June 18, 2015 to January 31 2016 International Year of Light “Shadow and Light” exhibition coordinated by Prof. Lippitsch at the Karl Franzens University in Graz
The exhibition presents different aspects of light: physics of light; history of luminaries; light and life; light therapy and religions and light. The UNESCO Club Vienna facilitated the inclusion of “light and art” to complement the exhibition through an installation by the renowned artist Waltraut Cooper. Ms. Cooper is an Austrian artist, generally described as Minimalist, primarily concerned with light and space. She studied Mathematics and Art in Vienna, Paris, Lisbon and Frankfurt. Her work is site-specific and depends often on motion for its effect. Cooper's work explores light, mathematics and color, through the medium of colored fluorescent lights, neon and glass. She is an internationally active artist responsible for several large light art installations.
To coincide with the entry of the 10 new member states in the European Union on 1 May 2004, she realized the Project Rainbow for Europe (highlighting the Coliseum in Rome, the Royal Palace in Warsaw, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna, the European parliament in Brussel, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow). The project symbolizes the utopian political vision of the artist of a united, peaceful continent which is not confined by the EU frontiers but extends to the geographical limits of Europe and thus opens up the vista of a possible future in peace and prosperity.
She has participated twice in the Biennale in Venice and in Festivals and exhibitions in important galleries and museums in Vienna, Frankfurt, Bonn, Berlin, Copenhagen, Rome, Paris, Montreal, Boston and New York. Waltraut Cooper is considered a Pioneer of Digital Art: the "Klangmikado" (1986) for the Ars Electronica in Linz uses computer algorithms to create improvisation on existing music materials. She has received numerous award for her artistic achievements. On 9 December 2009 Waltraut Cooper was awarded the Golden Laurel of the Künstlerhaus Vienna for her artistic achievements.
September 19 - 27, 2015 Kunstaustellung Carmen Rocio Peña de Klein „Mutter Kosmos“ zum Internationale Dekade für die Annäherung der Kulturen (2013 -2022)
In zusammen Arbeit mit Padre Mario Maggi, Pfarr- und Trinitarierkirche zum heiligen Franz von Assisi, Mexikoplatz Wien
Vernisage: September 19, 15:00 International Tag des Friedens , mit traditioneller Musik, Tanz und Speisen aus Peru unter der Schirmherrschaft der peruanischen Botschaft von Ivan Aybar vertreten
Finisage: September 27, 15:00 Wortgottesdienst für Frieden und gegen Rassismus, Feindlichkeit, Ausgrenzung unter dem Ehrenschutz des Abgeordneten zum Wiener Landtag Gerhard Kubik.
Die Erde wird in vielen Kulturen als Göttin verehrt, sie schenkt Leben in vielfacher Hinsicht, auch bei den Andenvölkern wird die Erde als Pachamama (Quechua: „Mutter Welt, Mutter Kosmos“) angesehen. Aus ihr kommt alles, sie nährt, schützt, nimmt in sich auf. Mit der Ankunft der Spanier und der damit einhergehenden Missionierung wurden die alten einheimischen Gottheiten gegen christliche Heilige ausgetauscht. Maria wurde von den Missionaren der katholischen Kirche in vielfältiger Art dazu benutzt, den Kult der Großen Mutter zu ersetzen. Denn Gottvater und -sohn war für die, an eine Mutter- und Erdgöttin gewohnte Bevölkerung nicht ausreichend, um den Glauben zu wechseln. Für große Teile der indigenen Bevölkerung vermischt sich die Gestalt der Pachamama mit der Gestalt der Mutter Gottes Maria.
Der in Österreich lebenden Künstlerin, Carmen Rocio Peña de Klein (Carop), hat ihr Studium in Malerei und Zeichnung an der Autonomen Universität der Bellas Artes in Cusco Peru absolviert als auch an der Hochschule für Gestaltung in Hamburg Deutschland. Seit 1994 hat sie an Einzel- und Gruppenausstellungen in Deutschland, Österreich, USA, Japan, Spanien, Peru, Brasilien, Polen, Rumänien, Italien, Frankreich, Singapur, England, Australien, Schweden, der Tschechischen Republik, Bosnien und der Schweiz teilgenommen. Die Künstlerin arbeitet auch an der Wiederherstellung der Wandmalereien und Gemälden.
The Escuela Cuzqueña founded in Cusco, Peru the former capital of the Inca Empire, is considered to be the first artistic centre that systematically taught European artistic techniques in the Americas during the Colonial period in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. The Cusqueña paintings were a form of religious art whose main purpose was didactic. The Spanish, who aimed to convert the Incas to Catholicism, sent a group of religious artists to Cusco to teach drawing and oil painting. Cusqueña paintings are remarkable for their lavish use of gold leaf, especially with images of the Virgin Mary. Though the Cusqueño painters were familiar with prints of Byzantine, Flemish and Italian Renaissance art, their works were freer than those of their European tutors; they used bright colours and distorted, dramatic images. They often adapted the topics to depict their native flora and fauna as a backdrop in their works. Warrior angels also became a popular motif in Cusqueña paintings. While practically all peoples in the Andes have been nominally Roman Catholic since colonial times, nevertheless, traditional religious forms persist in many regions particularly belief in Mother Earth/Mother Cosmos (Pachamama). The paintings of Peruvian born visual artist CAROP are rich in allusions to indigenous eco-based spirituality and Baroque Christian images of the Virgin Mary - overlapping, cross-fertilizing and reinforcing each other.
