Student protests in Austria 2009/2010

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Protests and occupation at the main building of the University of Vienna , October 2009

In the wake of student protests in Austria against restrictions into higher education in October were many in 2009 from the end of Austrian universities lecture halls and other rooms occupied , including the two largest auditoriums in Austria at the University of Vienna , and the largest auditorium at the University of Graz . The protests represent the largest educational protests in recent years, were noticed in the international press and led to a broad discussion of educational policy within Austria .

Personalities from the education sector, politics and civil society, the trade unions, art and culture and the media have dealt with the protesters and in some cases expressed their solidarity . The protesters are organized on a grassroots basis and the Internet plays a central role in communication. In addition to large-scale demonstrations , numerous working groups were formed and other activities started; In addition to the plenum where decisions are made, cultural and educational events were held in the occupied lecture halls . Among other things, the funding and democratization of universities, the abolition or non-introduction of tuition fees and free university access are called for . A central slogan of the protests is: " Education instead of training ". The protests often run under the common symbolic motto “University is on fire” or “Our university”.

After the protests calmed down or flattened after the forced evacuation of the Audimax at the University of Vienna at the end of December, larger protests and counter-events took place at the beginning of the 2010 summer semester in the course of the Bologna summit on the Bologna reform taking place in Vienna on March 11th - often under the name "Bologna burns" - instead.

Protests

Occupations

Occupied Audimax of the University of Vienna, October 2009

The protests began with the occupation of the auditorium of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna by students and teaching staff on October 20, 2009, who jointly protested against the imminent introduction of the Bologna system by the rectorate. After a solidarity rally that moved from the Votive Park to the University of Vienna on October 22nd, the Audimax of the University of Vienna was spontaneously occupied. From then on, plenums took place in the occupied lecture halls, where grassroots democratic discussions took place and votes were held. Numerous working groups have been formed which, in addition to the plenary, are the main organizers of the protest. In the days after October 22, 2009, the protests spread to other universities. On October 23, the pre-clinic at the University of Graz was occupied by around 50 students, followed on October 27 by lecture hall C1, the second largest lecture hall at the University of Vienna after the Audimax, on the Vienna university campus and lecture hall 1 in the Freihaus of the Technical University Vienna , as decided after a vote among 500 people present at the “General Assembly”. Furthermore, the auditorium of the University of Klagenfurt and lecture hall 1 of the University of Linz were occupied on this day (which was opened again on November 6 due to a lack of activists. Instead, lecture hall 3 was occupied on November 11). On October 28, after a protest rally, the lecture hall 381 of the University of Salzburg on Rudolfskai was occupied by around 300 people and on October 29, the auditorium of the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Innsbruck , after a demonstration, as well as the lecture hall BE01 at TU Graz , occupied after a general assembly. On November 6th, in consultation with the rectorate, the cast moved to the larger lecture hall 2 in the main building of TU Graz. Furthermore, on November 3rd, the lecture hall K2 (Audimax of the Institute for Fine Arts) at the Art University Linz was occupied.

Police evacuation of the Audimax, December 21, 2009

At the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), several rooms that had been vacant for years on the upper floor of the Türkenwirt building (TÜWI), the basement of which is used by the ÖH, were "occupied" in agreement with the Rectorate. One of the demands of this group is to convert the building into a “student house” that has long been requested. As a result, rooms throughout Austria, mainly large lecture halls and auditoriums, are or were occupied at eleven university locations, often with the approval or active support of the rectorate. With the exception of the Vienna University of Economics and Business , lecture halls were occupied at four of the five largest universities in Austria , including the University of Vienna, the largest university in German-speaking countries.

From around mid-November onwards, homeless people also found refuge in the Audimax of the University of Vienna, who were able to spend the night there and who were taken care of by the protesters. In the early morning hours of December 21, on the 61st day of the protests, the auditorium was cleared in the presence of the police following a decision by the Rectorate . At the time of the eviction, according to the Rectorate, there were around 15 students and 80 homeless people on site. Lecture hall C1, which was vacated on January 6, 2010, remained occupied for the time being. In talks between the rectorate and the occupier, it was agreed that they could use other rooms in the university for the meetings of the working groups.

There were short-term occupations on May 10, when, in response to the closure of the last room made available to the movement, around 50 people occupied the Rector's Office of the University of Vienna for around two hours, as well as the Audimax, which was also occupied for around two hours from up to 300 people was occupied. In both cases, the students left after the police read the eviction order. On May 14, a small group occupied the Ministry of Science for half an hour. Before that, the withdrawal from the university dialogue was announced at a joint press conference between the ÖH and “unibrennt”.

Actions

Demonstration on October 28, 2009 on Vienna's Ringstrasse
Demonstration on November 5, 2009 at Urban-Loritz-Platz

One week after the first occupations, on October 28th, a demonstration took place from the University of Vienna under the motto “Money for education instead of banks and corporations”. While the police officially put the number of demonstrators at 10,000 and the organizers themselves at 50,000, most of the media put the number at 20-30,000 participants.

