The Europahaus and Burgenland.

The Sustainability of an 18th Century Polemic

The Claim

In September 1966, the Europahaus, working towards a united and peaceful Europe, was founded in Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland. If one considers its location, directly at the Iron Curtain, this was a special challenge. This challenge was, like all overwhelmingly great tasks, at first overlooked. After all, there was much to do. With the big transition of 1989, a return, however briefly, to these origins ensued: had the time of the Europahaus arrived? Or had the time passed and the idea of the Europahaus had to be reinvented? It's convenient, if politics can give you a hand.

The initiative of founding the Europahaus in Burgenland came from the consul Bruno Buchwieser, a construction entrepreneur and long-time president of the Austrian Young Worker's Movement, and it had a model. In Germany, young and concerned people noticed signs of a resurgence of nationalism shortly after World War Two, and tried to organize conciliatory encounters between German and French youths. An old youth hostel served as the site for these encounters - and thus, the first Europahaus was created.

Throughout the decades, many more would follow; large and small, rich and poor, modern conference centers and a group of regulars gathering at the same pub table - all held together by an international umbrella association, the International Federation of Europe Houses (FIME) [1]. Strasburg became the seat of this colorful network, and a secretariat in Saarbrücken works on enabling international projects and interactions between the Europe Houses and the European Academies, as the larger facilities soon began to call themselves. Twice per year the representatives of all the facilities meet in the Europäisches Bildungszenturm Otzenhausen in the Saarland, to develop projects and to decide on common strategies.

The Europahaus Burgenland is one of the smaller facilities. In its almost 40-year history, it was, despite its name, never a house, but rather an ambulant educational venture that attempted, by visiting countless events in villages, schools, regional associations and interacting with the media, to bring more European spirit, even worldly tolerance among the people and particularly among its politicians. Soon famous icons of European intellectual life such as Adam Schaff, Manès Sperber and Dorothee Sölle, came to Burgenland for international cultural days, and a window to the wide world was opened!

What may have been new - even exotic - at the beginning, soon caused irritations and local politicians reacted to this breath of fresh air, which, even more uncomfortably, also included a whiff of criticism against the current conditions. Several times during the 80s and 90s, the provincial government cut off funding, when they felt scathed by critical remarks or independent activities, and thus again and most recently in 1996, when they intended to finally eliminate the institute completely.

The thesis could be as follows: Through its long and at times vehement history of conflict with the provincial government, the Europahaus Burgenland was able to find its purpose and thereby realize how a European conscience could be established and what political forms it would then take. For the development of a political conscience in the province, as well as in the region, the services have been less relevant (though these have been provided many times and praised plentifully), but rather the selfish presumption of liberating educational concepts and the success in the game of survival. In its refusal to subordinate itself in pre-existing hierarchies and feudal habits, even the demonstration of the relevance and necessity of an institute that raises public awareness about a united Europe, and beyond that, also about questions concerning the global future, could not convince those in power.

The narrow-minded nature of provincial politics, which definitely does not confine itself to Burgenland, is just one thing; additionally, the political process of European integration and the ideas behind the Europahaus actually no longer have anything in common with each other.

Recent strategic decisions by the heads of states and governments of the European Union speak a clear language and the utopia of fellowship of people is no longer told. Rather, what counts is profitably and successfully steering a structural change, brought about by technology and economics. Education must react to the quantum leap that has resulted from globalization and the challenges of a new, knowledge-based economy, in order to make the Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world within the first decade of the 21st century. [2]

With this program, education at the European level is - more than ever before - the subject of political discourse, and even an integral aspect of programmatic developmental activity, "to specifically overcome the existing qualification deficits in the informational and communication technologies and to accelerate the transition into the digital age."[3] In light of this, the idea of the Europe Houses seems relatively antiquated. It is tied to a Europe of diversity and colorfulness of nations and cultures, to the intercultural encounters that an affected being-European attitude can temporarily create. It leads, as many events have shown, straight into folklore.

