IWM’s Strategic Partnership Initiative with the ERSTE Foundation

Lifestyle & TravelCulture ♦ Published: September 4, 2022; 21:36 ♦ (Vindobona)

With Europe's Futures - Ideas for Action, Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) and the ERSTE Foundation aim to understand and address challenges to democracy, rule of law and migratory pressures that threaten Europe and the European Union.

Ivan Vejvoda, Permanent Fellow and Head of Europe's Futures program will moderate the event "As the Ukraine war grinds on, which interpretation of resilience is more likely to win the day?" with Nathalie Tocci. / Picture: © IWM Institut fuer die Wissenschaften vom Menschen - Institute for Human Sciences

Throughout September, eight prominent experts will outline their work in three public discussions as part of the fifth group of Europe's Futures Fellows.

As the IWM explained, resilience can both mean the readiness to withstand pain and the ability to bounce back and transform. Putin capitalizes on the EU's low threshold of pain endurance in the context of the Ukraine war, whether it's in bearing the energy and economic costs of the war, or in accepting refugees long-term. Rather than turning crises into obstacles to integration, the EU relies on its inherent DNA, as the IWM stressed it. Therefore with Europe's Futures - Ideas for Action, IWM, and the ERSTE Foundation want to answer the question: As the Ukraine war grinds on, which interpretation of resilience is more likely to win the day?

The event will be moderated by Ivan Vejvoda, Permanent Fellow and Head of Europe's Futures program and an answer to this important question will be presented by Nathalie Tocci.

According to IWM, besides acting as Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali and Visiting Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, Nathalie Tocci is an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen as well as an Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen. Previously, she was Special Advisor to Josep Borrell, the EU Vice President and High Representative. She worked on the implementation of the European Global Strategy as Special Advisor to HRVP Federica Mogherini. As of May 2020, she has been a member of Eni's Board of Directors.

Tocci's previous research positions were at the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels, the Transatlantic Academy, Washington, and the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, Florence. The Middle East and Mediterranean politics, conflict resolution, and European foreign policy are among her research interests.

Europe's Futures - Ideas for Action Initiative

Europe’s Futures is a strategic partnership initiative of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) and the ERSTE Foundation which deals with urgent political, social and economic issues relating to the future of the European Union.

As described on its website, it is an endeavor based on in-depth research, concrete policy proposals, and encounters with state and civil society actors, public opinion and media. With Vienna as a particular place for the engagement of Europeans, Europe's Futures is one among a series of like-minded ongoing projects in sister institutions throughout Europe. A broader group of actors will be brought in to discuss the issues at hand.

According to Europe's Futures, as the project evolves, the initiative will create a platform of voices presenting ideas. Whose goal is to reinforce and project forward a vision and reality of Europe, which at the same time recognizes the individualities of the member states but emphasizes that in today’s world only a united Europe can face up to the existing and oncoming challenges.

Europe's Futures

ERSTE Foundation

IWM Institute for Human Sciences