On November 5th, together with the so-called nationwide education strike in Germany, a transnational campaign took place, which was announced in Austria as an “education campaign day”. Part of this “day of action” included various flash mob-like actions in Vienna and Graz, including the temporary “siege” of the office of Science Minister Hahn (who, however, was not present) by around 70 students who invaded the Ministry of Science without being noticed. In the afternoon and evening demonstrations took place in several provincial capitals: Around 250 schoolchildren demonstrated in Bregenz, 400 students in Salzburg, 500 in Linz, 1,200 in Graz and around 8,000 to 20,000 students in Vienna.

In addition to the major events, there were a large number of decentralized, smaller campaigns and events that took place across Austria. These included a flash mob in the Ministry of Science , an action in three files on the occasion of the opening of a new BOKU institute building and an alternative commitment to education. The group “Our WU” also started the “Austria is looking for the super science minister” - in response to the ÖVP campaign “Austria is looking for the super interns”, which is looking for an intern for Vice Chancellor Josef Pröll .

On November 14, 2009, 150 to 200 students stormed the stage of the Vienna Burgtheater during the break and unveiled a banner with a quote from Bert Brecht : "Difficulties cannot be overcome by being kept secret." After their demands were announced, the students left after a few minutes the stage voluntarily.

An international day of action took place on November 17th. Overall, the lecture halls were occupied in more than 60 cities in November.

On November 25, in addition to the participation of speakers from the protest movement in the university dialogue, Minister of Science Hahn offered an open alternative dialogue for the protesters. a. Andreas Mailath-Pokorny announced, City Councilor for Culture and Science in Vienna.

Bologna Summit 2010

In the course of the Bologna summit on the Bologna reform taking place on March 11th in Vienna, protests and counter-events took place again. One day before the beginning of the summit, the largest lecture hall in the New Institute building (NIG) of the University of Vienna was occupied by 300–400 people overnight and then vacated again voluntarily.

On the day of the beginning of the summit, a demonstration supported by 63 organizations with up to 12,000 participants took place from 3 p.m. under the motto “Countering educational and social dismantling together!”. There were also other activities in Schillerpark at the Academy of Fine Arts, at the University of Vienna , the Technical University and at Graben . In advance, the police erected extensive barriers around the venue. In addition to Austrian students, students from Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Serbia, etc. also took part in the protests. The media mostly only reported the numbers reported by the organizers (12,000) and the police (3,200 for the main demonstration), limiting themselves to speaking of thousands of demonstrators. After the demonstration ended, blockade actions - referred to by the protest movement as "access restrictions" - by the summit participants took place until late in the evening. This delayed the opening ceremony of the Bologna Summit by an hour.

The ÖH chairwoman, Sigrid Maurer, was able to attend the summit and introduce the protest demands in talks with the ministers.

A counter-summit took place on the campus of the University of Vienna on March 12 and 13.

Protest networking

The protests were not and are not coordinated centrally by organizations such as the official representation of Austrian students, the Austrian student union , or other political organizations, but by those present on site, largely supported by social networks on the Internet or so-called social media . This character is evident in the dissemination of current information via the short message service Twitter , currently the largest social network on the Internet, Facebook , the photo service Flickr , or live broadcasts via the Internet from the occupied rooms. The basic organization, such as working groups, people's kitchen for catering, cleaning of the premises and the like, is coordinated in a separate wiki . With over 30,000 "fans", the Audimax's Facebook page represents the largest network of all university protest movements on Facebook. The page went online just a few hours after the announcement of the occupation. In order to educate the general public about the concerns of the protest movement, a separate protest newspaper with a circulation of 1,000 was also published (→ main article: Morgen - U-Bahnzeitung der Protestbewegung ).

Opposing or alternative groups have also emerged on Facebook that either reject the occupation as a form of protest or the protests in general, such as “studying instead of blocking”. However, there was no external activity from these groups.

In addition to the exchange of information, the social networks function primarily as a mobilization platform for real actions, protest rallies, events, assemblies and plenums. The Austria-wide Networking Plenum (ÖVP) was set up to network the various protest movements with one another. This takes place regularly in one of the occupied or made available lecture halls of an Austrian university and, as part of the student protests , serves to give the students of all occupied universities a forum to discuss joint actions, demands and problems. The networking plenary has no decision-making powers and is only used for national coordination, but also for coordination with international campaigns and the exchange of experience and information.

At Ars Electronica 2010 , the establishment of the social network received an award in the field of the digital community.

