Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

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Viennislava

Viennislava Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Viennislava

Reader for the 66th ESU Board Meeting 1st-4th May, Vienna

Contents 2

Foreword ESU.....................................................3

Foreword ÖH......................................................4

Welcome to Vienna..............................................5

BM Venue...........................................................6

Hotel.................................................................7

Directions..........................................................8

Practical Information about Vienna......................10

Living Sustainably as an Organization...................13

Contacts...........................................................14

Foreword ESU Dear colleagues,

It is that time of the year again, and we are meeting in Bratislava and Vienna to discuss issues that we find important for students all around Europe. The seminar in the framework of the CoSMiCE project will focus on mobility and on what are the differences in supporting mobility in European countries.

The topic is of high importance, as unbalanced mobility flows in the European Higher Education Area, brain-drain or brain gain etc. are on the agenda of dis-cussions in the majority of European countries and the measures that are being taken are very rarely going in direction of more support for mobility. Being only 5 years away from the deadline that the ministers have set in the Bologna process for reaching 20% of all students spending a period abroad during their studies as well as just a year away from the 2015 Bologna ministerial conference, it is a very good time to discuss what have countries achieved and what are the main ques-tions that will need to be answered to increase the number of mobile students.

The 66th Board Meeting also promises some interesting discussions. The ESU elected and selected representatives will have a change to present what we have done in the last 5 months, we’ll discuss ESU’ financial matters, membership issues and similar things that are usually on the BM agenda. Next to that, we’ll also be discussing issues like how ESU sees the Bologna process and our role in it, what should be our policy on employability and the use of new technologies in higher education etc. And of course I can’t forget the elections that will surely make the meeting even more interesting.

I would want to thank the organisers from ÖH and ŠRVŠ that have take upon them this challenging task of organising an ESU event and making sure that we’ll have a good setting for our discussions. I am sure they will be excellent hosts and I look forward to the event.

I wish us all a good discussion and successful seminar and meeting!

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Rok, ESU Chairperson

Foreword ÖH

The idea of holding CoSMiCE and the BM in two different cities fits the agenda, since this week is all about student mobility. We are especially glad to host part of this event since the challenge of a numerous exchange of students mobility between neighbouring EU countries (countries all over Europe?), especially ones which share a language, is one that is frequently often discussed in Austria. This has previously caused Austrian politicians to propose measures which are rejected by the neighbouring countries concerned or which are even in conflict with the legal framework of the European Union. Ideas such as dedicating a certain part of the universities capacity only to Austrian citizens or as committing countries to pay for students studying abroad have repeatedly been brought forward. This is why we are glad to be able to discuss these topics with you. Additionally, and we hope that we and everyone else will be able to take home ideas on how to deal with these issues and proposals aftes this week.

Another issue we are currently facing and hope to be able to address during the Board Meeting is the progressing commodification of education, which in Austria is more current than ever. In december, the new Austrian government decided to integrate the Ministry of Science and Research, which was responsible for Austria's universities, into the Ministry of Economics. Of course, the process of commidification has been an ongoing one for years. However, We fear that in-graining economic policy into the organisation of the government like that will significantly speed up the commodification process, which has been ongoing in Europe for years. For this reason, it is now more important than ever for us to take a stand for freedom of research and education.

ÖH is looking forward to an interesting Board Meeting with many fruitful discus-sions. We wish you all a very pleasant stay in Vienna!

Dear participant,

We are pleased to welcome you to Vienna for the 66th Board Meeting of the Euro-pean Students‘ Union after your previous stay in Bratislava - or, if we go with the unusual but strangely catchy denomina-tion „Viennislava“: We hope you enjoyed your stay so far and will keep enjoying it at your new location.

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Flo, Julie, Bernhard, Vicky - ÖH Chair-Team

WELCOME to Vienna Vienna (German: Wien) is the capital of the Republic of Austria. It is by far the largest city in Austria (pop. 1.7m), as well as its cultural, economic, and poli-tical centre. As the former home of the Habsburg court and its various empires, the city still has the trappings of the imperial capital it once was, and the his-toric city centre is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Traditional Vienna is but one of the many faces of this city with its downtown area being a UNESCO world heritage site that is sometimes begrudgingly compared to an open air museum. On the other hand Vienna is a dynamic young city, famous for its (electronic) music scene with independent labels, cult-status underground record stores, a vibrant club scene, multitudes of street performers.

