At Wilhering Abbey we look for opportunities in crises

“As a monastery, we want to get involved in the social discourse,” says Reinhold Dessl, abbot of Wilhering Abbey and board member of the Forum Humanismus Wilhering. To do this, they are going on an expedition for the second time after the premiere last year. This refers to partly public, partly closed rounds and formats that this year deal with the question of how one could see the many crises as a wake-up call and an opportunity for change and thus turn the “polycrisis into a polychance”. “We as a community feel the worries that people have,” says Wilheringer Mayor Mario Mühlböck (SP), who, like Vice Mayor Markus Langthaler (VP) and bookseller Melanie Hofinger, is active on the association’s board.

Life in polycrisis

The Wilheringer Humanism Days kicks off with a public discussion evening on September 21st at 7 p.m. in the theater barn of Wilhering Abbey. The keynote speech on the topic “Living in a polycrisis. Causes and ways out” will be given by former Federal Minister Rudolf Anschober. This is followed by a pointed reading by actor Cornelius Obonya. And afterwards there will be a colorful discussion session with the audience. In addition to Anschober and Obonya, there are actress Lilian Klebow, Bishop Manfred Scheuer, migration researcher Judith Kohlenberger, economist Heike Lehner, climate researcher Marc Olefs, digital researcher Lisa-Marie Moser, entrepreneur and Sonnentor founder Johannes Gutmann and Markus Langthaler.

The next day, a 30-person expedition team from a wide range of areas sets out to work out how digital transformation and AI, the climate crisis, the migration crisis, the resource crisis and the crisis of faith could be turned into opportunities for everyone.

Impulse and talk events will follow in the fall, on October 2nd with doctor Siegfried Meryn and on November 21st with education expert Andreas Salcher. Expeditions for schools and universities are also planned.

Bräuhaus should become a “digital hub”.

The Forum Humanismus Wilhering is pursuing a big vision for 2024: “The monastery’s old brewery is currently being renovated. We want to turn the building into a ‘digital hub’ and address the important topics of ‘digital humanism’, ‘digital transformation’ and ‘ “Bringing New Work to life,” says club chairman Peter Weixelbaumer.