Supports

Among the numerous expressions of solidarity are also numerous well-known personalities or groups who expressed their solidarity by visiting the occupied Audimax. The Swiss sociologist, politician and former UN Special Rapporteur Jean Ziegler , the politician Peter Pilz ( The Greens ), the writers Robert Menasse , Klaus-Werner Lobo , Doron Rabinovici and Robert Schindel , the Falter editor Armin , among others, attended lectures and discussions Thurnher , the actor Hubert Kramar , the philosopher Herbert Hrachovec , the journalists Corinna Milborn and Robert Misik , the filmmaker Ruth Beckermann and André Heller . Houchang and Tom-Dariush Allahyari presented their film Bock for President together with Ute Bock before the actual premiere during the Viennale in the Audimax. Among the musicians who played before the occupiers were the songwriters Konstantin Wecker and Hans Söllner , the American punk band Anti-Flag and bands like Tocotronic , Gustav and Willi Resetarits with Stubnblues . Cabaret artists like Maschek , Josef Hader and Florian Scheuba also had guest appearances in the Audimax.

According to a survey, protests such as the demand “education instead of training” were supported by a relative majority (~ 40%) of Austrians, while a little more than 30% of those questioned have not yet made a picture, followed by just under 30% who reject the protests.

Reactions

Universities

ECTS points as a "hunting object" according to the Pac-Man principle

A predominantly positive or at least neutral attitude to the protests was heard from the university sector. There were no reports against the occupiers at any university, and dialogue with the occupiers was mostly sought. This was due to the fact that many rectors can at least partially understand the demands of the occupiers and consider them worthy of support.

Rectors and deans

The President of the University Conference and Rector of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Christoph Badelt , thinks that “ one billion euros a year is missing to have a European qualification ”. The University Conference calls for a legally binding growth path that provides for an increase in spending on tertiary education to 2% by 2015 (currently 1.2%). This should be decided by the National Council “in the first quarter of 2010 at the latest” and must therefore be “approved” by the government in the Council of Ministers in the next few weeks. The rectors have already formulated a corresponding bill, which provides for an increase in government spending on tertiary education from EUR 2.772 billion in 2010 to EUR 3.634 billion in 2015.

A legally binding timetable for realizing the government program's goal of making two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) available for tertiary education must be set (currently 1.2%).

However, he has a different opinion than that of the squatters in the area of ​​university access , where he calls for a " commitment to access regulations in those subjects where capacities are insufficient ". The Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna and Vice-President of the University Conference , Gerald Bast , said the day after the first meeting of Minister Hahn's University Dialogue on November 25, 2009 that politics should finally realize "adequate funding" for universities and not just always intend again. “ Yes, if you didn't have such a high level of respect for parliament and the government, then you could feel teased, ” said Bast.

The rector of Austria's largest university, the University of Vienna, Georg Winckler , also expressed a “ certain understanding ” for the protests and sees politics as a matter of course. In contrast to some of the occupations that took place in Germany, which were immediately cleared by the universities with the help of the police, Winckler preferred to “ rely on dialogue ”. Winckler presumably attributes the tougher approach in Germany to " hardening " that resulted from previous protests. His concern is less that the lecture halls will be ruined than “ that Austrian politics is not dealing with the crucial questions ”. Winckler also “ warns ” against “ German bashing ”, after all the University of Vienna is “ happy about internationality ” and “ one of the big problems of post-war Austria was the lack of awareness of how provincial it had become in many areas. "

The rector of the University of Innsbruck, Karlheinz Töchterle , called the cast "University in the best sense". He thanked that the protesters "managed to put the issues of education and university on the political agenda with their action." The rector of the university in Linz, Richard Hagelauer , took the "demands of the lecture hall occupants [...] very seriously", and would be open to discussions. "We always have room for legitimate concerns of the students." Heinrich Schmidinger , Rector of the University of Salzburg, declared his solidarity with the occupiers at the beginning of the protests in Salzburg. According to Schmidinger, there is agreement with the occupiers in their main goals, although different opinions between him and the occupiers are also prevalent when it comes to the solutions to the problems.

The deans of the University of Vienna backed the demands of the students in many areas and described the university politics as "completely pathetic". Heinz Fassmann , the Dean of the Faculty of Geosciences, Geography and Astronomy, said: “On Sunday we will talk about research and teaching as the fuel for a society that is poor in natural resources, and on Monday we have already forgotten it.” The supposedly additional 34 million euros for the universities are a fraudulent label, as these only come from the university budget anyway. The Dean of the Faculty of Law, Heinz Mayer, calls on politicians to enter into a real dialogue with the students, but also expresses criticism of the occupation of the lecture halls and says that one should " fill the Ministry of Science - if so". He offered the student body to take part if the Audimax was opened in return .

The deans of the Catholic Theological and Evangelical Theological Faculties of the University of Vienna also provide support for the students. “ They make real problems publicly visible and promote and encourage political debate. "

Representation of students and teachers

Numerous teachers and teaching organizations showed solidarity with the occupants, such as the IG external lecturers and freelance scientists , which has existed since 1996 , an Austria-wide representation of the interests of lecturers, or the “Platform for University Codetermination” (PLUM). On the initiative of the IG external lecturers and freelance scholars , an open “lecturers and researchers plenum” came together in Vienna, which organized different status groups at different universities in Vienna and took part in demonstrations and protests with the label “Squatting Teachers”. On November 2nd, this plenary passed an extensive catalog of demands. The University Teachers Association (ULV) as (by its own account) the "university political organization with the largest number of members" pointed out that many of the protesters' demands have been raised by the ULV since 2004 as part of the "University repair workshop" initiative.

