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The Danube myth

cweidel — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 11:17:05 +0000

The Schallaburg in Lower Austria serves as a wonderful location for a new exhibition about people, treasures and cultures along the river Danube. A journey showing the diversity of the European continent and its eventful history.

Landscape shots, room acoustics and filmed conversations are reproduced in ten stages. More information: www.schallaburg.at

Let’s move on!

cweidel — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 11:36:23 +0000

Regensburg, Linz and Vukovar! The expansion of our Danube Women City Guide has been decided
After Ulm it is Regensburg in Germany, after visiting Vienna we turn to Linz in Upper Austria – and in Croatia we look in Vukovar for female traces in history and in modern times. The friendly support of the Baden-Württemberg Foundation enabled us to continue our journey to follow women in the Danube region further on. As the stories about women in Regensburg already are fixed, in Linz and Vukovar we are still discussing intensively which locations and places of historical and contemporary women traces we will include in our book.

Any suggestions from your side? Don’t hesitate to write us: office@ngo.at

What women like ….

cweidel — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:10:12 +0000

What do women like when traveling the river Danube? More and more women nowadays are fascinated by traveling the Danube from the source to the mouth. Andrea Steinberger, owner of the Café MANCINI in the small town of Innermanzing, south of Vienna, just came back from a boat trip to the Danube Delta, sharing her impressions with us.

„You want to know what has been the most beautiful experience of my journey along the river Danube? The magnificent nature, the beautiful country side, the dense vegetation, the unique environment of the Danube Delta! I especially liked the bird life of the biosphere reserve, but also the peace and tranquillity there. Will it be possible to preserve the idyll of this estuary? There are so many excursion boats on the way. In any case, that journey on the river Danube was unique for me and I always will remember it with great pleasure.”

VIP attendance at DANUBE WOMEN STORIES exhibition in Ulm

cweidel — Tue, 17 Jul 2018 14:42:43 +0000

On 13th of July 2018, State Secretary of Baden-Württemberg Theresa Schopper and Deputy Mayor of Ulm Iris Mann opened the exhibition on DANUBE WOMEN STORIES, complemented by the stylish ambience of the Museum of Ulm and the pleasant setting of the International Danube Festival.

Bettina Hoffmann-Schmalekow and Markus Marquard from the ZAWIW Ulm welcomed the illustrious guests. Selected photos, drawings and texts about women personalities in cities along the river Danube were presented on posters, editors Sabine Geller from Danube connects and Christiana Weidel from The World of NGOs in Vienna recounted how the project idea came into life and publisher Thomas Zehender explained why he feels connected to the Danube region and its cultural diversity, transcending national boundaries and strengthening cultural diversity. Andreas Weber from the Baden-Württemberg-Foundation appreciated the engagement of the partner organisations from Ulm, Vienna, Budapest, NoviSad and Timisoara, well beyond the financial support provided by the Foundation.

In memoriam Marina Kovačev
The organisers also commemorated project team member Marina Kovačev, a human rights activist from The Novi Sad School of Journalism, who sadly died a few months ago at the age of 28. Her successor Dragana Radošević, who continued Marina’s work for the project, was present at the exhibition. The partner organisation Pro Democracy Association from Romania was represented by Iuliana Iliescu, the Budapest Walkshop in Hungary was presented by its founder Anna Lennard.

Great setting
The International Danube Festival created a grand setting for the exhibition and the following networking of presenters and guests. “The exhibition gave my motivation to promote gender equality a great boost”, a visitor of the exhibition said. “Now I’ll feel truly supported when asking for fairer recognition of women’s achievements in our city.” One of the many outcomes of the project “Danube Women City Guide” will be an online exchange of engaged citizens regarding experiences and strategies in requesting more female street names in their cities.

Information
The city guide is published by “danube books”, showing 50 portraits of extraordinary “Danube Women“ from the past and present. The book is available in German language in bookstores; in English language the book can be purchased from the project coordinator, ZAWIW, Belinda Hoffmann-Schmalekow.

Grand opening of our poster exhibition!

cweidel — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 21:52:18 +0000

DANUBE WOMEN STORIES – women personalities along the river Danube!
During the International Danube Festival the Museum of Ulm is presenting a selection of photos, drawings and texts from the project “Danube Women City Guide”.

History, significance and engagement of women in cities and towns located at the river Danube will be brought to life again in guided tours. Many (young) people were involved in the making of this new guide. In Ulm and in Timisoara pupils were integrated into the project, in Ulm students of the Hochschule Neu-Ulm developed content for a mobile App about women personalities in their hometown.

“Danube Women*Stories” will be presented to the public on 13th of Juli 2018 at 1:15 p.m. in the Museum of Ulm in the presence of State Secretary of Baden-Württemberg, Theresa Schopper. The city guide – published by “danube books” – is showing 50 portraits of extraordinary “Danube Women“ from the past and present.

DANUBE WOMEN STORIES (German edition), 128 pages with illustrations and photos, 9,90 EUR, ISBN 978-3-946046-12-7
Opening times of the exhibition in the Museum of Ulm: 6 – 15 July 2018, Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursday 11:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Yesterday’s Europe

cweidel — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 07:23:38 +0000

Actress Katja Riemann opened the literary programme of the Danube Festival 2018 with a reading from Stefan Zweig’s book “Memories of a European” .
Stefan Zweig, the Jewish author from Vienna, committed suicide in 1942 out of desperation during his exile in Brazil.

