NOA Conference: Austrian Report Card
19/10/2023
A total of 80 participants, among which there were Austrian government officials as well as civil society and community representatives, gathered in Vienna on the 16th of October 2023 to consider the results of the newly-released NOA Austrian Report Card.
The Report Card was presented to the National Forum on Antisemitism, organised by the Office for Austrian-Jewish Cultural Heritage at the Austrian Chancellery. The attendees considered both the successes and areas of improvement that the Report Card highlighted within the policy landscape. The report underlines an impressive set of measures introduced by Austria in recent years, particularly in the field of education where most EU countries lag far behind. This shows that fast progress can be made with the installation of a fully functioning and well-resourced National Coordinator to counter antisemitism and foster Jewish life.
Experts and government representatives interviewed for the report also indicate a willingness on the part of the government to pass specific measures and to honour commitments made at the national or EU level, although many note that full implementation will still bring many challenges.
For this reason, the NOA recommendations emphasise the importance of trainings as well as research and evaluation. This will contribute to collective learning in the field about what works and doesn’t work so that future policy, programme and funding decisions can be informed by evidence.
You can find the Austrian Report Card in English here and in German here.