The Austrian student union regards the protests as “a strong sign for free education” and demands that politicians “provide the necessary funds for the universities”. At the accepted application of the Independent Student Union Lists of Austria (FLÖ), 100,000 euros from the ÖH budget are to be used for "peaceful protests". A corresponding resolution by the ÖH federal representation , which, at the request of the squatters, enables a “specific” use of these funds from reserves, was supported by 46 of the 77 mandataries present. Only the action group (AG), which is closely related to the ÖVP and holds 22 mandates, voted unanimously against the motion, which represented “ subsidization and tolerance of property damage ” and was a “ bankruptcy declaration by the left-wing union minority executive ”. 

As one of the few empirical studies on the student protests and the educational debate, the IG-Sociology Research Association carried out a survey among the students of the four Graz universities on behalf of the ÖH at the end of 2009.

media

The protests were perceived differently in the media. The left-liberal Der Standard , which sent employees to the Audimax on the first day in order to report live from there for the website derstandard.at , reported most extensively on the protest movement from the daily newspapers . Die Presse , which is considered a second, rather conservative quality newspaper alongside Standard , initially reacted rather cautiously and mainly criticized the form and aims of the protest. The Kurier , one of the daily newspapers with the highest circulation in Austria, hit a similar line . Here, too, the need to restrict university access tends to be emphasized; the nightly concerts and parties and the associated consumption of luxury foods outweigh the daytime activities and work. The country's largest newspaper, the Kronen Zeitung , seems to have been unable to gain anything from the students or the reactions of politicians. On the one hand, misleading short reports were launched, such as the one about a supposedly “ hooded demonstrator ” who was actually spraying an easel while wearing respiratory protection, and on the day of the demonstration on November 5, the newspaper headline “ University rebels cause chaos in Vienna ", While commentator Michael Jeannée made no secret of his aversion to them in his" letter "to the Audimax occupiers. On the other hand, Krone editorial writer Claus Pándi strongly criticizes the “misjudgments” of politics, which ignore and deny the university grievances.

Regarding the free newspapers Austria and Today in metropolitan areas, the predominantly positive coverage of the student protests is striking. The editors-in-chief of the two papers, Wolfgang Fellner and Richard Schmitt , clearly took the side of the students in editorials and comments, whose concerns were strongly justified. Today's editor-in-chief Schmitt even called critics of other newspapers “philistines”.

The news magazine Profil , originally based on the model of the German Spiegel and now part of the News media group, took a clear stance on the part of the protesters. Editor-in-chief Christian Rainer polemicized against the protest movement in his lead commentary entitled “Tupperware Party in the Audimax”.

The reporting on television is more neutral, where in Austria ORF , ATV and Puls TV carry out reports, reports and discussions. In general, everyone who is more or less involved or responsible has their say.

Internationally, the German-speaking countries in particular take part in the protests. On November 5, 2009 , Die Zeit dedicated its front page to the student protests in Austria with a red, white and red background. In addition, the French daily Le Monde reported extensively on the protests in Austria during the first week of occupation. But the media are also dealing with the protests outside of Europe, for example the Russian state television broadcast a report on a news program devoted exclusively to the situation in Austria.

In 2010 the documentary #unibrennt - Bildungsprotest 2.0 was released by AG Doku, which was produced by coop99 . It documents the movement of university occupations in Germany and Austria and the exemplary significance of the Viennese university occupation.

politics

Ruling parties

Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann of the SPÖ and Vienna's mayor Michael Häupl (SPÖ) showed understanding for the protests of the students . Later, however, Faymann spoke out in favor of “some kind of access regulation”, which earned him criticism of the social democratic youth and student organization.

Protesters and Minister of Science Johannes Hahn (ÖVP)

Science Minister Johannes Hahn and other personalities from the ÖVP spoke out against the protests and occupations . A few days after the protests began, Hahn announced that he would be spending 34 million from the ministry's reserve to improve study conditions. With the 17 million earmarked for infrastructure in 2009 and 2010, an additional 68 million euros should go to the universities. He does not want to take any further measures. But this money would not "solve the basic questions at the universities - that can only be done within the framework of a basic social consensus." To this end, he called for a "university dialogue" for November 25th, involving "all social groups participating in the University system are involved ”should include: Austrian student body, students,“ representatives of universities and colleges, social partners and representatives of the government. ”Representatives of the protest were also invited to this meeting. The dialogue should be the prelude to an intensive work and discussion phase, which should lead to a consensus on a broad social basis in June 2010. After the rectors had already left the dialogue at Easter 2010, the students decided on May 14, 2010 to leave the dialogue as well, as the now ministerial minister Karl repeatedly torpedoed it with her statements. So now z. For example, the introductory phase can be understood as a selection instrument, although all those involved spoke out against it in the dialogue. In the summer of 2009, Hahn started a discussion at the European Forum Alpbach on the Austrian higher education area and the overall orientation of the tertiary education sector in order to create an overall concept for the individual institutions.