April 4, 2015 Guitar Concert with Douglas Esteves from Venezuela, Franziskanerplatz 3
A UNESCO Club Vienna Art Lounge Event in collaboration with 
Austria-LatinoAmerica Arte…! in support of the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2013 -2022) as well as the 40th Anniversary year of International Music Day (IMD). IMD was initiated in 1975 by Lord Yehudi Menuhin to encourage the promotion of musical art among all sections of society as well as the application of the UNESCO ideals of peace and friendship between peoples, of the evolution of their cultures, of the exchange of
experience and of the mutual appreciation of their aesthetic values.
May to December 2015 IConcerti degli Angeli Custodi in collaboration with Instituto Musicale Raffaello Baralli, Lucca, Italy.
The UNESCO Club Vienna is a sponsor of the concert series. June to August, 2015 The LuccaOperafestival, Lucca Italy
The UNESCO Club Vienna is a sponsor of the festival. “Both in Lucca and Vienna music flourished and was cultivated with great enthusiasm. The most famous according to Mattia Campetti, Artistic Director and Founding Member of the Festival being Boccherini, who on several occasions resided in the Austrian capital when performing or composing”..
http://www.luccaoperafestival.com/
http://www.iconcertidegliangeli.com/
February 6, 2015 The Importance of Interfaith Cooperation for Securing Peace in the 21st Century, Vienna International Centre
This age of globalization needs enlightened people in each faith who can examine their sacred writings and traditions and identify the aspects that can benefit all humanity as well as those that preserve each religion's identity. The UN designated the first week of February every year as World Interfaith Harmony Week. UPF and its network of Ambassadors for Peace celebrate this week each year, in a way that encourages understanding, respect, and cooperation among people of all faiths for the well-being of our communities and peace in the world.
https://en.unesco.org/cultureofpeace/international-decade-rapprochement-cultures
August 8-9, 2015 Kunst am Kanal – Art on the Canal at das Werk
2 days of art and culture on the Danube Canal for the whole family: children‟s programme, concerts, literature, vernissagen, theatre and performance, DJ‟s, food and refreshments and pirate songs! Art Installations and Creative Recycling with CAROP to commemorate Earth Charter +15.
UNESCO Club Vienna Art Installation: Bitte zum Tisch – Dinner is served! byVisual artist CAROP and Fran Wright N.D.Univ.Dipl. Environment & Development. People eat fish that have eaten smaller fish that have eaten plastic waste. Thereby toxic chemicals used in plastics production find their way into the food chain of both fish and humans.
August 7-27, 2015 Transsibirische Eisenbahn: Unterwegs auf der längsten Eisenbahnstrecke der Welt:
Anlässlich des rund 100-jährigen Bestehens der Transsibirischen Eisenbahn organisiert die Wiener Landschaftsschutzorganisation „Alliance For Nature – Allianz für Natur" eine Welterbe-Eisenbahnreise von Moskau über die Mongolei und die Wüste Gobi nach Peking.
Neben dem Baikalsee werden eine Reihe weiterer UNESCO-Welterbestätten besichtigt – u.a. der Kreml samt Roten Platz in Moskau, die Große Mauer und die Verbotene Stadt in Peking.
Trans-Siberian Railway: Move on the longest railway in the world: On the occasion of the 100 th anniversary of the Trans-Siberian Railway "Alliance For Nature - Allianz für Natur" organizes a World Heritage Railway Journey from Moscow to Mongolia and the Gobi Desert to Beijing. In addition to the Lake Baikal a number of other UNESCO World Heritage Sites will be visited – the Kremlin Red Square in Moscow, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing. Information:www.AllianceForNature.at
July 12-26, 2015 International Summer Academy Drosendorf under the Auspices of the UNESCO Club Vienna in collaboration with the Jazz Club Drosendorf
The International Summer Academy Drosendorf was established in Drosendorf Austria in 2013 in collaboration with the Mayor of Drosendorf Josef Spiegl under the Auspices of UNESCO Club Vienna (UCV). UCV President Robert Pobitschka is Intendant of the Academy. International Summer Academy Drosendorf offers for the third year a broad variety of classes, including literature, painting, music as well as social science.
http://www.sommerakademie-drosendorf.at/https://www.flickr.com/photos/111533555
May 31, 2015 Schrammelmesse at Stift Zwettl
On the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the Austrian Section of the International Organization of Folk Art www.iov.at, the UNESCO Club Vienna in collaboration with Vienna Music-& Orchestra Management www.music-vienna.at and IOV Austria proudly supports the performance by the Original Wiener Donauschrammeln of the Schrammelmesse conducted by the composer Herbert Prikopa www.prikopa.com
Schrammelmusik is a style of Viennese folk music originating in the late nineteenth century and still performed in present-day Austria. The style is named for the prolific folk composers Johann and Josef Schrammel who composed more than 200 songs and music pieces in just seven years. So great was the Schrammel brothers' popularity that some earlier folk music forms, such as the Wienerlied dialect song, came to be known as Schrammelmusik as well. A typical Schrammelmusik ensemble consists of two violins or fiddles, a double-necked contraguitar, and a G clarinet (also known in Austria as a picksüßes Hölzl). Often a button accordion, called a Schrammelharmonika, is included. Performers strive for a melancholy, "crying", but melodious sound. The style is influenced by folk music from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Moravia and Bavaria.