The History of Ideas

The creation of the Europahaus Burgenland rests on the idea - at a very small scale, namely at the scale of a house - of creating a model of European integration, by allowing people from different countries with different languages and histories to come together, exchange ideas, and seek a means of communication that transcends national borders. The Europe Houses, as the idea goes, should bring people together so that they themselves experience the utopia of international understanding, and to then continue disseminating this, so that at some time and somehow a Europe from the Atlantic until the Ural can become reality. Talk was of overcoming nationalism, of reconciling former enemies of war, as well as a careful "puncturing" of the Iron Curtain.

A (more or less chronological) review of the history of ideas that have developed in the Europahaus, or actually came into the province through the Europahaus Burgenland and were then disseminated within the province, shows a very different contour.

Political Education

Soon after its founding - the year 1968 had hardly passed - the leadership of the Europahaus (Europahaus Eisenstadt at the time) was busy with a new structural construction of "political education" in Austria, so as to realign adult education in a new and contemporary manner. One result of this was the founding and establishment of the "Österreichisches Institut für politische Bildung" (Austrian Institute for Political Education) based in Mattersburg, which became a central service-providing institute for adult education in all of Austria. The first head of the Europahaus appropriately became the first director of the institute that he had founded. This was supported by the national government and all provinces, and was considered an exemplary institution for the republic that, following the trend at the time, "wanted to venture towards more democracy." That someone from Burgenland, Fred Sinovatz, was Austrian federal minister for education at the time, probably assisted in the settlement of the new institute in Burgenland, as did the perception of later initiatives emanating from the Europahaus. Finally, the Europahaus received the honorary award for adult education in 1977.

While the Mattersburg-based institute for political education was dissolved in 1993, the Europahaus now carries the description "Institut für politische Bildung" as its sub-title, which not only counters the spirit of the times, but is also very inexpedient, because it has a deterring effect both domestically, and even more so abroad. One needs to provide absolute and immediate assurance that party-specific education is not meant, if one wants to hold the attention of those potentially interested. It would be less suspicious if one just spoke of "civic education."

In the course of a discussion led at the Europahaus in 1998 on a mission statement, a description was attempted for the first time, in which political education - the education of the political - was seen as an art, and appropriate prerequisites for humane gatherings would be created and maintained. [4]

Development Politics

In the 70s public interest in the problems of the Third World increased. The famine catastrophe in the Sahel in 1973 and the revolutions in Latin America served as triggers for the solidarity campaigns and for the formulation of a new politics of development aid. Whereas development aid had thus far been understood more in its charitable sense of immediate assistance in acute emergency situations, development politics now acquired a comprehensive design, which besides providing aid during catastrophes also foresaw support for the establishment of self-help, as well as thoroughly informing the population of the First World, not just to raise their willingness to donate, but to also effect behavioral changes, which would remove the exploitative character of the international economic framework in the long run.

Beginning in the middle of the 1970s, the Europahaus received, at the initiative of its new head, the peace scientist Karl Kumpfmüller, a new formal conceptualization, which incorporated these thoughts. Even more so, the Europahaus became one of the starting points for the development of a nation-wide network of political development information and educational facilities. There was to be a professionally managed office, specifically intended to inform and educate on the problems of the Third World, specifically targeting towns and schools in every Austrian province. Thus, the "Austrian Information Service for Development Politics" (Österreichischer Informationsdienst für Entwicklungspolitik - ÖIE) was founded in 1977, and the Europahaus became its regional headquarters in Burgenland. And it still is to this day - with its meanwhile new name "Südwind-Agentur".

