Kostbares Frachtgut

It is important that we, as Austrian culture abroad, remain a reliable partner 'out there' in the world, in a world where the borders between inside and outside are increasingly merging and many challenges affect us together. We will also only be able to master them together." How can this demand from the Austrian Yearbook for International Culture (2020) be implemented? The authors take a biographical-historical approach: it is necessary to look back and tell, for example, about foreign assignments of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the development of the vocational school system in (then) Iran or cultural mediation activities in Moscow and Warsaw. Again and again the name "Bernhard Stillfried" is mentioned, who is known to many in the scene. A look at the present (ministerial level, cultural forums abroad, the federal-state level and the training of cultural diplomats) is also a topic. An article on the level of knowledge, ideas and desiderata of the average citizen brings the topic down to the pragmatic level. The refreshing exchange with three young artists and their diverse experiences as mediators and communicators of Austrian literature, music and visual arts abroad rounds off the picture.