Vienna is also famous for its coffee culture. “Let’s have a coffee” is a very com-monly heard phrase, because despite incursions by Starbucks and Italian-style espresso bars, the so called “Kaffeehauskultur” is still the traditional way to drink a cup of coffee, read the newspaper, meet friends, or fall in love.

Vienna has 23 districts or wards known singularly as “Bezirk” in Austrian German. They vary immensely in size and each has its own flair.

The first district, or Inner-City with St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) and Stephansplatz at its center is encircled by the Ring Road (Ringstraße), a grand boulevard constructed along the old city walls, which were torn down at the end of the 19th century. Along the Ringstraße are many famous and grand buildings, including the City Hall, the Austrian Parliament, the Imperial Palace (Hofburg), the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Art History, and the State Opera House as well as the University of Vienna.

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BM Venue The 66th Board Meeting will take place at the Univer-sity of Vienna. The University of Vienna was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365. It is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and one of the largest in Central Europe. The University of Vienna celebrates its 650th anniversary in 2015. Currently, about 92,000 students are enrolled at the University of Vienna. The University of Vienna is the largest teaching and re-search institution in Austria.

The Opening Event will take place at the TU Vienna, which looks back on a long tradition at the leading edge of scientific research and education: Founded in 1815 as k.k. Polytechnisches Institut (Imperial and Royal Polytechni-cal Institute), it was divided into 5 faculties in 1865. One year later the first freely elected rector was inaugurated. The institution has borne its current name – Tech-nische Universität Wien (Vienna University of Technology) – since 1975.

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Hotel During the BM we will be staying at the Ibis Messe Wien Hotel. It is a stone’s throw from the exhibition center and Prater park. The nearby subway provides quick access to the city center, Austria Center and UNO City. The hotel is ide-ally located for trips to Donauinsel (Danube Island) or the Old Danube, and to many interesting sights in and around Vienna. You can access the airport di-rectly by train.

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Practical Infos

Way from the Hotel to the Opening Event

The easiest way to get from the Hotel to te Opening Event is to take U2 from Messe/Prater direction Karlsplatz to Karlsplatz. The Opening Event will be held at the Kuppelsaal in the TU Wien, which is directly situated at Karlsplatz. The easiest way to get from the Hotel to te Opening Event is to take U2 from Messe/

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Practical Infos Way from the Hotel to the BM Venue

The easiest way to get from the Hotel to the BM Venue is to take U2 from Mes-se/Prater direction Karlsplatz to Schottentor.

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Vienna has a good public transport system, which includes rail, commuter rail, un-derground, trams , and buses. The subway/underground is very efficient and will take you to within a few minutes walk of anywhere you are likely to want to visit. Public transportation with-in the city proper, including most everywhere you are likely to visit (the entire subway and tram network) is a single zone (Kernzone 100). Any transportation can be used: subway, any train--even high-speed ones as long as you are traveling between two Vienna stations, trams, buses, night buses, and an inter-urban railway (the Wiener Lokalbahn) with-in the city limits. You must validate (stamp) your ticket if the time and date is not printed on it before entering the subway platform or train, or as soon as you get on a bus or tram. The system is proof-of-payment, although there are not many spot-checks, the fee for traveling without a ticket is €100. Tickets are availible at machines (Visa, MC accepted) and from counters at subway and rail stations as well as at tabacco shops (Tabak „Trafik“).

• Single Trip Ticket €2.20 A single direction uniterrupted trip to anywhere, with as many transfers as needed. (Children, Bikes, Dogs €0.90)

When you registered at the Registration desk you will get a ticket for the time of the BM from us.

Public Transportation 10

Practical Infos - EATViennese restaurant menus offer a bewildering variety of terms for dishes, most of which the visitor will never have heard. Note that not only savoury but also sweet main dishes are common in Austria.Viennese restaurant portions tend to be large. Recently many restaurants are in-cluding more vegetarian options. Most restaurants have daily specials listed on a chalk board or sometimes on a printed insert in the regular menu. Bread in Viennese restaurants is usually charged as an extra; if there is a basket of it on the table, you‘ll usually be charged by the piece only if you take some.

• Vegetasia, Ungargasse 57 and Kaiserstrasse 45, open daily 11:30AM-3PM and 5:30PM-11PM. Chain of vegetarian restaurants. Serves a huge variety of Taiwanese Bud-dhist vegetarian food (most of it vegan, many meat imitations).