Peace Movement

In the course of the controversies concerning nuclear armament and the stationing of new missiles in Western Europe, the Europahaus, due to its proven competency in issues of peace politics and the corresponding commitment of the leadership at the time, became a stimulating organizing center for the peace movement in Burgenland and, at the beginning of the 80s, had 4,500 members. This was by far the highest percentage of peace-committed people, compared to the rest of Austria. When funding was cut off and the existence of the Europahaus became endangered, following a controversy with the provincial governor at the time, working for peace was re-conceptualized and the construction of the nowadays widely known Schlaininger Friedensforschungsinstituts was started. [5]

Climate Alliance

At the end of the 1980s, the idea of the climate alliance Europe-Amazonia came to Austria from Berlin, where an international conference had been discussing global climate change. Towns and cities in Europe were to make a pact with the native population of Amazonia to preserve the world climate, thereby involving a voluntary commitment on the part of the European partners to reducing pollutants, relinquishing the use of tropical lumber, reducing traffic as well as educating the public on these matters. The first events on this subject in Burgenland were carried out with representatives of indigenous tribes during the autumn of 1990, and eventually the Europahaus coordinated a platform of 19 organizations, resulting in a resolution to join the climate alliance by Burgenland's provincial parliament. Since then, several communities have followed this example. The pursuit of this idea was accompanied by informational events on the destruction of the tropical rain forests, further meetings with representatives of Amazonia's indigenous people as well as development political geography.

Human Rights

The International Day of Human Rights is commemorated every year on December 10th. With some of these events, the Europahaus referred back to its initial idea and the scandal of the Iron Curtain was called to public attention. Thus, for example, in December 1978 the Day of Human Rights was celebrated with a lecture by the exiled and famous Slovak author Ladislav Mnacko, who otherwise lived completely unnoticed in Großhöflein.

Generally, one has the impression that in the Europahaus' pursuit of its formative ideas, the Iron Curtain was not really obstructive. Rather it seems today as if it allowed the Europahaus greater freedom to concern itself with the improvement of more distant parts of the world.

European Spirit

The intellectual history of the Europahaus has had a wealth of visions: more democracy, more openness towards the world, help for the Third World, concern for the environment, for peace and human rights around the world; these are a collection of ideals and programs, universal in their character, and therefore have contributed little to a definition of Europe.

When public debates about Austria's accession to the EC began in the beginning of the 90s, the Europahaus was maneuvered into a severe crisis. The public did not perceive the traditional orientation of the house, focusing on the above-mentioned ideals, as part of the wider picture that many had of the EC (EU), and it was keenly observed how the Europahaus would position itself in relation to this Europe of mega-bureaucracy, a feared transit-overflow and the threatened devastation of smaller structures, while others in Burgenland's political leadership suggested the Europahaus was an opponent of the EC from the very beginning.

After the Europahaus denied the attempts by the provincial government to prohibit the organization of successful debates about the advantages and disadvantages to EC-membership, the situation (once again) escalated. But through this conflict, the Europahaus established itself as a space, where political questions could be debated openly and controversially, outside of the propaganda activities, which the provincial and federal government, particularly on issues concerning Europe, carried out abundantly and shamelessly.

The idea of the Europahaus at this time drifted from being determined through its contents and programs, to its positioning as a unique place, where a critical and controversial form of political discourse and debate within small, free gatherings, could be carried out.

The formation of the political

The fact that through education, the conscience can be changed and thereby political conditions can be altered was undoubted in the 70s. A strategic plan existed, which saw the "multiplicators" - usually referring to teachers - as the key figures. It was necessary to win these over, so that their work with the younger generation would, within a reasonable period of time, pay political dividends, making the world a better place.

Thus, the Europahaus invested in the further education of teachers, complemented by organizing and supervising school project weeks, creating pools of lecturers, portable collections of books and didactic materials, as well as providing artists for these events. After all, teachers were not only seen as a bridge to children and teenagers, but also to multiple societal initiatives in the political, cultural and religious realm, which are predominantly coordinated by teachers. Additionally, the ideas of the Europahaus were spread through many events in the communities of the province.