The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)
is a non-profit organization which represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together. As a non-governmental organization with an official status in UNESCO and UNICEF, IBBY has a policy-making role as an advocate of children's books. IBBY is committed to the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by the United Nations in 1990. One of its main proclamations is the right of the child to a general education and to direct access to information. Thanks to IBBY's insistence, the resolution includes an appeal to all nations to promote the production and distribution of children's books. UNESCO Club Vienna is a member of the Austrian National Branch (Nationale Sektion von Österreich Institut für Jugendliteratur)
April 2, 2015 International Children’s Book Day The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)
Message for 2015: „Many Cultures One Story‟ written by Marwa Al Aqroubi UAE „We speak many languages and come from different backgrounds, Yet we share the same stories, International stories... folklore stories. It‟s the same story told to us all. In different voices, In different colors. Yet it remains unchanged... Beginning... Plot... And End...‟
March 23, 2015 World Water Day Photo competition for youth/Fotowettbewerb für Jugendlich zum Thema Wasser
Die ÖKG, der UNESCO Club Wien und eine Reihe von Partnern haben eine strategische Partnerschaft geschlossen, um das Thema der EXPO 2017 in Kasachstan Future Energie aufzuarbeiten. Wirtschaftliche, soziale und politische Aspekte werden beleuchtet, um die Vorzüge alternativer Energien aufzuzeigen. Präsentieren auch Sie Ihr Unternehmen und arbeiten Sie gemeinsam mit Kasachstan an einer grüneren Energie. Österreichische und Kasachische Jugendliche sind eingeladen Fotos zum Thema Wasser an die ÖKG senden. Insgesamt stehen 750€ Preisgeld zu Verfügung. Ziel ist es die Jugend beider Länder für das Thema zu sensibilisieren. Aufgerufen sind Jugendliche aus Österreich und Kasachstan zwischen 18 und 30 Jahren. Das Ziel ist es Jugendliche zu motivieren, sorgsam mit dem Gut Wasser umzugehen und länderübergreifend für die Problematik der Wasserverschmutzung Lösungen zu finden.
March 22-26, 2015 International Colloquim to mark the 10th Anniversary of the First UNESCO Club in Kazakhstan and the UNESCO Observatory on Intercultural and Creative Education in Central Asia as well as the School of Fine Arts and Technical Design after A. Kasteyev in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Robert Pobitschka, President of UNESCO Club Vienna was invited to deliver the paper „Music as a Promoter of Human Values‟.
Extract: In music, sounds generally do not appear as noise but as tones with a certain frequency and length. They show up in „time patterns‟ called rhythm. This increases their power immensely. Thus improved and sharpened, sounds become an effective tool. In fact, since ancient times music has become a messenger not only of personal expression, but as a mediator of our cultural and religious structures.
February 19-20, 2015 ‘Peace Lies in Our Hands’ The helping hands of Boracay
Babies of Boracay Centre (B.o.B), Boracay Is., The Philippines
During the two day peace education workshop for pre-schoolers under the lead of Olive Beauman Head of Education at B.o.B, a collective painting using symbols and words for peace was painted while exploring every-day expressions of peaceful interaction within families and communities. Christoph Band travelled from Vienna to Boracay for the UNESCO Club Vienna to unite the hearts and minds of children through his art performance „making the invisible visible – we are one!‟ with Eugen Ramos playing traditional flute music.
The Babies of Boracay Centre (B.o.B) was approached by the UNESCO Club Vienna to collaborate on the project because of its history of direct community engagement. The founder of B.o.B, Chelsey Hall explains: Read news article
January 14-16, 2015 Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna 2015 Annual Conference – Lessons Learned from the Millennium Development Goals and Perspectives for the Post 2015 Development Agenda, Vienna International Centre
The UN General Assembly is recommending that all UN Departments and Agencies concentrate on seventeen sustainable development goals. The list of SDGs includes poverty eradication, food security, health, education, inclusive economic growth and industrialization, reducing inequality, safer cities, energy for all, sustainable ecosystems, sustainable natural and marine resources exploitation, combating climate change, and promoting peaceful inclusive societies with access to justice for all, and accountable institutions. The Vienna UN Agencies already sought to redefine themselves according to these new UN priorities. At the ACUNS Vienna Conference, senior UN representatives will speak in interactive panels with diplomats, academics, and students about the activities they are pursuing to reach these objectives. The discussion will address whether these new goals are repackaging the preceding MDGs, and the extent to which the Vienna-based Agencies are committing their efforts towards achieving the SDGs.