GCPH Seminar Series 8 Lecture 5 - Manfred Hellrigl

"Self organisation and civil engagement: co-operation, culture and politics for a more sustainable society - learning from Vorarlberg, Austria"
Overview
Vorarlberg in Austria has 20 years of experience in experimenting with different ways and methods of promoting a more sustainable society. Out of this experience has emerged the idea of a 'learning institution' embedded in a tight-knit network of co-operating institutions.
In this lecture Manfred Helrigl outlined a 'philosophy of self-organization' and illustrated its impact through practical examples. Manfred suggested that we need to rethink familiar leadership-strategies and revitalize democracy, because the existing system is not capable of handling wicked problems. He also outline how they are approaching this challenge in Vorarlberg, what a new culture of co-operation could look like and its implications for society, government and administration at local and regional level.