ÖVP boss and finance minister Josef Pröll said about two weeks after the protests began that he “will not allow vocal groups to try to take politics, the country and taxpayers hostage.” After the majority of the students choose the same studies , an overcrowding of certain subjects would be a logical consequence. "I ask myself: Why shouldn't access regulations be an answer?"

The Tyrolean ÖVP state parliament president Herwig van Staa was quite open to the protests and visited the occupiers in the occupied lecture hall in Innsbruck . He said: “I think it's good that you come here and occupy the building, that's a democratic statement. But think about what you want. ”Their support for the protesting students was expressed in majority resolutions by the Viennese, Burgenland and Styrian state parliaments .

Federal President

Federal President Heinz Fischer called on all those involved to "immediately enter into a serious, factual dialogue without preconditions and to work out solutions for the requirements of our university and educational policy, which ultimately affect not only the universities but the entire educational sector." articulate - just as generations before them did - their concerns for better study conditions and, in connection with this, for increased funding for universities. I assume that your concerns are not only about your own chances in life, but also about a future-oriented education policy as the basis for the prosperous development of our country. "

opposition

The third President of the National Council and FPÖ science spokesman, Martin Graf , called for a “university billion to eliminate the unsustainable conditions at the universities.” The current protests and demonstrations would be justified in terms of content, but supported by the wrong representatives. Graf literally: "Here anarchist and chaotic elements have risen to become student leaders, which unfortunately was also to be feared". FPÖ General Secretary Harald Vilimsky also spoke of the occupiers as "radical anarchist occupiers".

The Greens sympathize with the protesters. According to their science spokesman Kurt Grünewald , the protests “triggered a long-needed fundamental debate that should have been going on for years.” The government's decision to increase the university budget to two percent of GDP was called for . This would be necessary to achieve international supervisory relationships and the gradual increase in the number of study places by 2011. On November 12th, a special meeting in the National Council on the current situation at the university took place, requested by the Greens.

BZÖ Secretary General Stefan Petzner described the student protests as “completely devoid of concept, meaningless and meaningless” . The performance principle would also apply to students, "the BZÖ was, is and will therefore be for the immediate reintroduction of tuition fees, which promotes and demands performance." BZÖ boss Josef Bucher called the squatters "left-wing anarchists", the hard-working students from studying held.

Advocacy groups

The Austrian Federation of Trade Unions showed solidarity with the student movement and ÖGB Vice President Sabine Oberhauser visited the squatters in the Audimax .

The Pensioners 'Association of Austria (SPÖ) expressed its solidarity with the students and President Karl Blecha said, "We share the legitimate concerns of the students." According to the Federal Chairman of the Austrian Seniors ' Union (ÖVP), Andreas Khol , those "politicians and groups who spoke to the university blockers in the last few days, ... act in the highest degree irresponsible ”. "The interest of the state is the training to work in the achievement society and for the common good, not only the unlimited self-realization, not the education alone."

Churches

For a long time the Catholic and Evangelical Churches did not take a stand on the protests that were taking place. The Lutheran Bishop Michael Bünker spoke up on October 30, 2009 at a press conference and said protesting students were "something positive". That shows that there is no such thing as youth who are disenchanted with politics. Bünker affirmed: “We need more educational equality. Politicians are called upon here. ” On November 13, 2009, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn commented on the protests and said“ one must see the deeper causes of the student protests ”. Upon request, Schönborn showed understanding for the protests of the students, which were due to the difficult study conditions. These protests are only a symptom of a deeper crisis: the cardinal spoke literally of the “economization of the concept of education” and a “condensed image of man”.

"Audimaxismus" Austrian word of the year 2009

Part of the writing “Audimaxismus vs Reprivat Austria” on the wall of the occupied Audimax of the University of Vienna
Banner with the slogan "Rich parents for everyone!"

In December 2009 the term Audimaxismus was chosen as the Austrian word of the year , “Rich parents for everyone!” Was chosen as saying of the year. The word creation “Audimaxism” was created in the context of the student protests in Austria in 2009 with the occupation of the Auditorium Maximum of the University of Vienna, “Rich parents for everyone!” Is a slogan of the protests. The jury commented on the result as follows: The term Audimaxismus “was rightly ranked far above all others by the Internet voters, because the student movement is the first time in a long time that serious and comprehensive discussions are being held about education. The word itself is an original word creation that arouses a wealth of associations. It stands for the desire of the students for maximum improvement of their study conditions, as well as for the desire to be heard by politics (audi = Latin: hear). The phonetic similarity to (Austro) Marxism can be used by the opponents of the movement to place it in a left corner, so that there is a certain ambiguity inherent in this word, which increases its attractiveness. ”The“ ironically meant saying ”“ Rich parents for everyone! ”point out“ that our education system is too oriented towards the social status of parents and is not sufficiently permeable. The absurdity of the demand gives the saying originality and quotation quality. "

International protests

See also student protests in Germany 2009

Since the beginning of November, several universities in Germany have been occupied, which also relate to the protests in Austria and are in contact with the protesters. The student protests drew wider circles, and universities in Switzerland, England and Poland have since been occupied.