It wasn't until the 90's that doubts in this strategy became more audible and the impression manifested itself that ideals weren't being realized and problems weren't being solved, but merely outsourced, or even disposed of everywhere it was possible. Whether it was the destruction of the rain forest or climate change, famines or the ozone hole - everything ended up in the schools and the textbooks of the children, while the adults, as perceived by critical teachers, continued as before, only with greater efficiency.

At the beginning of the 90s many colloquiums dealt with the determination of education itself as the main subject of dispute .If it was true that "education was life according to thought-out and deliberate principles and the creation of an order that is manageable for these purposes" [6], then the education sector within society had to be questioned. To attempt to see work within the over-politicized partisan school with their absurd rituals, as a life with deliberate and thought-out principles, appeared impertinent to many pedagogues, and to create a manageable order within these structures seemed like a joke. Additionally, the catastrophically didactic teaching of global problems within adult education was soon seen as facing a dilemma, as one was always coerced to artificially create concern and to redefine political, economic, ecological and social defects into educational deficits. [7]

The Europahaus is slowly parting from its idea of being useful. In the mid 90s it took the path towards becoming a free academy, and ventured into new forms of transnational cooperation. Philosophical colloquiums and unconventional networks opened new spaces and soon proved to be a more suited instrument for public thought. The relationship between utopia and education was discussed, comparative studies to explore the working environments of pedagogues in European countries could be established, [8] and a learning partnership coordinated by the Europahaus dealt with European cultures of assembly for political education processes [9].

The cooperation with partners from Western and Northern Europe did not remain without consequences, as the vital positioning of education and of educational institutions within political educational processes, which the Europahaus had adopted for decades, was relativized. An old question re-surfaced: are rights, instruments, even a constitution, better suited for bringing people in shape so that, as citizens, they can actively participate in political life, or is it education, information, and cultural exchange? Can the constitutional establishment of direct democracy at a European level do more to activate the citizenry, or is education and an upbringing necessary, before the European populace can be provided with more power?

The Polis Pannonia

The Polis Pannonia was initially invented as a project for the EU-program Interreg. On the one hand, it was intended to conduct an archeological dig free of day-to-day and partisan political expectations, to search for the visible and invisible remains of democracy in Central Europe, as well as to enable the memory of its downfall. Furthermore, it was to open perspectives for a trans-national political discourse about European questions.

Soon the Polis Pannonia became a metaphor that extended beyond the actual project, a new rhetorical land for which Pannonian literature was cited as the crown witness of its own necessity, as a literature which interpreted political life in Central Europe as a confrontation with a force that required a refusal of culpability. [10] The Polis Pannonia allowed the Europahaus to, on the one hand, disappear into small niches and public assemblies, and on the other to slip away into European networks.

Pannonian Constitution

With regard to the European Convention's attempt to create a constitution for Europe, the Europahaus and Burgenland's Judicial Society launched an initiative for the development of a Pannonian constitution. A constitutional forum with experts and politically interested people from Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria would continue and complete this work as the Pannonia Convention [11], with the support of the EU-initiative "Partnership with Civil Society". Following a visit to the European Commission in Brussels, the possibility of including a trans-national region of Pannonia in the European Board of Regions was (at first jokingly) discussed. This possibility does not (currently) exist legally, but all experts agreed that this idea had a political appeal in the context of a Europe of regions.

New Regions for Europeans?

In a further project, the Europahaus Burgenland attempted to exchange the Pannonian lessons and experiences with other transnational regions in Europe, along the question: what is regional understanding and how does the construction of the political within new transnational regions function? What are civil society initiatives and successes, who are the actors, how does cooperation with national administration and the European commission function, which regional visions and which pictures of Europe appear? Partners for this were sought out in the Ostsee area (perhaps Euregio Pomerania or Baltic-Scandinavian initiatives), as well as in European zones which, a few years ago were dominated by the Iron Curtain or belonged to the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union.

