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About the Conference

We can all observe that tensions and growing divisions are endangering our societies. Hate speech, social media filter bubbles, incitement to antagonise each other based on cultural, social, economic and religious differences have become everyday phenomena. Therefore, finding ways to bring people together is more important than ever.

At the 7th NOW Conference „Space for Encounter – Overcoming Division“ Mayors, young citizens from all ways of life, community workers, innovative NGOs, renowned researchers and practitioners, social entrepreneurs and urban planners from the Middle East to Northern Europe will come together to work on how social cohesion and youth participation in wide-reaching decisions can be brought forward at the local level.

INTERNATIONAL MAYORS' CONFERENCE VIENNA 2020

Conference Material

Conference Agenda

Sparkling Inputs

Workshops

NOW Promising Practices

Conference Schedule

Saturday, 15 February 2020

Youth Day 1

The Youth Days offer a programme exclusively tailored to young participants

15.00 – 22.00

Sunday, 16 February 2020

Youth Day 2

10.00 – 17.30

Mayors’ Day

The Mayors’ Day offers a programme exclusively tailored to Mayors and municipal representatives

9.00 – 16.30

Registration & Networking

18.00

Welcome Dinner at the conference venue

19.00

Monday, 17 February 2020

Registration

8.30

Opening

Mag.a Doris Schmidauer

André Heller – Multimedia Artist and co-founder of Act.Now

9.00

Sparkling Inputs: Involve the Youth!

IMG: Jürgen Czernohorszky

Jürgen Czernohorszky – Executive City Councillor for Education, Integration, Youth and Personnel of the City of Vienna | Austria

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09.45

Sparkling Inputs: Diversity & Division

Regina Arant – Researcher/Postdoctoral Fellow at Jacobs University Bremen (Psychology & Methods) | Germany
Jérémie Gagné – Senior Associate and Researcher at More in Common | Germany

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10.30
Coffee Break

11.00

NOW Promising Practices Introduction & Phase I

Each community is different. But the challenges of living together are often similar in different local contexts. The series NOW Promising Practices showcases living examples of how to strengthen inclusive social cohesion in diverse communities. We understand practices as methods or ways of action which are adaptable to other local contexts. It is not about describing a project but about explaining how municipalities or local civil society actors tackle societal challenges.

>> Show all NOW Promising Practice

11.30
Lunch

13.00

Sparkling Inputs: Encounter enables Cohesion

Andri Christofides & Hayriye Rüzgar – Home for Cooperation in the UN buffer zone in Nicosia | Cyprus
Dima Merheb – Executive Director of NGO Al Midan | Lebanon
Halil Ibrahim Akıncı – Social Support Manager Sultanbeyli Municipality | Turkey

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14.00

Workshop Phase I: From knowledge to action

During the conference, we will gather different insights on how we can overcome division in our communities. But how can we transform this expertise into action? The workshops will focus on how we can act to actually change something at the local level. This format serves as a laboratory to deepen the understanding of our conference topics and allow participants to experience the themes first hand.

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14.30
Coffee Break

16.00

Sparkling Inputs: Insights from Practitioners

Martin Winkler – Entrepreneur and founder of “In the Heart of Hernals” Vienna | Austria
Edoardo Caroli – Activist and founder of Turbe Giovanili | Italy

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16.30

NOW Promising Practices Phase II

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17.00

Encounter with All your Senses

18.00
Dinner

19.00

DJ Eugene Quinn

21.00

Tuesday, 18 February 2020

Arrival

9.00

Sparkling Inputs: Insights from Mayors

Peter Eisenschenk – Mayor of Tulln | Austria
Ivana Marković – Mayor of Supetar | Croatia

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9.30

Talk: Mayors under pressure

Isabella Conti – Mayor of San Lazzaro di Savenat | Italy

Tjark Bartels – Former Head of Administration of Hameln-Pyrmont District | Germany

Igor Marentič – Mayor of Postojna | Slovenia

Mohamad Saadieh – Mayor of Dannieh | Lebanon

Facilitator: Uta Zeuge-Buberl – Act.Now | Austria

10.00
Coffee Break

10.30

Workshop Phase II: From knowledge to action

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11.00

Sparkling Inputs: Peace & Acceptance

Adham Darawsha – Deputy Mayor for Cultures of Palermo | Italy
Lea Suter – Founder of “PeacePrints – Following the Footprints of Peacebuilders” for Peace Reporting on Post-Conflict Countries | Switzerland

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12.30
Lunch

13.00

Fishbowl Discussion: Connecting the Dots – Enacting Local Change

Mayors, practitioners and young people discuss the key conference findings in order to connect the conference and the actions of the participants at the local level.

Facilitator: Thomas Seifert – Wiener Zeitung | Austria

14.00

Closing Ceremony

16.00

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Conference Participation

The 7th International Mayors’ Conference NOW is not a public event. Participation only by registration. At NOW Conferences, all participants are active participants, as most of the formats are interactive, giving everyone the opportunity to contribute.

As the conference is intended as an international, interdisciplinary and interactive event, participation is curated. A certain share of participants will be invited personally by Act.Now in order to ensure a well-balanced mix with diverse areas of expertise, backgrounds and experience. If you are between 16 – 25 years old, you can apply to participate at the conference as a youth participant. At the conference, there will be time and space to learn from each other: Our format NOW Promising Practices showcases examples of how to improve the living together in diverse communities. You can apply with a promising practice to present at the conference. There will be a limited number of conference tickets available.

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