Effects

The BOKU students achieved minor financial successes . A student house, which has been in demand for years, was made available by the rectorate of the Austrian Students' Union on the second floor of the Türkenwirt (Tüwi) building, which was previously empty.

At the University of Salzburg, the rectorate made commitments to meet some of the requirements such as regular audience meetings or greater participation in the faculty councils. Working groups of university members and students will also be formed to deal with study law, with an improved flow of information and greater transparency, as well as the creation of free spaces for students. In return, the occupied lecture hall will be released over the Christmas holidays.

In Vienna, the university management announced a competition to design the foyer of the second largest lecture hall, the C1 on campus. After the occupation had been vacated, various furniture and tables were placed there for use as a lounge area, but were removed again after a few months.

Due to a catalog of demands or the long-standing demand for an Institute for International Development at the University of Vienna by students of international development and sympathizers, the provisional establishment of the research platform International Development, including resources and facilities, was achieved in the course of the protests and exists via the first limited years, spatially attached to the C3 library for development policy .

At the Ars Electronica in early 2010 was awarded the prize at Ars Electronica in the category "Digital Communities" #unibrennt.

The work for the homeless as part of the occupation of the Audimax was the first accommodation program winter package for non-Austrian homeless in Vienna and has been continued annually since then.

Overall, the protests did not lead to any decisive, immediate changes in Austrian university policy.

Aftermath

In July 2010, four Uni-Brennt activists were arrested for allegedly setting fire to a garbage can. During her seven-week pre-trial detention, the charges were initially investigated for forming a terrorist group , but the charges were dropped. Instead, they were charged with attempted arson and the trial was set for March 13, 2012. On March 10th, a solidarity rally took place on the ramp of the University of Vienna, which the Rectorate of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna agreed with in a statement and demanded a fair, comprehensible negotiation. The Students' Union is particularly critical of the unjustified arrest in her eyes and student observation, this approach will shake all confidence in the rule of law. On July 27, 2012, the four defendants were not legally acquitted for lack of evidence.

literature

  • Viola Mark, Stefan Heissenberger, Susanne Schramm, Peter Sniesko, Rahel Sophia Süß (Ed.): Uni brennt: Fundamental - Critical - Atmospheric. Second expanded edition. Turia + Kant, Vienna 2010, ISBN 978-3-85132-612-3 .
  • Elisabeth Mix ua (Ed.): Einmischungen. Read the student movement with Antonio Gramsci. Turia + Kant, Vienna / Berlin 2011.
  • Marisol Sandoval, Sebastian Sevignani, Alexander Rehbogen, Thomas Allmer, Matthias Hager, and Verena Kreilinger (eds.): Education MACHT Gesellschaft. With a foreword by Alex Demirović . Westphalian steam boat, Münster 2011, ISBN 978-3-89691-876-5 .