• Vego, Neubaugasse 81, 01/522 59 07. Open daily 11:30AM - 3PM & 6:00PM - 11PM. Indian Vegetarian Restaurant that serves set meals from as low as €5,90. The food is absolu-tely delicious and you can also have mango lassi.

• Kent cafe restaurant (Eat like the locals - eat Turkish!), Brunnengasse 67, A-1160 Wien. At first approach, this looks like a greasy kebab joint strictly for Turks... but struggle past the first room and you will find a large garden and huge restaurant serving moderately priced food with an infinite supply of free Turkish bread! Good for veggies and meat eaters alike. Also try the Turkish breakfast. Expect to pay under €10.

• Cheap Sushi — In these really cheap but still decent enough places you can have sushi sets starting at around € 3.- and you can get stuffed for around € 6: Natsu in the 6th district, Gumpendorfer Straße 45, A-1060 Wien, and another Natsu in the 7th district, Burggasse 71, A-1070 Wien.

• Wiener Deewan, 1090 Wien, Liechtensteinstraße 10 (Close to Schottentor subway stati-on). Young, urban Pakistani restaurant: „all you can eat, pay as you wish.“ You can mix your own menu from a variety of curries, meat, rice, salads, and sauces.

• Schnitzelwirt Schmidt, 7th district, Neubaugasse 52. Listed in nearly every Vienna guidebook and for good reason. The traditional Viennese food is excellent and served in truly prodigious portions, yet fairly cheap by Vienna standards (€5-€15 for a full meal).

• Cafe Aida. Various shops across Vienna, one at Stephansplatz. Recommended for a che-ap Sachertorte.

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Practical Infos - Nightlife in Vienna• Chelsea, Lerchenfelderguertel, U-Bahnboegen 29-31 (between the U6 un-derground stations Thaliastrasse and Josefstaedterstrasse). Daily 6PM-4AM, Su 4PM-3AM. A wide range of international beers, often full house and dense. Prices okay, 1/2L of beer is €3.1.

• Flex is Vienna‘s main-stream alternative club. It is located along with some bars that open in summer on the Danube Canal (Donaukanal). (Schottenring U2, U4: exit „Schottenring“ then walk, keeping the river on your right, until you get to a bridge. Look down the stairs to the canal and you‘re there.) There are loads of tables in front of and on top of the club in summer and an enclosed bar in the colder months with the club next door.

• Fluc, an upstairs bar and its downstairs club-like half Fluc Wanne (meaning „tub“) are located together between the Prater Park and the station Praterstern (U1, U2). Most of the club is underground (in an former underpass), so don‘t miss it. More alternative with very diverse djs and bands.

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Living Sustainably as an Organization The Austrian Students’ Union dedicates itself to a sustainable ecological policy. This is a reaction to the ecological crisis the world faces nowadays, a fact that cannot be ignored by any sector. Higher level institutions in particular must take a stand to create new ways of guaranteeing social, economic and ecological sus-tainability for future generations.

Firstly, we back different projects led and facilitated by students and organiza-tions that work closely with students. One example of this is supporting a nati-onwide network of students engaged in the field of sustainability in their home institutions. Another is promoting the use of bicycles and public transport instead of cars. A third is the implementation and extension of vegetarian and vegan me-nus in cafeterias and canteens.

Furthermore, we are dedicated to finding the most sustainable way to run our own organization, for example if we have to purchase products or organize events like the ESU board meeting. When buying food we try to provide a balanced diet of local products and the option of meat-free menus. We also try to select companies that have a certain seal of quality before we order large quantities of products. The question of how to attend certain conferences and networking events without flying is also a growing topic within the Students’ Union.

In order to act in a sustainable way as an organization, we need rules and po-licies. By doing this, we can avoid making empty gestures and really be a role model for other organizations and society as a whole.

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Contacts

Emergency calls number ReachableFire brigarde 122 0-24 Ambulance 144 0-24Police 133 0-24European emergency call 112 0-24Medical radio service 141 Everyday 19-07

If you ever need anything or have a question don‘t mind to ask one of the organisers. During the day we‘ll have an Info desk set up at the Venue where you just have to go and get your answers or you ask one of the persons with the white shirts and the bm-logo on it.

EMERGENCy INFO

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