In this autobiographic book he wrote about “The World of Yesterday”, about the day-to-day life and the culture of Europe, about the xenophobia he encountered, about values and morality of past times.
The reading of Katja Riemann wowed the audience. a wonderful occasion to think about Europe – the Europe of yesterday, our Europe today and the Europe of tomorrow.

Read more about the evening (in German) here: https://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/ulm/katja-riemann-liest-stefan-zweig-27110722.html

Let us celebrate together!

cweidel — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:33:37 +0000

The International Danube Festival 2018 has begun.
State Secretary from Baden-Württemberg Theresa Schopper opened the Festival together with other celebrity guest, accompanied by the Danube Festival fanfare, which was played by eight members of the Junge Bläserphilharmonie Ulm. From the middle of the river the prominence welcomed and greeted visitors from all the Danube countries.

The Danube truly is THE European river and more than ever the Festival is an occasion to celebrate the European idea of peace and freedom.
Read more about the opening of the Festival here (in German) https://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/ulm/eroeffnung-im-fluss-27106104.html

(Sabine Geller)

Where are all the women gone… the women composers?

cweidel — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 12:14:03 +0000

Until 2nd of September an exhibition in the Orangery of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna will be dedicated to the work of famous composers – female composers.

Women have played a significant role in the making of music throughout the centuries. From five different perspectives, in five specially-designed rooms, the exhibition will highlight the substantial contribution that women have made in Europe both in the fields of composition and music-making too. From Hildegard von Bingen to Olga Neuwirth, women’s hitherto unrecognised profile in the history of music will be seen in a wider political context now that efforts have been made, both in Europe and internationally, to create a more gender-balanced world.
For example – did you know, that the melody of “Happy Birthday to Youuuuu“ was composed by two women?
http://musicafemina.at

(ch)

Meet Sabine, the Danube enthusiast

cweidel — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 12:04:44 +0000

The Road Trip Project is a European travel experience taking eight individuals on four routes across the continent between Spring and Summer 2018. Along the way, they meet locals and discover projects that change people’s lives for the better.
On the Danube route Susann and Kenneth met Sabine Geller – completely passionate about the Danube, its history, present and future. They could hardly have met a more knowledgeable person to send them off on their adventure of discovering the river!

First, she took them up the highest church tower in the world, all 768 stairs to the top of Ulm Minster. The view was easily worth the effort!
Afterwards, at one of her favourite local restaurants, Sabine talked Danube, and gave our travellers some useful tips, like not to mess with the giant welsh catfish further downstream: they can grow up to 5 meters long, weigh up to 300 kilos and live to the ripe old age of 50! They normally eat frogs, mice, rats and ducks, but there are fishermen’s tales about being grabbed by the leg by one, and… well, you know that fishermen like to exaggerate, right?
As the editor of danube connects which has been running for ten years and is the first magazine to cover all the countries along the Danube, Sabine has travelled the length of the river many times. Besides appearing in print and online, danube connects also posts news on Facebook and Twitter. Sabine is also the author of the book Danube Women Stories and is a member of the European Danube Academy.

For her, the Danube area is simply unique in the world, because of how the river has historically connected peoples and continues to connect them today. In geographical terms, the Danube connects a world record of 10 countries.
But Sabine wants to connect also the 115 million people living in the region and see them cooperate on all fronts. She wants the Danube to be a river of hope, understanding and inspiration: a powerhouse of Europe. Our travellers were inspired by her vision and her passion. They match the spirit of their Danube Route as part of the Road Trip Project

The European Union has a strategy for the Danube region, including the Member States along the river as well as candidate countries, as they are, facing similar problems: – environmental threats, lack of transport connections, expensive and not very reliable energy supplies, shortcomings in safety and security and so on. Sabine contributes to EU action to develop the region by helping to bridge the gaps between what is being done and what the local population is aware of. That’s where initiatives such as her magazine and the Road Trip Project come in: to feature human stories of cooperation, partnerships and projects along the Danube.
You can read more about the EU Strategy for the Danube Region here on danube-region.eu

The Road Trip travellers will share what they learn. They will film and post their stories to other millennials across the continent and beyond.
At the end of each journey, their unique experience will be featured in a road movie, and reflected in an online travel guide on Europe’s off the beaten paths.
The Project is an initiative of the EU’s Regional and Urban Policy department of the European Commission.

Amazing participation

cweidel — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 08:37:22 +0000

(c) Monika Dietl, NÖN

It was amazing.
The first “Stationentheater – it’s a women’s world in Neulengbach” (located in the Wienerwald region) has taken off brilliantly – citizen’s involvement, engagement and interest were unexpectedly high. The initiative had been launched by city councillor Maria Rigler, who wanted to make women more visible in history, achievements and societal changes of her hometown.

Professional and amateur actors, singers and activists slipped into historical costumes and brought women personalities to life, who have contributed significantly to the history of the city. A guided city tour led the participants from one station to the next one, leaving the onlookers surprised by the singing, theater performing and storytelling. The great closing ceremony was a fashion show, demonstrating costumes from various historical periods, designed by two young women of Neulengbach. Congratulations!

(c) Christiana Weidel

See more photos by photographer Monika Dietl at the local newspaper NÖN.at

(ch)