Web links

Commons : Student protests in Austria 2009  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report of the Chinese media agency Xinhua
    PressTV (Iran)
    Die Zeit
    euronews
    Süddeutsche Zeitung ( Memento from October 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
    Basler Zeitung
    Boston Herald ( Memento from October 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Lina Dokuzović, Eduard Freudmann: Possessing the crisis | eipcp.net. Retrieved July 13, 2018 .
  3. ↑ derstandard.at: Review - Day 2 - The Audimax remains occupied. , October 23, 2009 (last update: October 24, 2009, 9:34 a.m., accessed November 7, 2009)
  4. ↑ Review day 17: Audimax occupiers plan popular fees. November 7, 2009, 6:46 p.m. (accessed November 8, 2009)
  5. ↑ derstandard.at: gleanings from day 21: University dialogue: occupation participation wobbles. November 11, 2009 (last update: 8:22 pm)
  6. ↑ derstandard.at: Gleanings - Day 6 - Vienna lectures moved to Austria Center. , October 27, 2009 (last update: October 27, 2009, 10:49 pm, accessed November 7, 2009)
  7. ↑ Gleanings - Day 7 - Tens of thousands demonstrated in Vienna against the downsizing of education. October 28, 2009
  8. ↑ Gleanings - Day 8 - False bomb alarm in the Audimax. October 29, 2009 (last update October 30, 2009, 1:50 am; accessed November 8, 2009)
  9. ↑ Gleanings - Day 16 - Hahn does not want to take any further action. November 6, 2009 (accessed November 8, 2009)
  10. ↑ Unseruni.at: Category: Art University Linz ( Memento from November 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ Unseruni.at: House of Students in the Hand of Protest. ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. October 28, 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Unseruni.at
  12. ↑ Vienna Audimax was cleared . In: Der Standard , December 21, 2009
  13. ↑ Der Standard : Deduction of the last squatters from C1 , January 6, 2010
  14. ↑ derstandard.at: New protest: Students leave Audimax May 10, 2010 (accessed on May 14, 2010)
  15. ↑ at.indymedia.org: Protesters occupy the Ministry of Science and Research - The Ministry is on fire! ( Memento of May 28, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed on May 14, 2010)
  16. ↑ 30,000, euronews ; 10,000 police, 50,000 organizers; Tagesschau ( memento from October 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive ); 15,000, heute.at ; 20-30,000; Tagesschau ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) Videi no longer available
  17. ↑ https://newsv1.orf.at/091106-44454/?href=https%3A%2F%2Fnewsv1.orf.at%2F091106-44454%2F44454abs_news.html
  18. ^ University protests Day 15: Students visiting the ministry . APA / Teresa Eder / derStandard.at , November 5, 2009, 8:10 pm (accessed November 7, 2009)
  19. ↑ Flashmob Ministry of Science. In: first-tage.unibrennt.at. October 26, 2009, accessed November 20, 2019 .
  20. ^ Vienna Online
  21. ^ Online Vow of Education on Youtube
  22. ↑ superwissenschaftsministerin.at ( Memento from March 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) - website of the campaign “Austria is looking for the super science minister”
  23. ↑ superpraktikant.at - website of the campaign "Austria is looking for super interns "
  24. ↑ Die Presse, Audimax squatters (sic!) Storm the Burgtheater
  25. ↑ orf.at ; standard.at
  26. ↑ standard.at ; presse.com ; orf.at ; Austria Press Agency
  27. ↑ https://www.falter.at/heureka/20100331/bologna-feier-und-aufruhr/1556230163 falter.at
  28. ↑ Peter Purgathofer: You have no idea what's going on here. standard.at November 6, 2009
  29. ↑ with the hash tags #unibrennt and #unsereuni
  30. ↑ Our university on Facebook
  31. ↑ www.flickr.com/groups/unibrennt/; flickr.com
  32. ↑ Live Streams
  33. ↑ Our Uni Wiki ( Memento from December 31, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ^ Walter Hämmerle, Nina Flori: A teaching example for parties. In: Wiener Zeitung, November 2, 2009. Retrieved July 29, 2012 .
  35. ^ Plenum Uni Vienna: Minutes, Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (evening). Archived from the original on November 22, 2011 ; Retrieved July 28, 2012 .
  36. ↑ presse.com, October 30, 2009
  37. ^ Announcement of the winners of the Prix Art Electronica, May 17, 2010 ( Memento from May 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  38. ↑ a b List of solidarizations ( Memento from January 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  39. ↑ Franz Witzeling: "(No) Future Generation". (PDF; 162 kB) Survey on aspects of the student protests. In: humaninstitut.at. 2009, accessed on May 26, 2020 (direct download).
  40. ↑ derstandard.at, October 30, 2009
  41. ^ A "roadmap" for financing Austrian universities (PDF; 204 kB) Christoph Badelt, 23 September 2008, Universities Conference.
  42. ^ A "roadmap" for financing Austrian universities (PDF; 204 kB), Christoph Badelt, September 23, 2008, Universities Conference.
  43. ↑ a b Lisa Nimmervoll: Rectors demand legally binding funding. Der Standard, November 27, 2009, p. 10.
  44. ^ Government decision
  45. ^ A "roadmap" for financing Austrian universities (PDF; 204 kB), Christoph Badelt, September 23, 2008, Universities Conference.
  46. ↑ derstandard.at, November 3, 2009
  47. ↑ derstandard.at, October 31, 2009
  48. ↑ Martina Solomon: Rector Winckler warns against German bashing. Interview, Die Presse , November 10, 2009 ( online : November 9, 2009)
  49. ↑ zeit.de, November 5, 2009
  50. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten online, December 14, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / search.salzburg.com  
  51. ^ ORF Vienna, November 13, 2009
  52. ↑ Press release Kathpress
  53. ↑ Statements by the IG external lecturers and independent scientists and articles by their chairman Thomas Schmidinger on the protests
  54. ↑ Extended catalog of requirements of the teaching and researcher assembly of the universities of Vienna, November 2nd, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on ouruni.at@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / Unseruni.at  