The project will provide insights about civil society(ies) as the potential carrier for the construction of new European regions as well as lessons about measures and successes of "civic education" for the development of regional and European consciousness. We want to know, to what extent Euregios can be developed into new European regions of democracy.

Assembly Culture

The Polis Pannonia is, intellectually, a gathering of coffee house dwellers [12] or an academic pub, as Leopold Khor potentially implied [13]. A place where one can talk about "wanderers or citizens of the world" or think about "the art of not becoming globalized, but still being citizens of the world". [14] An academic venue to the extent that an academic recharging of thinking is ensured.

In this way the Europahaus wanted to counteract the norm, or rather, to present an alternative to the ugly events, the public disgrace of generally embarrassing displays of politics, which people are generally urged to attend. Whether it is library discussions, student forums, Café Europe, the academic pub, colloquiums - small assemblies through and through, that all guarantee to produce nothing useful, just as the author Botho Strauß said, "nothing can come from a conversation in the garden with a friend that could be of public interest. It is the most important (and in this sense, most useful, even necessary) contribution that can be provided for the maintenance of the communication system within a democracy, while the conversation culture of the greater public goes to hell". [15]

European Networks

A further attempt to initiate transnational political discourse is the network "Inter Citizens Conferences (ICC)", a loose, Europe-wide network of citizen initiatives and educational establishments concerning themselves with questions of democracy at the European level. Its name is a pun on the conferences of European heads of government (Inter Governmental Conferences, IGC) and expresses the fact that citizens can also communicate on a European level. Yet the current emphases of the network do show a tendency towards educational work, just as activist, European political initiatives, particularly because of the stagnation of the development of the European constitution, currently are also slackening.

A Taste of (un)sustainability

The work of education and exchange has been, and will (have to) continue to be the main field of activity for the Europahaus. European democracy doesn't interest people. Klaus Harprecht, Willi Brandt's former closest assistant (he too visited Burgenland at the invitation of the Europahaus 10 years ago), detected nothing but deathly silence when the failure of the European constitution became evident at a governmental summit in December 2003. There was no public outcry by disappointed citizens, not even a noticeable commentary debate by intellectuals. [16]

Educational work never became, as the initial idea behind the Europahaus would lead one to assume, a discussion between nationalism and internationalism or even a clash between cultures. The very short-lived intellectual confrontation with the nation as the work of teachers, i.e. the school as the educational agency of national consciousness, as was the case from 1991 to 1993 in a series of seminars [17], was thoroughly interesting, as the majority of teachers knew little about the strategic function of the school in the process of modern nation-building, yet it was not at all controversial. It was not national thinking, but rather provincial feudalism that was irritated by enlightening activities and ambitions oriented towards Europe; which would signify that the European dimension only becomes interesting at the point where it offers the perspective of more political space.

Night-time Board Meetings

The Europahaus has opened a window to the world and its members, artists and academics have made sure that during critical periods, it could not be closed again. The Europahaus has nonetheless largely withdrawn from the provincial political public and its administrative structures, while establishing small, undesignated forums, as well as seeking and finding relationships with partners in Europe, decisively enabling its ability to survive. Wasn't that the recipe for democratic and educational initiatives during the 18th century?

To overcome the looming questions in our future, Neil Postman demands a second period on Enlightenment, and bridges into the 18th century [18]. The Europahaus Burgenland is well on its way in terms of ideas that fit well with Europe and could do the province good, though most of its time has been spent in other spheres. And these spheres tell of the Europahaus' self-centered search for political spaces, which have also led to the invention of a new region, a rhetorical province:

Pannonia? But where does it lie? Only tediously can this land be invented.
The political ends where the scholarly begins.
Of Europe you dream, my subjects, in vain.
Educate, you can do it, yourself into freer people!

Freely interpreted from Goethe

Hans Göttel is the head of the Europahaus Burgenland.
This text came about in the course of the academic project, "Identities", in the EU program Comenius 2.1.