On June 19, 2013, Guenter Bischof from the University of New Orleans together with Peter Ruggenthaler from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on War Consequences in Graz and Austrian Ambassador to the United States Hans Peter Manz will hold a panel discussion on "1989 and the End of the Cold War."
The Fifth Annual Botstiber Lecture on Austrian-American Affairs was held on Friday, May 31 at the Austrian Embassy. Ambassador Winkler spoke on "Coming to Terms with Austria’s Past - the Role of the United States," covering the historical background and the development of Austrian efforts to deal with the legacy of National Socialist rule, leading up to the negotiations about compensation and restitution of stolen property, finally leading to the Washington Agreement in 2001, for which Ambassador Winkler was a chief negotiator.
The Austrian National Fund has issued a call to tender for the renewal of the Austrian National Exhibition at Auschwitz. The tender documents regarding the positions of Curator and Scientific Director for the redesign of the Austrian exhibition at the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau became available on May 14, 2013.
On May 13, the Austrian Minister of the Interior Johanna Mikl-Leitner arrived in Washington, D.C. for a multi-day bilateral visit. During her stay in the capital, Ms. Mikl-Leitner met, among others, with U.S. Secretary for Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Attorney General Eric Holder and Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Sean Joyce.
The 2013 Consular Conference took place at the Austrian Embassy from May 16 - 17, 2013. Every three years, the Embassy invites all its Consul Generals and Honorary Consuls to Washington, D.C. in order to discuss activities and new developments at the Embassy and in Austrian-American relations, as well as developments in consular matters.
On May 11, 2013, the Austrian Embassy together with the embassies of the EU member states in Washington, D.C. opened its doors again to the public on the occasion of the EU Open House Day. Some 3,100 visitors passed through the embassy between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, sampling Austrian wine and watching master chef Wilhelm Jonach prepare Austrian apple strudel.
On May 9, Austrian Ambassador Hans Peter Manz traveled to Baltimore to meet with locals and talk about the relationship between the American Jewish community and Austria. During this trip, which took place in cooperation with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), Ambassador Manz addressed community leaders, visited the Jewish Museum of Maryland and dialogued with young adults and professionals at an event at B'nai Israel Congregation
On May 6, 2013, the Embassy hosted a special evening as part of the What's Next DC conference with around 130 participants. What's Next DC is an annual conference organized by GreenBuzz Agency, which primarily focuses on networking, communications and technology. This year, the conference, which took place between May 5 and 7, included 45 speakers, 43 sessions and niche discussions, and three networking parties, one of which was hosted at the Embassy.