  55. ↑ Statements of the ULV on the student demands during the protest events in autumn 2009
  56. ↑ ÖH press release, October 29, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.oeh.ac.at  
  57. ↑ kurier.at, November 3, 2009 ( Memento of November 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  58. ↑ studikurier.at, November 7, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / studikurier.kurier.at  
  59. ↑ derstandard.at: Review: Day 19 - For the time being no conversation between Audimax occupants and the University of Vienna. November 9, 2009
  60. ↑ Austrian Students Union (www.oeh.ac.at): Students' Union Elections 2009 - Results federal representative. ( Memento from June 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (accessed November 9, 2009)
  61. ↑ APA / Red .: Students receive 100,000 euros in support. The press, November 9, 2009
  62. ↑ studikurier.kurier.at: 100,000 euros for protests.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / studikurier.kurier.at   last changed on November 9, 2009, 11:09 am
  63. ^ IG-Sociology Research: Research Report Student Protests 09/10
  64. ↑ derstandard.at: Review: Day 1
  65. ^ Diepresse.com: Topic: University protests
  66. ^ Kurier: Topic of the day: The crisis of the universities. Peter Rabl ( Memento from November 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  67. ↑ Courier: When night falls in the Audimax. ( Memento from November 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  68. ↑ Unseruni.at: The Crown of False Reports ( Memento from November 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  69. ↑ Kronen Zeitung, November 5, 2009, p. 1.
  70. ↑ Claus Pandí, Kronen Zeitung, November 8, 2009, p. 2 f.
  71. ↑ Richard Schmitt: Jungspießer , Commentary, October 27, 2009
  72. ^ Christian Rainer: Tupperware party in the Audimax. Profile, October 31, 2009 (Print: November 2, 2009)
  73. ↑ cf. Print edition of Die Zeit on November 5, 2009; Article, see online: Student protests in Austria. Joachim Riedl, November 4, 2009
  74. ^ Joëlle Stolz: Les étudiants autrichiens revendiquent un enseignement de qualité et gratuit. Le Monde , October 28, 2009
  75. ↑ Pervy Canal - Russia's first broadcaster
  76. ↑ https://www.filminstitut.at/de/unibrennt/
  77. ↑ OÖN of October 29, 2009 .
  78. ↑ Standard.at, November 2, 2009.
  79. ↑ Standard.at, November 2, 2009.
  80. ↑ presse.com, October 31, 2009 ( Memento of November 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  81. ↑ derstandard.at, November 6, 2009
  82. ↑ Federal Ministry of Science and Research: "Science Minister Hahn invites you to University Dialogue: All University Partners at One Table", October 30, 2009.
  83. ↑ standard.at, November 4, 2009.
  84. ^ Diepresse.com - Die Presse from November 25, 2009
  85. ↑ newsticker orf.at from March 23, 2010
  86. ↑ [1] The standard from May 14, 2010
  87. ↑ The new introductory phase provides for admission procedures instead of mere orientation . In: Der Standard , May 3, 2010
  88. ^ Diepresse.com - Die Presse from November 21, 2009
  89. ↑ standard.at, November 7, 2009
  90. ↑ Tiroler Tageszeitung , October 30, 2009
  91. ↑ derstandard, November 5, 2009
  92. ↑ FPÖ press release , October 30, 2009
  93. ↑ a b Wiener Zeitung: Faymann affirms: No social barriers at universities. November 13, 2009 (print edition) (accessed November 7, 2013)
  94. ^ Kurt Grünewald: on university protests II: Faymann's turning away from the declaration of solidarity more than disappointing. (No longer available online.) In: gruene.at. November 2, 2009, archived from the original on August 4, 2012 ; accessed on May 16, 2020 .
  95. ↑ gruene.at ( Memento from August 2, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  96. ↑ derstandard.at, November 7, 2009
  97. ↑ Press release
  98. ↑ [2]
  99. ↑ [3]
  100. ↑ Khol: Seniors support success-oriented students, press release Austrian Seniors Association, November 7, 2009.
  101. ↑ Protestant churches demand long-term and social crisis management. on: evang.at , October 30, 2009.
  102. ↑ Catholic Press Agency Austria, November 13, 2009
  103. ↑ derstandard.at, December 10, 2009
  104. ^ Press release Word of the Year 2009 - election results and reasons ( Memento from December 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  105. ↑ kleinezeitung.at, November 4, 2009. ( Memento from October 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), augsburger-allgemeine.de, November 5, 2009 ( Memento from November 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), sueddeutsche.de November 6 2009 ( Memento of November 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) BaslerZeitung November 10, 2009
  106. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated December 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / Unseruni.at
  107. ↑ derstandard.at, December 14, 2009
  108. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten online, December 14, 2009  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.salzburg.com  
  109. ↑ Bagru.ie ( Memento from May 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  110. ↑ Martin Haselwanter: The student unibrennt protests 2009/2010 - From the extinguishing of a fire and the continued burning of the universities . In: Research Journal Social Movements . Supplement to issue 1, 2015 ( forschungsjournal.de [PDF; 646 kB ; accessed on April 8, 2020]).
  111. ↑ https://orf.at/stories/3135806/ orf.at
  112. ↑ fm4 - Terrorists like you and me
  113. ↑ The # unibrennt trial against four students must be traceable! In: akbild.ac.at. 2012, accessed May 2, 2020 .
  114. ↑ ÖH / Akademie demands acquittal for the #unibrennt students! Press release of the public relations department of the ÖH Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. In: ots.at. March 8, 2012, accessed June 12, 2020 .
  115. ↑ Maria Sterkl: acquittal in the Unibrennt trial. In: derstandard.at. derStandard.at, July 27, 2012, accessed December 10, 2015 .
  116. ↑ Book presentation on March 18, 2010.