A sharp, moving memoir about growing up in Albania during the collapse of communism. Personal & political, it explores freedom and ideology.

Available in EN & DE at the ERSTE Foundation Library.